Great stuff from Euskaltel

It was another great day for Euskaltel in the Tour today. With no less than 5 riders in different breaks all day, and with Haimar finishing a higly pleasing 11th atop the Montée de Tignes, Euskaltel is now ranked the 5th best team in the Tour. Gorka, Jorge, Rubén, Mikel and Amets all tried their luck in different breaks throughout the stage, something which no doubt pleased the spectators along the roads. Especially Amets, who`s riding his first Tour at the tender age of 24, impressed, and went on to finish a remarkable 30th after spending larg porsions of the day in breaks. It was amazing stuff from the youngster, and he now lies 6th in the young rider competition, ahead of big names like Thomas Dekker, Kohl and Lovkvist. Haimar came in 11th together with Leipheimer and Cobo, and now is sitting pretty in 15th place overall. Mikel was 23rd today, dropping to 21st overall. Euskaltel dropped to fifth overall in the team rankings, but that`s anyway more than good enough. Aupa! Stage results:

• 11th, Haimar Zubeldia, 3:59
• 23rd, Mikel Astarloza, 5:41
• 30th, Amets Txurruka, 8:23
• 65th, Gorka Verdugo, 19:17
• 69th, Iñgio Landaluze, s.t.
• 80th, Rubén Pérez, 29:11
• 98th, Jorge Azanza, 33:45
• 142nd, Igor Antón, 39:07
• 143rd, Iñaki Isasi, s.t.