Tirreno stage 4 & Paris-Nice stage 7 results
Euskaltel put riders in every interesting break in today's fourth leg of the Tirreno-Adriatico. Pablo Urtasun made good use of his rouleur capabilities in the break of the day, while Mikel Landa and Amets Txurruka were both seen on the attack in the latter stages of the race once the break had been reeled in. The 252km stage from Amelia to Chieti ended with a Peter Sagan triumph, while Jon Izagirre was the team's top representative in a strong 16th just 19 seconds down. Izagirre came in with a small group including the likes of Garzelli, Pozzovivo, Moreno, Rui Costa and Tiralongo, and thus showed his form is on the up. After four stages, Izagirre junior is also the team's top man in 38th.
Stage results:
- (1, Peter Sagan, Liquigas)
- 16, Jon Izagirre, 0:19
- 43, Juan José Oroz, 0:57
- 64, Egoi Martínez, 1:20
- 69, Amets Txurruka, 1:40
- 88, Mikel Landa, 3:28
- 128, Rubén Pérez, 10:51
- 130, Gorka Verdugo, s.t.
- 135, Pablo Urtasun, s.t.
In the Paris-Nice, luck was once again not on Euskaltel's side. Peio Bilbao was forced to pull out of today's seventh and penultimate stage from Sisteron to Nice because of his fall two days back, while Adrián Sáez got tangled up in one of Levi Leipheimer's numerous crashes - luckily he was able to get back up and finish the stage. Mikel Astarloza placed a decent 19th to show he's on track for a good showing in tomorrow's concluding Col d'Eze time trial.
Stage results:
- (1, Thomas de Gendt, Vacansoleil)
- 19, Mikel Astarloza, 9:24
- 25, Ricardo García, s.t.
- 60, Romain Sicard, s.t.
- 80, Igor Antón, s.t.
- 105, Adrián Sáez, 12:42
- 118, Gorka Izagirre, s.t.
- 130, Pierre Cazaux, 16:50
- DNF: Peio Bilbao
2 comments:
It's not good these days. I watched Tirreno and Paris, on saturday the guys really tried to do something; Urtasun, Amets and Landa attacked but without success. The will is good but the legs... A big concurrent, riding at the same level last year, Vacansoleil, has one spectacular win after the other, while Euskaltel has 0 wins this year, they even come not close. What's going on? Have the concurrents better medication? Have the future worries of the team a paralising influence on the legs of the riders? Or, do we have to admit there are no talents these days like good old Samu and Iban Mayo or Haimar Zubeldia in the past? Whatever happened to Sicard? He used to be a big talent. The only light in these dark days is the younger Izagirre, who rides phenomenal for a guy with his age and experience.
It's for sure not been a good start to the season. The legs just don't seem to be there - and the team isn't paying attention enough in the key moments. Sicard will come good, and J Izagirre will be amazing, but the bigger-named riders, i.e. Astarloza, Antón, Martínez, Txurruka etc., need to deliver results. If not, the WorldTour 2013 will be a distant dream
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