Euskaltel fall asleep in the wind
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Euskaltel's GC push is all but over after a miserable day in the wind on Friday.
The guys in orange were left to rue their lack of concentration and bad positioning when Omega Pharma-QuickStep decided to up the pace with approximately 110 clicks to go on the stage from Tours to Saint-Amand-Montrond.
Igor Antón and Mikel Nieve found themselves in group number two and, despite the efforts of their team-mates, never managed to join up with the frontrunners.
Surprisingly, Nieve never took a pull on the front himself while Antón only joined in when it was way too late.
Eventually they all trailed in 10 minutes in arrears, meaning Nieve stooped to 21st on GC, while Antón fell to 23rd. Both more than 16 minutes back, all focus is now likely to shift toward stage wins and the polkadot jersey.
Results:
- (1, Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), 3:40:08)
- 81, Juan José Oroz, 9:54
- 87, Gorka Izagirre, s.t.
- 107, Igor Antón, s.t.
- 110, Mikel Nieve, s.t.
- 136, Ion Izagirre, 10:11
- 138, Juan José Lobato, s.t.
- 155, Rubén Pérez, 11:47
- 163, Romain Sicard, 13:36
- 164, Mikel Astarloza, s.t.
Photo: Le Tour
4 comments:
Nieve did some turns on the front, but to no avail.
Actually I think this might be good for the team, as both Nieve and Anton will be allowed to join early breakaways.
All out attack on the Ventoux. Send 4 riders up ahead to see if the break can stay and keep the best 4 climbers to attack early and late on the climb. Just an idea...what do they have to lose?
OMG!
One of the best days racing I can remember, credit to Cav and his team for kicking it off and then for Saxo twisting the knife. That all the orange jerseys got caught behind was all too predictable.
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