65th Vuelta a España - Stage 1 Live Part 2
HTC/Columbia lead the rankings with 12 teams to
finish...
August
28
Stage 1: Sevilla Team Time Trial 13.0 km
2253 CET - Euskatel are fast
approaching the finish. If they beat HTC Columbia I will eat my hat. And no,
they won't. That time has passed, and they have just the five men remaining.
14'33" is their time - sixth fastest currently.
I'm surprisingly shocked.
The orange warriors of Euskaltel - Euskadi
Photo © 2010 Fotoreporter
Sirotti
The LiquiBoys are off next - I can't wait to see how scary their green
jerseys and bikes look. Nice! It looks like they've swallowed radioactive waste.
Let's see if they have "too many cooks" in their line-up. Gaps already appearing
in their line, with two riders breaking clear of one chaser, then another six
frantically trying to catch up.
2257 CET - Lampre emerge from a
sea of light from the motorcycles and cars behind them. Again HTC-Colmubia
aren't threatened......14'20" sees them take
second right now. That bodes well for the sprints, where time bonuses are
(thankfully) awarded at the finish line.
2300 CEST - The frustratingly annoying to
spell and pronounce Xacobeo-Galicia have just left the startline, and look far
more cohesive than the last team, Liquigas, through the opening twisty and
narrow section.
Here come Team Sky to the finish line. And again, they will not
trouble the current leaders. Remember they won the TTT events in the Giro and
the Tour of Qatar this year. 8th fastest for them,
14'34". Surely their goal is for stage wins this time around?
Twelve teams have finished, three are on the course and
Garmin-Transitions are joining Cofidis, Liquigas and Xacobeo-Galicia on the road
shortly.
Christian Vandevelde is back in action after his horrific crash on stage 2 of
the Tour. Interestingly, Julian Dean has opted for a road helmet, as opposed to
the TT aero equivalent One minute into their ride, they have already dropped one
rider. Dare I say that's the casual looking Dean?
2306 CEST - Cofidis are
about the post their time, which is 14'34" -
narrowly pipping Sky into 8th place.
Next to start are Astana, who look as if they will target the sprint finishes
with Allan Davis.
Remember that man Alberto Contador - three (or two, depending on who you ask)
time winner of the Tour de France - is NOT riding his home tour again.
Garmin have not shed any further riders since Julian Dean dropped back in the
opening pedal strokes of the stage.
Liquigas keeps a tight formation
Photo © 2010 Fotoreporter
Sirotti
2309 CEST - Liquigas look to be
close to the HTC Columbia time..........Kreuziger leads them across the line in
14'16", so second for the LiqiLads.
And of course, Liquigas won the TTT in the 2010 Giro - it wasn't Sky, who
triumphed with Bradley Wiggins in the opening INDIVIDUAL TT. Sack the
writer with messages to ineverforgivesillymistak ··· oton.com...
Current Top three:
HTC-Columbia 14'06"
Liquigas - Doimo 14'16"
Lampre - Farnese Vini 14'20"
2312 CEST - Caisse d'Epargne are next to
start, and remember the rider who won this race for them in 2009 - Alejandro
Valverde - is banned for nearly 18 months still. His victory from 2009 still
counts, though...
Xacobeo-Galicia finish, but their time hasn't popped up on the timing
screens. It will be interesting to see how Ezequiel Mosquera fares in the
mountains - a stage win is possible.
2315 CEST - All eyes on the Schleck
brothers as Team Saxo Bank set off. Fabian Cancellara and Stuart O'Grady are
also here - if anyone is going to beat HTC-Columbia, it's these guys.
Remember Andy Schleck is the Luxembourg TT Champion too, the now-famous event in
which four riders competed. Two of those competing had a surname which
rhymes with Dreck...
Saying that, what can Garmin - Transitions do? The 5 men left for this
team are coming to the finish line...... Vandevelde leads them home, and again
there are no time checks on the TV feed or race radio.
2320 CEST - Rabobank, lead by Denis
Menchov, begin their TTT around Sevilla. The Russian is going for his third
Vuelta victory, but let's not forget they have a three time World Champion in
Oscar Freire riding, who I suspect will not race to Madrid three weeks'
tomorrow. However, the last three winners of the Worlds finished the Vuelta.
team Andalucia Caja Sur their sponsor promotes the beautiful province of Spain.
Photo © 2010 Fotoreporter
Sirotti
Just two teams left to launch - Cervelo
and Andalucia-CajaSur - left to start now.
2321 CEST - Garmin finished in
14'23", currently 4th fastest and 17" behind
HTC-Columbia.
However, we do have a time check for Astana, whose five men finish the
TTT in 14'47", nearly a whole minute behind
the current fastest time.
The Carlos Sastre-led Cervelo Test Team take the start of the 13km TTT. This
is the last GT for this team as we know it, who will undergo a winter of
transition in a few months. Thor Hushovd is also here to compete with Cav,
Pettachi and Davis et al beginning tomorrow.
2325 CEST - One of the Rabobank riders -
luckily it isn't Menchov - has a puncture. It looks like it was Freire. No-one
stops to wait for the Spaniard, who won't be bothered by that too much.
Caisse d'Epargne with Spanish National champion Luis Leon Sanchez in his red and
yellow time trial jersey.
Photo © 2010 Fotoreporter
Sirotti
14'31" is the time for Caisse
d'Epargne, currently 9th fastest. Luis Leon Sanchez, wearing a red and
yellow skin suit to show he is the Spanish TT Champion, wins the award for most
colorful rider today. Beating the whole of Liquigas and Andalucía-CajaSur teams
combined...
The latter pink-clad squad begin now. They are the last team to start today.
The local team are led by Jose Marchante, who could easily place in the top 15
come the finish in a couple of weeks' time.
Slightly up the road, Philip Deignan has been dropped by the Cervelo train.
It may be difficult for him to beat the 9th place he achieved here last year.
2330 CEST - Here come Saxo Bank.
And despite having Super Fab and the Schlecks, they don't beat HTC Columbia.
In fact, they come over in the most disorganised way possible, with Fabian
Cancellara looking understandably aggrieved.
We're not 100% sure on the Saxo Bank time yet, but we know that they haven't
pipped HTC Columbia. In fact, it looks inevitable that Mark Cavendish will be
putting on the Red Jersey for race leader (the Gold Jersey has said "hasta la
vista" to the race).
2334 CEST - Rabobank cross the line
in 14'42", leaving them in 17th place.
Not a tragedy for Menchov, but not brilliant at the same time.
Just the two teams left to finish, and Cervelo have just 1.5km of their
nocturnal ride left to complete.
2337 CEST - Saxo Bank
posted a 14'18", so not as bad as their ugly finish had suggested.
The penultimate finishers, Cervelo Test Team, cross the line in
14'19", which is a good time, although a small
gap emerged between the leading two and the final three of the first group of
riders across the line. Sastre and Hushovd were among the five.
2339 CEST - Only Andalucía-CajaSur
can beat HTC - Columbia, yet I don't quite think this will happen. Not long
until we find out, I guess.. 1km to go for this local team, who have all of
their nine riders intact as they approach the finish. They've ridden well, but
may only beat a couple of teams. 14'55"
is their time, 21st fastest, so they still beat Footon - Servetto.
65th Vuelta a España -
Stage 1 Results
Sevilla Team Time Trial 13 km
1.HTC-Columbia 14'06"
2.Liquigas-Doimo - 0:10
3.Saxo Bank - 0:12
4.Cervelo TestTeam - 0:13
5.Lampre - 0:14
6.Garmin-Transitions - 0:17
7.Omega Pharma-Lotto - 0:17
8.Team Milram - 0:18
9.Team Katusha - 0:20
10.QuickStep - 0:23
11.Caisse d'Epargne - 0:25
12.Xacobeo-Galicia - 0:26
13.Euskaltel-Euskadi - 0:27
14.Team Sky - 0:28
15.Cofidis - 0:28
16.FdJ - 0:33
17.AG2R-La Mondiale - 0:33
18.Rabobank - 0:36
19.Bbox Bouygues Telecom - 0:39
20.Astana - 0:41
21. Andalucía-CajaSur - 0:49
22. Footon-Servetoo - 0:57
2345 CEST - So HTC Columbia's Mark
Cavendish will take the race leader's Red Jersey, which will sit one day
alongside the Pink he wore for a handful of days in the 2008 Giro d'Italia.
Also, the Alcalá de Guadaíra - Marbella stage two tomorrow (173.7 km) is
perfect for the Brit, especially as the final 20km are nearly all downhill.
General Classification After Stage 1
1. Mark Cavendish 14'06"
2. Peter Velits @ same time
3. Martin Velits
4. Lars Ytting Bak
5. Hayden Roulston
6. Kanstantsin Siutsou
7. Tejay Van Garderen
8. Matthew Goss
9. Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) - 0:10
10. Frederik Willems (Liquigas) - 0:10
2353 CET - That concludes the opening
stage of the 2010 Vuelta a Espana. Perhaps the sight was more spectacular than
the racing, nonetheless it was a unique stage which sets the GC up nicely. Those
guys can have a brief rest while the sprinters have their inevitable glory,
starting on the run in Marbella tomorrow afternoon.
Keep with the Daily Peloton for around the clock coverage of this thrilling
race - full reaction to today's TTT and photos will follow shortly. For the
moment, thanks for choosing us, and if you're in Europe it may be worth getting
some sleep now!
65th Vuelta a España
August
28 - Stage 1: Sevilla Team Time Trial 13.0 km
29 - Stage 2: Alcalá de Guadaíra - Marbella 173.7 km
30 - Stage 3: Marbella - Málaga 157.3 km
31 - Stage 4: Málaga - Valdepeñas de Jaén 183.8 km
September:
01 Stage 5: Guadix - Lorca 198.8 km
02 - Stage 6: Caravaca de Cruz - Murcia 151 km
03 - Stage 7: Murcia - Orihuela 187.1 km
04 - Stage 8: Villena - Xorret del Catí 190 km
05 - Stage 9: Calpe - Alcoy 187.7 km
06 - 1rst Rest Day
07 - Stage 10: Tarragona - Vilanova i la Geltrú 175.7 km
08 - Stage 11: Vilanova i la Geltrú - Andorra Pal 208.4 km
09 - Stage 12: Andorra la Vella - Lleida 172.5 km
10 - Stage 13: Rincón de Soto - Burgos 196 km
11 - Stage 14: Burgos - Peña Cabarga 178 km
12 - Stage 15: Solares - Lagos de Covadonga 187.3 km
13 - Stage 16: Gijón - Cotobello 181.4 km
14 - 2nd Rest Day
15 - Stage 17 ITT: Peñafiel - Peñafiel 46 km
16 - Stage 18: Valladolid - Salamanca 148.9 km
17 - Stage 19: Piedrahita - Toledo 231.2 km
18 - Stage 20: S.Martín de Valdeiglesias - Bola del Mundo 172.1 km
19. Stage 21: San Sebastián de los Reyes - Madrid 85 km
Total distance: 3424.9 Kilometer
Celebrating our tenth year!
Help
Support the Daily Peloton
| 
