Samu now 4th overall

It was a highly successful day in the Vuelta for the team today. Samu and Igor advanced to 4th and 9th overall respectively, while the team once again won the team classification.

It was a stage designated for a break, but it wasn't the kind of break most had expected. The break consisted of twelve general classification riders, among them Samu and Igor. Also present were Menchov, Sastre, Evans, Mosquera, Monfort, Pellizotti, Goubert and eventual victor Luis Pérez among others. Notable absentees were Efimkin and Beltrán. The break established a three-minute gap; a significant amount of time. Several of the riders in the break had interests in the overall, but still most of the job was left to Igor, who did an awesome job leading the break up the climbs. The 12 riders crossed the line nearly 2:30 ahead of the pack, with Samu grabbing fourth on the stage as well as 4th on the overall. Sadly he couldn't fight for the win, as Pérez escaped with 10 km to go. But anyway, great peformance once again from the team, resulting in the third, if I'm not mistaken, win in the teams classification. Tomorrow will be the last mountain-top finish, so watch out for Igor and Samu once again. Full stage results:

• 4th, Samu Sánchez, 0:41
• 11th, Igor Antón, 0:47
• 36th, Haimar Zubeldia, 3:07
• 56th, Iñigo Landaluze, 3:47
• 93rd, Iñaki Isasi, 17:31
• 105th, Alán Pérez, 27:45
• 106th, Koldo Fernández, s.t.
• 107th, Aitor Hernández, s.t.
• 142nd, Dioni Galparsoro, s.t.