Durán doubles up as Euskadi champ

Arkaitz Durán offered further proof of his class by taking out both the road and time trial titles in the Euskadi Championships this weekend.

The champs were held in Villarreal de Álava, or Legutio as it's called in Basque, in the region of Álava on Saturday and Sunday, and the local hero, Durán hails from the region's capital, Vitoria, left everyone  in his wake as he further strengthened his case for a return to the pro peloton in 2013.

The 110km road race, ending atop the Santa Barbara de Urretxu, was everything but exciting as the 26-year-old soloed to a crushing win 1:29 ahead of team-mate at Azysa, Kepa Vallejo, and a further three seconds ahead of Debabarrena's Aitor González. The latter took out the sub-23 title by beating Naturgas' Jon Larrinaga by seven seconds into third, while another Naturgas prodigy, Mikel Iturria, grabbed a strong 11th. Former Euskaltel stalwart Aitor Hernández had a decent day in the saddle en route to eighth.

Road race results (full results here courtesy of www.biciciclismo.com):

• 1, Arkaitz Durán (Azysa), 2:38:58
• 2, Kepa Vallejo (Azysa), 1:29
• 3, Aitor González (Debabarrena), 1:32 - Sub23 champ
• 4, Jon Larrinaga (Naturgas Energía), 1:39 - Sub23 runner-up
• 5, Antton Ibarguren (Caja Rural), 1:44
• 6, Markel Anton (Bidelan-Kirolgi), 1:46
• 7, Martin Iraizoz (Lizarte), s.t.
• 8, Aitor Hernández (Orbea), s.t.
• 9, Egoitz Murgoitio (Hirumet-Taldea), s.t.
• 10, Joseba del Barrio (Bidelan-Kirolgi), s.t.
• 11, Mikel Iturria (Naturgas Energía), s.t.
• 18, Imanol Estévez (Naturgas Energía), 2:26
• 19, Loïc Chetout (Naturgas Energía), s.t.
• 27, Alain González (Naturgas Energía), 3:14

In the crono, Durán bested Bidelan's Jon Ander Insausti, who last week won the Gipuzkoan champs, by 21 seconds over the 23,7km course. Jon Larrinaga once again showcased his strong state of form by taking bronze, only 31 seconds off Durán's winning time.

Time trial results, elite and under-23:

• 1, Arkaitz Durán (Azysa), 30:42
• 2, Jon Ander Insausti (Bidelan-Kirolgi), 0:21 - sub23 champ
• 3, Jon Larrinaga (Naturgas Energía), 0:31 - sub23 runner-up

Time trial results, junior:

• 1, Yerai Ruíz (Aranako-Toyota Armentia), 21:19
• 2, Ander Alonso (Ordiziako Tx. E-Caja Rural), 0:06
• 3, Aitor Morález (Zirauna-Iturribero), 0:27

In further Naturgas-related news, the team will send a sextet to the regional champs in Cantabria tomorrow, the team's website reports. Here's the team: Karl Baudron, Jon Larrinaga, Alain Santamaría, Alain González, Imanol Estévez and Francisco Javier Martín.

Photo: www.bikezona.com

Discreet ending to Dauphiné

The Dauphiné finally came to a close today with an anonymous performance from Euskaltel on the stage to Châtel.

The demanding concluding stage, that took in five categorized climbs, was another orange no-show as Egoi Martínez again was the team's top man in 23rd, 23 seconds off Dani Moreno's winning time. Martínez has by far been the team's stand-out performer in the dress rehearsal for the Tour, and looks on course for another aggressive month on the roads of France in three weeks' time.

Samuel Sánchez got through another day, coming in some six minutes down in the company of loyal servant Jorge Azanza, and was pleased to have finished the whole race after coming a cropper on day one.

"I'm pleased to have completed the Dauphiné, above all because of the hit I took on the first stage, but I haven't been able to fulfill the work I set out to do at the desired level - the crash complicated it all", he told the team's website upon crossing the line. "Tomorrow I'll undergo a more extensive medical check-up to determine the exact state of my injuries. Now I'll continue to train to reach the Tour in optimal shape".

On GC, Martínez was the team's top finisher in 45th, while the team ended up 17th out of the 22 teams taking part.

Stage seven results:

• (1, Daniel Moreno (Katusha), 2:59:37)
• 23, Egoi Martínez, 0:23
• 53, Jorge Azanza, 6:11
• 90, Samuel Sánchez, s.t.
• 101, Gorka Verdugo, 9:03
• 140, Peio Bilbao, 13:45
• 141, Mikel Landa, s.t.
• 149, Alan Pérez, 18:36

Final general classification:

• (1, Bradley Wiggins (Sky), 26:40:46)
• 45, Egoi Martínez, 19:43
• 67, Jorge Azanza, 31:05
• 83, Mikel Landa, 36:46
• 95, Gorka Verdugo, 44:13
• 126, Samuel Sánchez, 56:56
• 143, Peio Bilbao, 1:20:13
• 151, Alan Pérez, 1:31:10

Photo: www.cyclingnews.com

Dismal Dauphiné d-day

Yesterday's queen-stage in the Critérium du Dauphiné was an altogether unsuccessful one for Euskaltel. None of the riders managed to finish inside the top 50 on the 167km road from Saint-Alban-Leysse to Morzine.

Egoi Martínez did his part to ensure the team some visibility with another day in the main break - his third in this race alone and his second in two days. The big-size group he was a part of didn't manage to hold off the pack though, being reeled in on the early ramps of the massive Joux Plane. Sky set a ferocious pace on the climb, shredding the lead group, and none of the guys in orange were close to standing the pace. Jorge Azanza was the team's top finisher in a decent 57th, while top climber Mikel Landa stayed with Samu Sánchez to come in almost 14 minutes in arrears.

All in all an unsatisfactory day, and there's no hiding the form some of the riders are showing, or not showing to put it more accurately, is quite worrying with the Tour kick-off in Liège less than three weeks away.

Today's final stage takes the riders 126 clicks from yesterday's finish town to Châtel.

Stage six results:

• (1, Nairo Quintana (Movistar), 4:46:12)
• 57, Jorge Azanza, 8:13
• 71, Egoi Martínez, 10:36
• 110, Mikel Landa, 13:54
• 111, Samuel Sánchez, s.t.
• 135, Gorka Verdugo, 16:31
• 138, Peio Bilbao, s.t.
• 153, Alan Pérez, 25:33

García cracks wrist

Ricardo García's crash on the finishing strait of the Dauphiné's third stage has turned out to be more severe than what was initially assumed.

The 24-year-old has, tests in Zorrotzaurre have shown, suffered a small crack in his left wrist, the team's website reports. Upon concluding the stage, it was announced he'd have no problem in lining up at the start the following day, but it now turns out pulling out was probably a wise decision.

The injury is not likely to harm the Vitoria-Gasteiz-native's season all that much. The former Orbea rider, who's had a packed season up until this point, was scheduled to take some time off post-Dauphiné anyway.

Photo: www.fundacioneuskadi.com

G Izagirre top 20 in Suisse prologue

Euskaltel got of to a decent start in the Tour de Suisse today. Gorka Izagirre showed strength in the 7,3km prologue in Lugano, but the team's overall candidates were well in arrears.

Peter Sagan powered to a convincing win ahead of an, admittedly, below par Cancellara - the Swiss powerhouse is still easing his way back into competition after breaking his collarbone in Vlaanderen some months ago. Izagirre showed his Tour form is building up nicely with a 20th place, 25 seconds off the winning time. He ended up on the same time as Poels, Velits and Klöden, though, so he's got reason to feel content.

As for GC aspirants Astarloza, Nieve and Antón, it was an altogether different story. None of the three came within 40 seconds of Sagan's time and lost precious seconds to a number of general classification rivals.

Results (full results here):

• (1, Peter Sagan (Liquigas), 9:43
• 20, Gorka Izagirre, 0:25
• 59, Mikel Astarloza, 0:41
• 70, Mikel Nieve, 0:44
• 93, Igor Antón, 0:53
• 100, Pablo Urtasun, 0:55
• 106, Romain Sicard, 0:57
• 133, Rubén Pérez, 1:10
• 139, Iván Velasco, 1:13

Up tomorrow is a long day in the saddle - 218 clicks from Verbania to Verbier.

Martínez second in Dauphiné

Egoi Martínez grabbed a strong, if somewhat frustrating, second place in today's fifth stage of the Dauphiné.

The super domestique formed part of the day's decisive nine-man break on the 186,5km stage from Saint-Trivier-sur-Moignans to Rumilly, a break that was eventually given the chance to fight it out for the win as the likes of Wiggins, Evans and co. had enough of a battle on their hands for GC back in the peloton. Arthur Vichot made a bold solo move with some six clicks to go and impressively hung on quite easily to take the biggest win of his budding career. The guys left behind by the 23-year-old Frenchman were unable to cooperate and were duly left to sprint for second. Amazingly, Martínez, not know for his fast-twitch muscle fibres, beat his breakaway companions to the line to grab a solid results. A second place is nothing compared to a win in this sport, but at least a few WorldTour points went the team's way.

Talking post-race, the combative allrounder sounded pretty happy with his effort:

"The Tour preparations seem to be on track", he told www.fundacioneuskadi.com. "I've been working hard in training, and I'm glad to see that training paying off in the races. And I'm also happy about having been able to fight for the stage-win - I'm getting older, so to be in the mix is encouraging. We all like to come out tops, but it's hard in such big breaks like these. You don't get a lot of opportunities to like this, but to get them you've got to be in the breaks. If you're not, it's never going to happen. Therefore it's also important to value the effort".

If anything, Martínez's efforts in this race bodes well for the Tour de France in three weeks' time.

Another one on the up is Samuel Sánchez. The unfortunate 34-year-old stayed with the front group going over the Colombier and looked decent on the bike. In 21 days he'll be fine. Samu eventually let go off the group of favourites on the run-in, but Mikel Landa once again offered proof of his top shape by finishing 47th on the same time as Wiggins, Evans et al.

 Overall he's 49th, four places behind the team's top rider, Egoi Martínez.

Stage five results (click here for full results):

• (1, Arthur Vichot (FDJ), 4:42:17)
• 2, Egoi Martínez, 0:26
• 47, Mikel Landa, 0:59
• 60, Samuel Sánchez, 4:34
• 81, Jorge Azanza, 9:03
• 92, Peio Bilbao, 13:59
• 108, Gorka Verdugo, s.t.
• 147, Alan Pérez, 20:53

More TT agony in Dauphiné

Dauphiné's fourth stage, a 53km TT from Villié-Morgon to Bourg-en-Bresse, was another Euskaltel no show as the team's top man could only muster 69th on the day.

Samuel Sánchez naturally took it easy due to his fall on stage 1, cruising home in 112th place more than seven minutes in arrears. Ricardo García was forced to post a DNS as the injuries sustained in yesterday's crash proved too much to bear for the 24-year-old. It was initially suggested he'd have no problem carrying on, but the team's website says he woke up with an inflamed wrist that inhibited his movement to such an extent that riding a time trial would be impossible.

Gorka Verdugo was as anticipated the team's top man, but 69th at a full 5:38 was not up to his usual standard. Overall he's also the best in orange in 49th, 6:13 back on runaway-victor Bradley Wiggins. The Brit looks to be on course for a tremendous Tour - he'll take some beating.

Stage four results:

• (1, Bradley Wiggins (Sky), 1:03:12)
• 69, Gorka Verdugo, 5:38
• 95, Egoi Martínez, 6:44
• 112, Samuel Sánchez, 7:26
• 118, Jorge Azanza, 7:46
• 137, Mikel Landa, 8:54
• 148, Peio Bilbao, 9:50
• 162, Alan Pérez, 10:27

Photo: www.fundacioneuskadi.com

García crashes twice in Dauphiné

As if Euskaltel hadn't already gotten off to a bad enough start in the Dauphiné, Ricardo García crashed twice in today's third stage. Luckily, he's not reported to have sustained any serious injuries.

The first tumble came about some 80 kilometres from the line of the third stage between Givors and La Clayette, but the first-year Euskaltel rider was quickly back on his back and riding again. The second was worse though, as he got locked out in the sprint for the stage and hit the deck hard inside the last 200 metres. According to the team's website, he's got scratches pretty much everywhere and his left wrist in particular is troubling him, but he's anticipated to be on the start line tomorrow.

On a more positive note, Samuel Sánchez seemed to be more at ease than in the days before as he crossed the line safely mid-pack. The Olympic champ is intent on seeing the race through, telling www.lne.es that he can't drop out of the race if he is to race the Tour de France, but wisely won't go full gas in tomorrow's 53km ITT to Bourg-en-Bresse.

"I'll take it easy", he said, adding: "but I won't risk finishing outside the time limit. As for the test I wanted to do in the mountains, I'll save that for the Tour. My overriding goal now is to recover from this setback."

While the passing of the stages will certainly help heal Samu's wounds, don't expect any fireworks this weekend; he says it "sometimes hurts a lot" and that at times "I can hardly breath". There's still more than three weeks to go before the big race gets started, though, so normally there should be time for a complete recovery.

As for the racing, Edvald Boasson Hagen took a commanding sprint win for Sky in what is likely to be the last day in this race the sprinters get their way. Before it came to the dash for the line, Egoi Martínez had joined Cofidis compatriot Luis Ángel Maté in the break of the day that at one time enjoyed a six-minute buffer on the pack. It was never going to work out though, and the duo was duly reeled back in with some 15 clicks to go. All Euskaltel riders finished inside the peloton.

General classification (full results here):

• (1, Bradley Wiggins (Sky), 13:07:55)
• 46, Gorka Verdugo, 0:35
• 57, Mikel Landa, 0:47
• 63, Egoi Martínez, 1:07
• 74, Jorge Azanza, 1:25
• 155, Alan Pérez, 16:54
• 167, Samuel Sánchez, 26:24
• 168, Ricardo García, 26:51
• 169, Peio Bilbao, 27:41

Photo: www.fundacioneuskadi.com

Sánchez gets through Dauphiné stage two

Samuel Sánchez overcame the pain and  completed today's second stage of the Dauphiné.

It was confirmed in the early morning hours that the Olympic champ would take the start after yesterday's bad crash, and the 34-year-old went on to complete the hilly stage just roughly two minutes down on victor and compatriot Daniel Moreno. Samu stayed with the pack up until they reached the bottom of the final climb, but admitted post-stage that it was all but easy.

"Just like yesterday I suffered to stay with the peloton, but we got through it", he told the team's website. "Let's hope I recover from the injury and start to feel better, but it's hurts a lot, so we'll have to be careful".

As for the stage, Mikel Landa showed he's on decent form by forming part of the 44-strong lead group that got the same finishing time as Katusha's Moreno. Martínez, Verdugo and Azanza couldn't hold the pace and ended up 18 seconds down, but after what happened yesterday you would excuse them for being more focussed on Samu than on results.

Stage two results (full results here):

• (1, Daniel Moreno (Katusha), 4:02:38)
• 20, Mikel Landa, s.t.
• 50, Jorge Azanza, 0:18
• 54, Egoi Martínez, s.t.
• 57, Gorka Verdugo, s.t.
• 107, Ricardo García, 2:05
• 129, Samuel Sánchez, s.t.
• 139, Peio Bilbao, 3:24
• 168, Alan Pérez, 11:43

Photo: www.cyclingnews.com

Samu update: no fracture

Samuel Sánchez did not fracture any bones in today's Dauphiné stage one.

Just a few minutes ago, the team wrote on its website that fractures were discarded after check-ups at a local hospital. He did take a "very painful" hit to his ribs though, and will decide on his further participation tomorrow morning.

Here's the official communiqué.

Latest: According to team DS Gorka Gerrikagoitia's Twitter-account, Samu will line up later today (Tuesday).

Check out the video below to see just what kind of pain the Euskaltel team leader was in upon crossing the line:

Sánchez crashes in Dauphiné; extent unknown

Samuel Sánchez's Tour de France hopes took a major hit today as he crashed heavily in today's first stage proper of the Critérium du Dauphiné. The Olympic champ got up and finished the stage, but was immediately transported to a local hospital for check-ups.

As you can see from the pic above (or not, it's admittedly a pretty lousy photo), Samu was in some pain as he crossed the finish line at the end of the 187km stage from Seyssins to Saint-Vallier dead last, a full 23:54 in arrears. The 34-year-old hit the deck with force after approximately 50 clicks, but bravely got up and finished the stage - reportedly with several broken ribs. He was immediately taken to hospital, but since then there's been no updates. The team has promised to keep us all updated through the evening though, so stay tuned.

After his unfortunate incident, he was taken care of by team-mates Peio Bilbao and Ricardo García. The trio were miles behind the others, but that's of course of minor importance right now. If he did indeed break a few ribs, it would, less than four weeks before the big kick-off, be a serious dent in the team's Tour plans. On a positive note though, you could say it can't possibly be that bad if he managed to ride almost 140 kilometres with the injury. Anyway, speculation doesn't really clear anything up, so we're forced to wait for news from the team.

The racing itself wasn't all that bad, with Cadel Evans escaping along with Jerôme Coppel and Andrey Kashechkin in the closing stretches and holding off the peloton to take a surprising, and quite impressive, victory. Wiggins inherited the leader's jersey from Luke Durbridge, as the Brit formed part of the main group to cross the line four seconds down on the breakaway foursome. In that first group was Martínez, Verdugo and Landa, so at least all hope of a good overall placing from the team wasn't lost today.

Check back later for all the latest concerning Samu's state of health. 

Stage one results:

• (1, Cadel Evans (BMC), 4:36:21)
• 33, Egoi Martínez, 0:04
• 51, Gorka Verdugo, s.t.
• 63, Mikel Landa, s.t.
• 122, Jorge Azanza, 0:42
• 156, Alan Pérez, 4:24
• 173, Ricardo García, 23:54
• 174, Peio Bilbao, s.t.
• 175, Samuel Sánchez, s.t.

Photo: www.cyclingnews.com

Potent team for Tour de Suisse

Euskaltel will bring a star-studded team to the Tour de Suisse, the team's website reveals.

The Swiss stage-race, running from 9-17 of June, will see the following Euskaltel octet line up: Igor Antón, Mikel Astarloza, Gorka Izagirre, Mikel Nieve, Romain Sicard, Pablo Urtasun, Rubén Pérez and Iván Velasco.

Astarloza, Izagirre and Pérez, and perhaps also Sicard and Urtasun, will be looking to hone their form for the Tour de France starting at the end of the current month, while Nieve and Velasco will be hoping to capitalize on the form acquired in the recent Giro d'Italia. Antón's appearance marks his first race back since he broke his collarbone in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Check out the stages here. 

Prologue agony in Dauphiné

No, no one crashed. And neither is it the most important race of the year. But still: only two Euskaltel riders were to be found inside the top 100 on today's Critérium du Dauphiné prologue.

In what is quickly becoming a habit, Gorka Verdugo was the strongest orange-clad rider in 58th, no more than 18 seconds down on victor Luke Durbridge. Not too shabby in other words. Team captain Samuel Sánchez took it easy over the 5,7km in Grenoble it seems by posting the 117th best time, a full 30 seconds off the pace. Not surprisingly, Euskaltel placed next to last in the team standings - only Lampre did worse.

Prologue results:

• (1, Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge), 6:38)
• 58, Gorka Verdugo, 0:18
• 98, Peio Bilbao, 0:28
• 108, Egoi Martínez, 0:30
• 110, Jorge Azanza, s.t.
• 117, Samuel Sánchez, s.t.
• 122, Alan Pérez, 0:32
• 149, Ricardo García, 0:37
• 169, Mikel Landa, 0:48 

Photo: www.fundacioneuskadi.com

Durán repeats as Bekaert takes Navarra overall

Arkaitz Durán grabbed consecutive stage-wins in the Vuelta a Navarra by taking out today's concluding stage, while Belgian Steve Bekaert (pictured above) easily hung onto his overall lead to claim a win that will do his chances of turning professional next year no harm.

The final stage from Javier to the regional capital of Pamplona was a relatively uncomplicated one for the young Belgian. Durán, who was no threat on GC, escaped to take the stage, his eighth victory of the year, solo by 24 seconds, while Bekaert stayed with the first chasing group to finish 28 seconds down and thus defended his overall lead from team-mate Wellens (who'll turn pro with the senior squad  on the 1st of July) and Bidelan's Joseba del Barrio in third.

Mikel Iturria gave Naturgas some presence by being a part of that group en route to a 24th place on the stage, but otherwise it was slim pickings for the Fundación Euskadi outfit. Larrinaga ended up as best placed on GC in 25th.

Former Orbea rider Noel Martín completed his excellent performance in the race by taking fourth on the final stage and thus securing the same placing overall. Chapeau!

Stage five results:

• 1, Arkaitz Durán (Azysa), 3:13:51
• 2, Vicente García (Gsport - Valencia Terra i Mar), 0:24
• 3, Thomas Sprengers (Lotto-Belisol-Davo), s.t.
• 4, Noel Martín (Supermercados Froiz), s.t.
• 5, Ibai Salas (Caja Rural), s.t.
• 24, Mikel Iturria (Naturgas Energía), 0:28
• 39, Jon Larrinaga (Naturgas Energía), 1:07
• 60, Víctor Etxeberria (Naturgas Energía), 5:14
• 77, Alain González (Naturgas Energía), 11:50
• 81, Francisco Javier Martín (Naturgas Energía), 14:49

Final general classification:

• 1, Steve Bekaert (Lotto-Belisol-Davo), 17:32:03
• 2, Tim Wellens (Lotto-Belisol-Davo), 0:22
• 3, Joseba del Barrio (Bidelan-Kirolgi), 0:56
• 4, Noel Martín (Supermercados Froiz), 1:00
• 5, Ariel Sivori (Azysa), 1:02
• 25, Jon Larrinaga (Naturgas Energía), 5:16
• 40, Mikel Iturria (Naturgas Energía), 17:34
• 43, Víctor Etxeberria (Naturgas Energía), 19:51
• 76, Alain González (Naturgas Energía), 54:56
• 95, Francisco Javier Martín (Naturgas Energía), 1:22:58

Víctor Etxeberria ended up as the second best from the region (behind Lizarte's Martin Iraizoz), while the team ended up 12th in the teams' classification.

Photo: www.fotoalbum.seniorennet.be