Gunning for Getxo
After last week's triumph in Ordizia, Gorka Izagirre and Euskaltel are back in action at the Circuito de Getxo-Memorial Ricardo Otxoa today looking for back-to-back wins on home terrain.
The route is similar to last year, covering ten rounds of a 17-kilometre circuit for a total of 170 clicks. Like last year, when 23-year-old Andalucía sprinter Juan José Lobayo emerged victorious in the 1.1-ranked event, the race will end atop the "wall" of Txomintxu-Arkotxa, a 800m climb featuring pitches of up to 14 percent. The ascent should suit Euskaltel's stand-out riders like Ion and Gorka Izagirre and Igor Antón to a tee, but that should also be the case for the likes of Movistar's Rojas and Visconti, Acqua&Sapone's trio of Betancur, Di Luca and Garzelli and Androni's precocious Fabio Felline - not to mention defending champ Lobato.
As reported earlier, this is the make-up of the orange team:
- 81 - Igor Antón
- 82 - Gorka Izagirre
- 83 - Pablo Urtasun
- 84 - Juan José Oroz
- 85 - Peio Bilbao
- 86 - Mikel Landa
- 87 - Miguel Minguez
- 88 - Iván Velasco
- 89 - Alan Pérez
- 90 - Ion Izagirre
DS: Josu Larrazabal.
Here's Orbea's line-up, led, as ever, by Aritz Arberas:
- 61 - Omar Fraile
- 62 - Xabier Zabalo
- 63 - Aritz Etxebarria
- 64 - Mikel Bizkarra
- 65 - Jon Aberasturi
- 66 - Igor Merino
- 67 - Haritz Orbe
- 68 - Illart Zuazubiskar
- 69 - Aritz Bagües
- 70 - Carlos Barbero
The race is underway, and a quintet, including Orbea's ever-aggressive Mikel Bizkarra, currently hold a four-minute gap over an Euskaltel-led peloton. Click here to following the racing live.
Photo: Iñaki Azanza
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