29th Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian
With the biggest race of the year over, the top one day riders head to the next classic on the calendar. A look at the favourites for the 2009 Clasica San Sebastian.

The Tour de France is over and we come to a Spanish classic. The Clasica Ciclista San Sebastian has been running since 1981. Two Tour de France winners have won this race before. Lance Armstrong back in 1995 and Miguel Indurain in 1990. This year promises to be a spectacular race. There is a star-studded lineup in 2009 with some Tour de France participants who want to save face after a disappointing Tour and also quality riders who are proven one day specialists and want to add another victory to their palmares.

Spaniard Alejandro Valverde (Caisse D’Epargne) is a rider who will want to win this event. Not only is he the defending champion, but after missing the Tour de France, he’s going to be a motivated rider coming into Saturday’s race. If Valverde wins, he’ll be the fourth rider in the history of the event to win the race multiple times. Other winners in the past have been Frenchman Lauren Jalabert (2001 & 2002), Italian Francesco Casagrande (1998 & 1999) and the inaugural winner, Spaniard Marino Lejarreta who won the event on three occasions in 1981, 1982 and 1987.

Valverde’s form over the last two months has been solid. He won the Dauphine Libere in June in a dominant performance.

Valverde putting on the yellow jersey in the Dauphine.
photo © 2009 Fotoreporter Sirotti

He may have missed the Tour de France, but a month later, he put in a solid performance in the Vuelta de Madrid. He finished second overall in the general classification and came second on stage one. Considering, he is one of the fresher riders in the race this year, that should count for something as Valverde looks to win this event multiple times and concentrate on the Vuelta Espana later in August.

Team Saxo Bank may be sending Andy Schleck along to Spain on Saturday, however, due his second overall in the Tour de France, how motivated would he be? We look into their team and there is Russian rider Alexandr Kolobnev who came second here last year. He is a quality one day specialist despite not being able to pick up a win yet. His consistency is second-to-none and this year he finished second in the GP Miguel Indurain, sixth in the Amstel Gold Race and 9th in Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Lately, his last race he rode in, the Tour de Wallone, just last week, he came third overall. He’s yet to break through for a win this year. Can the ultra consistent rider come through on Saturday?

Australian Cadel Evans (Silence Lotto) had a Tour de France he would rather forget. Evans, who has shown attacking flair this year, was in top notch form heading into the Tour de France.

Cadel Evans time trial Dauphine Libere Photo © 2009 Fotoreporter Sirotti

Unfortunately, he crumbled. What caused him to melt down, it’s unknown, but he is one of a few riders here that will be looking to save face. Evans was second overall in the Dauphine Libere and was looking solid in the mountains in June. Over the last three weeks, Evans tried to win stage 18. He was in a breakaway and was looking solid. In fact, that was probably the only time during the Tour that he looked good. He finished second in La Fleche Wallonne last year and can perform in the classics. Look for him to attack as he focuses on the Vuelta and the World Championships later in the year.

Spaniard Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) is another one of the few riders who missed the Tour de France. Concentrating purely on the Vuelta, the Spanish climber cannot be dismissed from calculations. He’s performed well in one day classics before. His best result was when he came second in La Fleche Wallone back in 2006. The form for the Spaniard this year has been reasonable. He won the GP Llodio and finished third overall in the Tour of the Basque country. He’s been quiet this year, but don’t forget he is the Olympic Road Race Champion from last year. As he is concentrating on the Vuelta, it’s hard to get a read on his form heading into the race. He should be up there, and cannot be dismissed.

Luxemburg rider Kim Kirchen (Columbia-HTC), again had a Tour de France he would rather put behind him. A quality rider, Kirchen made his mark last year winning races and holding the yellow and green jersey in the 2008 Tour de France. His form over the last two months has been alright. Kirchen finished 9th overall in the Tour of Switzerland and managed to win stage 7 in the process.

Kim Kirchen winning stage 7 of Tour de Suisse Photo © 2009 Fotoreporter Sirotti

That’s been his only success this year due to a collar bone injury he sustained earlier in the season. Over the last three weeks in the mountains, Kirchen showed glimpses of getting back to his old self. Despite only finishing 57th overall, Kirchen also was a vital lead out man for Mark Cavendish. Look out for Thomas Lovkvist, Kirchen’s team mate who could surprise. He’s fresh and he’s a quality climber.

Italian Damiano Cunego (Lampre) is another rider who can put in a solid performance on his day. He had a disappointing Giro d’Italia, however, he is a solid one day specialist. He’s won the Giro de Lombardia on three occasions. He also claimed victory in the 2008 Amstel Gold Race. This year Cunego finished 1st overall in the Coppi e Bartali and won stages 2 and 3 in the process. A fifth in Amstel Gold and third in La Fleche Wallonne were also outstanding performances from the Italian. He didn’t ride the Tour de France, however, he finished sixth overall in the Tour of Switzerland and finished on the podium on two occasions in stages 5 and 8. Look for him to figure at the finish on Saturday.

Czech rider, Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) is another quality rider who is hunting a win. The only victory he has managed this year was first overall in the Tour of Romandie. He also won stage 4 in the 5 stage race and was looking very comfortable in the mountains. His goal was to defend the Tour of Switzerland and finish high up in the general classification. Unfortunately, he missed the first goal. He tried to win the Tour of Switzerland but Fabian Cancellara was too strong for him. Kreuziger finished third overall after claiming second on two occasions in the 9 stage race. His second goal, to finish high up in the general classification came to fruition. He finished 9th overall and towards the end of the tour, he showed the climbing skills he possesses with a quality 7th up Mont Ventoux. The fact that he’s coming back into form and he’s an awesome climber makes me believe that he is in with a strong chance to win.

Kreuziger's team mate, Italian Franco Pellizotti won the king of the mountains classification in the Tour de France but missed out on a stage win he was desperate for. This could be the race he wins. Pellizotti finished fifth here last year so he knows that he can figure in the finish again. He’s ridden exceptionally well without results over the last few months. His only win this year came in the Giro d’Italia where he won stage 16 to Blockhaus. He finished third overall and was on the podium on three other occasions. In the Tour de France he attacked and was determined to notch up a win. He came second in stage 8 to Tarbes and third to Vittel in stage 11. He attacked on Mont Ventoux and finished seventh.

Franco Pellizotti on the attack up Mont Ventoux.
photo © 2009 Fotoreporter Sirotti

To come out of the Tour de France without a stage win was tough, even though he claimed the Polka dot Jersey, he deserved to win a stage. Could Spain be where Pellizotti gets his win?

German Linus Gerdemann (Milram) will be looking to make up for a disappointing Tour. He finished 24th overall, 38 minutes behind Contador. This race could be a revival for a Milram team looking for a result. Gerdemann has help in Frohlinger, Knees and Martin and Peter Velits who can deliever him to the line. Onto the form of Gerdemann, he did try a break on a few occasions in the Tour and rode alright. He, like Kirchen also tried to help his team sprinter, Gerald Ciolek to a win. Unfortunately it didn’t happen and Milram will be looking to make amends. Gerdemann’s best result this year was when he won the Bayern Rundfahrt. He also picked up two podium places in the 5 stage race. If he can be up there with the favourites over the Category One Alto de Jaizkibel climb, then look for him to perhaps surprise.

Speaking of the Alto de Jaizkibel, we’ll focus on the two sprinters in this field who could have the firepower and team to make it over the climb. We’ll start with Spaniard Oscar Freire (Rabobank). Freire struggled to feature in the sprints in the Tour de France. Thankfully for Rabobank, Juan Manuel Garate gave them a much needed victory on Mont Ventoux. Looking at Freire’s form this year, he’s only managed two wins. They came back in April with the Tour de Romandie where he won stage 3 and 5. He’s finished on the podium on several occasions. Tour of Switzerland, he came second in stage 3 and 6 and finished third in stage 2. In the Tour de France, he finished second to Hushovd in Barcelona in Stage 5 and he finished third in stage 8. With his climbing ability, we could see Freire in amongst them at the finish.

Italian Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) is also another chance. Like Freire, he can climb and he has had some solid performances in his career, particularly in the one day classics. He won E3 Prijs Vlaanderen and came second in Paris Roubaix and fifth in the Tour of Flanders. He’s the Italian road race champion so look for him to be amongst the action if he can make it over the climb. He’ll be desperate to add a win to his name after the disappointing Tour de France.

With Mark Cavendish not racing, the sprinters need to take the opportunity to win. Without a doubt, they will be going very hard for the victory.

Irish rider Daniel Martin (Garmin-Slipstream) is coming back from a knee injury after showing impressive form during May. Martin showed solid climbing prowess in the Volta a Catalunya claiming third in stage 3 and second in stage 4. Whilst not known as a classics specialist, the rider from Ireland could surprise a few with an eye catching performance.

Other chances: Joaquin Rodriguez (Caisse d’Epargne), Thomas Lovkvist (Columbia-HTC), Janez Brajkovic (Astana) Sylvain Chavanel & Stijn Devolder (Quick Step), David Moncoutie (Cofidis) who finished tenth last year and Haimar Zubeldia (Astana) who finished ninth.

As for my predictions, it’s hard to go past Alejandro Valverde. He is a motivated man and a proven classics specialist winning several classics over the years. I see him being too strong here.

1. Alejandro Valverde
2. Roman Kreuziger
3. Cadel Evans

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