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Editor's
Note:
DP
reader
Dan
Hoeller
traveled
to
Spain
to
attend
this
race,
which
was
held
6-10
March
2002.
Here
is
his
short
account,
plus
photos
of
the
race.
Getting
there
–
A
few
days
out
I
learned
that
two
of
the
main
reasons
why
I
wanted
to
see
this
race
–
Lance
Armstrong
and
Jan
Ullrich,
were
not
going
to
be
competing
due
to
stomach
bug
and
knee
troubles
respectively.
A
disappointment
for
sure,
but
I
already
had
my
ticket
and
I
was
going
to
the
race
regardless.
I
flew
into
Alicante
on
Friday
evening,
rented
a
car,
and
then
drove
laps
around
the
city
until
I
could
figure
out
how
to
get
out.
Funny
how
Spanish
roadsigns
are
difficult
to
understand
if
you
don’t
know
the
language!
Eventually
I
figured
it
out
and
headed
towards
Murcia.
Stage
4
Ceuti
to
Alhama
de
Murcia
–
I
arrived
the
night
before
Stage
3
and
learned
that
team
Euskaltel-Euskadi
was
staying
in
my
hotel
–
Giddyup!
They’re
a
favorite
team
of
mine
because
they’re
the
underdogs
–
a
small
team
in
the
Basque
region
of
northern
Spain
with
a
small
budget.
You
may
remember
that
one
of
their
riders
won
a
stage
in
the
Tour
last
year,
Roberto
Laiseka.
While
Roberto
wasn’t
racing
this
time,
David
Etxebarria
was,
and
I
was
glad
to
have
the
chance
to
see
him
and
his
teammates
in
action.
The
next
day
I
got
up
in
time
to
catch
a
quick
breakfast
and
head
towards
the
course
several
miles
away.
I
knew
I
wanted
to
be
at
the
top
of
the
Collado
Bermejo
(the
largest
climb
of
the
stage),
but
I
didn’t
know
where
it
was.
The
course
ran
through
the
Sierra
de
Espuna
so
I
headed
for
the
park.
A
couple
of
painful
‘conversations’
in
Spanish
later,
and
I
was
on
my
way
to
the
Collado.
Turns
out
I
could
have
left
Murcia
much
later
because
I
got
to
the
location
about
four
hours
before
the
riders
were
due
to
pass
through!
I
read
a
few
cycling
mags
and
a
book
to
pass
the
time.
More
and
more
people
started
to
arrive
as
the
day
went
on,
and
I
eventually
moved
down
from
the
top
of
the
mountain
in
order
to
get
a
good
spot
on
a
corner.
Soon
enough
helicopters
hovered
nearby,
motorcycles
streamed
pass,
and
the
chatter
of
the
Spaniards
increased,
so
the
time
was
close.
Next
thing
I
knew
the
helicopter
was
about
50
feet
off
the
ground
above
us
and
the
first
two
riders
were
approaching!!
Danilo
Di
Luca
had
a
thin
lead
on
Leonardo
Piepoli
and
was
gritting
it
as
he
powered
up
the
hill.
You
could
tell
he
was
suffering
pretty
badly
and
was
spinning
on
pure
willpower.
I
wasn’t
riding
a
bike
up
the
mountain
but
my
heart
was
pounding
about
as
much
as
his
was
--
all
that
time
spent
waiting
for
just
these
few
precious
seconds!
Before
I
knew
it
they
were
past
me
and
rounding
the
next
corner.
The
first
chase
group
came
by
a
few
seconds
later
and
contained
riders
from
Kelme,
ONCE,
Lotto,
ibanesto.com,
and
others.
A
couple
of
groups
later
I
saw
Pantani
struggling
at
the
back;
a
good
sight
to
see
given
his
recent
comments
on
his
ability
to
win
the
Tour
this
year
and
about
Lance
not
being
a
superstar.
I
saw
a
few
Posties
ride
by
too,
but
because
of
the
groups
they
were
in
I
couldn’t
tell
who
they
were.
Needless
to
say
my
shouts
of
encouragement
were
the
only
English
spoken
on
the
hill!
So
seemingly
before
it
started
it
was
all
over.
This
was
my
first
European
stage,
and
I
had
a
blast!
Stage
5
Time
Trial
in
Murcia
–
I
was
pleased
to
find
out
that
the
time
trial
started
and
finished
about
a
block
from
my
hotel,
so
I
didn’t
have
to
drive
all
over
the
countryside
again
to
catch
the
action.
Walking
out
to
the
street
I
said
‘good
luck’
in
Spanish
to
a
Euskaltel-Euskadi
rider
warming
up
on
a
trainer.
He
said
something
back
to
me,
but
my
limited
Spanish
skills
didn’t
help
me
understand
the
reply.
With
my
luck
it
was
probably
‘Hey,
would
you
like
to
take
one
of
these
sweet
Orbea
time
trial
bikes
home
with
you?’
The
racing
had
just
started
about
30
minutes
before
I
got
out
there
so
there
weren’t
many
spectators
yet.
This
allowed
me
time
to
walk
around
the
different
team
buses
and
get
some
good
photos
of
the
riders
warming
up
and
of
their
gear.
I
looked
all
over
for
the
Postal
bus
but
couldn’t
find
it;
I
guess
they
like
to
be
away
from
the
crowds.
Just
imagine
if
Lance
had
been
riding!
I
had
picked
up
a
newspaper
in
the
hotel
that
listed
the
starting
times
for
the
big
name
and
local
Spanish
riders
so
I
knew
when
Pantani
was
due
to
start.
He
arrived
late
to
the
ramp
and
I
thought
they
might
go
on
without
him.
He
eventually
pulled
up
to
the
gate
with
a
big
smirk
on
his
face.
This,
and
he
shows
up
wearing
something
that
looked
like
a
big
bandanna/rag
on
his
head
that
went
down
to
his
back;
weird.
If
you’re
that
far
out
of
the
race
I
guess
you
don’t
need
to
worry
about
aerodynamics
in
the
last
time
trial!
Even
though
this
is
a
small
early
season
race,
show
some
respect
and
get
to
the
line
on
time
and
in
appropriate
gear!
Can
you
tell
I
don’t
like
Pantani?
J
I
was
also
able
to
catch
Roberto
Heras,
Levi
Leipheimer,
Jose
Luis
Rubeira,
and
Gilberto
Simoni
in
the
starting
booth
and
on
the
course.
I
yelled
‘Go
Levi’
at
one
point
and
I
think
he
was
a
little
surprised
to
hear
English
because
he
looked
right
at
me
after
I
said
it.
I
wish
Postal
had
been
able
to
keep
a
hold
of
him;
he’s
a
great
talent
and
I’m
sure
his
podium
finish
at
the
Vuelta
last
year
is
just
a
precursor
to
what
he’ll
do
in
the
future.
All
too
soon,
the
last
two
riders
had
finished
(Di
Luca
and
Edo)
and
it
was
all
over.
The
award
ceremony
started
immediately
after
and
to
my
surprise,
Victory
Hugo
Pena
of
USPS
had
snuck
in
and
won
the
race!
He
made
up
over
25
seconds
on
the
short
12
km
time
trial;
very
impressive.
I
tried
to
get
a
hold
of
either
him
or
any
of
his
teammates
after
the
race
but
they
disappeared
too
quickly.
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