Igor passes test

The first test for the GC men were on the schedule today, a 42,5-kilometre long individual time trial in and around Ciudad Real. It was a course suited to the specialists against the clock, and Igor was expected to lose a lot of time to his GC rivals, namely Contador, Sastre and Valverde. He didn't though, coming home a good 38th, only 2:35 down on winner Leipheimer. He lost 1:46 to Contador, while he conceded 1:34 to Valverde and 1:05 to Sastre. I have to admit I'm really pleased with that result, as it puts him in 12th place overall already, and just 2:17 back on leader Levi. Judging by his performances so far, though it's still early days, he looks to be in great shape. Can't wait for the Angliru... Mikel was the fastest of our riders today though, as he came in one place ahead of Igor losing three seconds less. In other good news, Egoi got back his lead in the Combined classification, now leading Bettini by 11 points. Stage results:

• 37th, Mikel Astarloza, 2:33
• 38th, Igor Antón, 2:35
• 56th, Rubén Pérez, 3:10
• 76th, Egoi Martínez, 3:39
• 83rd, Alán Pérez, 3:54
• 84th, Amets Txurruka, 3:59
• 117th, Iñigo Landaluze, 5:24
• 149th, Koldo Fernández, 6:40
• 158th, Iván Velasco, 7:31