Trio complete the Ronde

The Izagirre brothers and Javier Aramendía all completed today's gruelling Ronde van Vlaanderen. As we all know the cobbles aren't exactly the Euskaltel riders' favourite cup of tea, but Gorka Izagirre once again showed his stamina and versatility by staying with the first group for more than 200 kilometres. The impressive 23-year-old eventually had to let go with some 40 clicks left to ride, but hung on to finish a creditable 62nd at 9:14. While 62nd doesn't sound too good, he came in just behind Quinziato, Paolini and Haussler, and three minutes ahead of riders like McEwen, Grivko, O'Grady and Van Impe, so he can be very pleased indeed with his performance. Aramendía and the younger Izagirre looked solid early on but faded slightly to finish in the gruppetto. They finished, though, and especially for debutant Izagirre that's no mean feat in the Ronde.