San Remo : Cancellara wins thanks to Iñigo

Maybe the title of this article is a bit too optimistic but this is how you can interpret the end of Milan - San Remo. In general Euskaltel put up a good show. There was an early break with Savini, Frischkorn and Belohvosciks but in the peloton Euskaltel had constantly three men in the front. On the Copa Berta Javier Aramendia struggled and had to let go the peloton. On the Cipressa, one of the two decisive hills, the break was caught by world champion Paolo Bettini. Then Egoi Martinez attacks and tries to reach Bettini together with Barredo, Rebellin, Lövkvist and Axelson, but due to some stupid manoeuvres of Rebellin and Barredo Egoi fell and had to give up his hopes for a good classification. At the same time Juan Jose Oroz has to let the peloton go. At 20 km before the finish the same five together with Savoldelli are still in front but Iñigo manages to reach the groupe together with a few others. In sight of the last kilometer Iñigo attacks, but the lacks the real pace and Cancellara reaches him and jumps over him. With his time trial skills he rode a great last kilometer and won Milan - San Remo. So maybe if Landaluze didn't make his jump, Cancellara would have attacked too late and it would have ended in a sprint, that's why I chose the title :) Iñigo became 14th, totally exhausted. Aitor Galdos came in 26th together with other big sprinters and Ruben Perez.

Results
1. Fabian Cancellara CSC
2. Filippo Pozzato Liquigas
3. Phillipe Gilbert FDJ
...
14. Iñigo Landaluze
26. Aitor Galdos +0:17
37. Ruben Perez +0:17
104. Javier Aramendia +6:11
113. Alan Perez +7:16
143. Egoi Martinez +12:35
144. Juan Jose Oroz +12:35
DNF Koldo Fernandez

Koldo in San Remo

Antton Luengà has left the Tirreno-Adriatico because of personal reasons, hopefully it's nothing to bad and will he soon be back. This means that there is a free spot in the Milan - San Remo selection. This place will be filled with Euskaltel's top sprinter Koldo Fernandez, and of course I'm very happy with this news because with his form I think he definitely has a chance. Together with Landaluze, Galdos, Ruben Perez, Martinez, Oroz, Alan Perez and Aramendia they will have a strong sprint team !

Euskaltel in Tour de France

Today the ASO officially announced that Euskaltel may take part in the Tour de France 2008. Of course there wasn't really a doubt about this, but in these dark times that cycling is in right now you never know. Once again Astana fell out the boat, this means that Contador and Leipheimer won't be able to defend there first and third spot of last year. The wildcards will go to Barloworld, Agritubel and Chipotle.

Tirreno 7 : Iñigo & Egoi in duo-attack

In the seventh stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico we got to see something I never saw before ! Two Euskaltel riders attacked together and made the stage into a duo time trial. This happened because Juan Jose Oroz didn't manage to win the mountains classification. Due to a lack of attention Juanjo saw his jersey go to Lloyd Mondory who took all points on the last climb. Iñigo Landaluze and Egoi Martinez wanted to make this good and started this phenomenal time trial. They never got more than three minutes but when the sprinter teams started to make their train the two didn't stand a chance. Sadly enough it make a sprint and Chicchi won over Napolitano and Cavendish. Ruben Perez finished ok 15th but he had far more potential because at 500 metres he was still in the top 8 of the peloton ! Iñigo Landaluze was the first Euskaltel in the general rank with a 23th place, 7 minutes down on Cancellara.

Results
1 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Liquigas 4.50.50 (36,309 km/h)
2 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre
3 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team High Road
...
15. Ruben Perez ST
42. Egoi Martinez ST
43. Iñigo Landaluze ST
71. Alan Perez +1:34
75. Javier Aramendia +1:34
117. Aitor Galdos +2:32
140. Juan Jose Oroz +5:04

General Rank
1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 28.08.21
2 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Barloworld 0.16
3 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team HigRoad 0.40
...
23. Iñigo Landaluze +7:08
37. Ruben Perez +13:31
47. Egoi Martinez +18:46
59. Juan Jose Oroz +21:56
87. Aitor Galdos +27:19
101. Alan Perez +30:51
143. Javier Aramendia +56:37

Tirreno 6 : Juanjo attacks again

The sixth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico was signed by a big escape of thirteen riders. Among them Bertolini, Kiryienka, Lastras but also our Juan Jose Oroz. They got a good advantage but in the peloton CSC and LPR Brakes set the pace. In the last round of 15 kilometres they still had a small chance to make it to the end but they got caught up again at 4km before the finish. But with this great effort Juanjo is now leading in the mountains classification !!! He's only two points ahead of Mondory and Dion but with only one climb to go I'm sure he will grab this classification. In the sprint Freire won, beating Pozzato and Di Luca. Egoi Martinez was the only one who came in with the peloton, ending on a 23th place. Iñigo Landaluze lost a lot of time, coming in with a group 3 minutes down.

Results
1 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 4.46.44 (41,013 km/h)
2 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas
3 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes
...
23. Egoi Martinez ST
34. Ruben Perez +0:13
111. Juan Jose Oroz +3:09
116. Iñigo Landaluze +3:09
123. Aitor Galdos +4:37
124. Alan Perez +4:37
137. Javier Aramendia +8:37


General Rank
1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 23.17.31
2 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Barloworld 0.16
3Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team High Road 0.40
...
31. Iñigo Landaluze +7:14
42. Ruben Perez +13:31
50. Juan Jose Oroz +16:52
58. Egoi Martinez +18:50
85. Aitor Galdos +24:47
110. Alan Perez +29:17
156. Javier Aramendia +55:03

Tirreno 5 : Time trial

Here are the results of the time-trial in the Tirreno-Adriatico. Like usually, there's not much to talk about. Iñigo was first with a 55th place and he's now 24th in general.

Results
1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC 33.41
2 David Zabriskie (USA) Slipstream Chipotle +0.22
3 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team High Road +0.54
...
55. Iñigo Landaluze +3:05
70. Juan Jose Oroz +3:38
73. Alan Perez +3:42
89. Egoi Martinez +4:01
95. Ruben Perez +4:03
132. Aitor Galdos +5:11
141. Javier Aramendia +5:24

Paris-Nice 8 : Anton attacks, Gorka 7th general

It was Igor Anton who colored the last stage of Paris-Nice orange. He jumped from the peleton to the head groupe and on the last climb he tried to go with Javier Benitez but that didn't work out. L'hottelerie once again tried to get away but Luis Leon Sanchez was the fastest and sprinted to the victory with only a few metres Monfort and Barreda, the peleton followed within 5 seconds. Gorka Verdugo was part of this peloton so he was able to maintain his 7th spot in the general rank, what a great performance of him this week ! Markel, Lander and Dioni left the stage like many others today.

Result
1 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2.51.12 (40.3 km/h)
2 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis
3 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quick Step
...
26. Gorka Verdugo +0:05
31. Igor Anton +0:05
45. Haimar Zubeldia +3:29
66. Aitor Hernandez +15:08

General Rank
1 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 29.02.48
2 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale +0.03
3 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Silence-Lotto +0.48
...
7. Gorka Verdugo +2:17
28. Igor Anton +29:54
30. Haimar Zubeldia +32:15
84. Aitor Hernandez +1:35:36

Tirreno 4 : Ruben again 11th

In the 4th stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico it was once again Ruben Perez who sprinted with the big guys in stead of Aitor Galdos. I hope Aitor is saving himself for Milan-SanRemo next week. Ruben obtained a nice 11th spot in the sprint, the stage victory went to Petacchi before Freire and Pozzato. Early in the race Juan Jose Oroz was able to get in the main break but they couldn't reach the finish.


Results
1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram 3.59.58 (41.505 km/h)
2 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
3 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas
...
11. Ruben Perez ST
43. Iñigo Landaluze ST
57. Alan Perez ST
65. Egoi Martinez ST
118. Aitor Galdos +2:29
134. Juan Jose Oroz +7:42
162. Javier Aramendia +8:30

Paris-Nice 7 : Gorka still 7th in general

Gorka Verdugo is still standing strong in the general rank of Paris - Nice 2008. After the 7th stage there he's still standing on a great 7th place. Today he once showed that he's a good climber. On the last climb of the day he constantly was in the head of the peleton and when the peleton broke he was able to get in the first groupe, unlike the leader Robert Gesink. He lost two minutes on the new leader Davide Rebellin, who was in a break with Nocentini and stage winner Sylvain Chavanel.

Results
1 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 5.00.25 (41.14 km/h)
2 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne +0.02
3 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC
...
13. Gorka Verdugo +0:33
51. Markel Irizar +5:07
55. Haimar Zubeldia +5:07
85. Aitor Hernandez +10:43
102. Igor Anton +19:18
103. Lander Aperribay +19:18
105. Dioni Galparsoro +19:18

Tirreno 3 : Iñigo 18th

In the third stage of the Tirreno - Adriatica Iñigo Landaluze was finally able to show his climbing skills. On the last climb he stayed together with Efimkin, Ballan and Pozzato so that's not nothing ! He's now 25th in the general rank 1:46 down on Axelsson. Winner was Joaquim Rodriguez who escaped on the last climb and made it till the top on his own before Giro-winner Danilo Di Luca. I saw something about the race on the news this morning and there were some problems with a motor and one of the "victims" was someone from Euskaltel, but I couldn't figure out which one :(

Results
1 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 4.44.59 (40.423 km/h)
2 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes +0.12
3 Niklas Axelsson (Swe) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni
...
18. Iñigo Landaluze +0:44
35. Ruben Perez +1:50
42. Juan Jose Oroz +2:20
54. Aitor Galdos +5:05
71. Egoi Martinez +7:24
141. Alan Perez +13:33
157. Javier Aramendia +15:32

Paris-Nice 6 : Gorka 8th in General

Once again it was a quiet day for Euskaltel in the 5th real stage in Paris-Nice. Gorka, Haimar and Dioni were all in the peloton, but Carlos Barredo won the stage with 2:15 advantage. Resulting in a drop from Gorka from the 7th to the 8th place but only five seconds away from Luis Leon Sanchez. Anton didn't came in with the peloton but in a small groupe together with Aitor 8 minutes down, so he lost some spots in the general rank too.

Results
1 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Quick Step 3.58.01 (43.48 km/h)
2 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC +0.04
3 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Scott
...
28. Gorka Verdugo +2:15
34. Haimar Zubeldia +2:15
67. Dioni Galparsoro +2:15
99. Aitor Hernandez +8:21
101. Igor Anton +8:21
115. Markel Irizar +18:50
126. Lander Aperribay +18:50

General Rank
1 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 21.10.28
2 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner +0.32
3 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale +0.35
...
8. Gorka Verdugo +2:11
21. Igor Anton +11:14
39. Haimar Zubeldia +24:22
54. Dioni Galparsoro +31:01
106. Markel Irizar +57:57
121. Lander Aperribay +1:08:36
125. Aitor Hernandez +1:10:28

Tirreno 2 : No Euskaltel

There isn't much to say about the Euskaltel riders in the second stage of the Tirreno - Adriatico. There wasn't one in the break and none was part of the two groups at the end of the stage. Juan Jose Oroz came in first on a 45th place, together with Iñigo Landaluze. The others all lost 8 till 12 minutes.

Results
1 Raffaele Illiano (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni 5.01.10 (40.442 km/h)2 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Barloworld
3 Niklas Axelsson (Swe) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni 0.03
...
45. Juan Jose Oroz +1:06
52. Iñigo Landaluze +1:06
124. Egoi Martinez +8:23
127. Alan Perez +8:23
128. Ruben Perez +8:23
144. Aitor Galdos +8:23
149. Javier Aramendia +12:07

Amets till 2010

Amets Txurruka and Euskaltel-Euskadi finally came to an agreement. Amets will stay with Euskaltel until 2010. His contract would end after this season but the team believes in him and will help him build out his future as a pro racer. Amets is already training again after his fall in the Tour Down Under.

Paris-Nice 5 : Gorka (still) 7th in general

It seems like the Euskaltel riders didn't have their day today, and just now that the legendary Mont Ventoux was on the schedule. Of course a 22th place for Gorka Verdugo isn't exactly bad, but I expected more from Igor and Haimar. Igor probably didn't gave it all to support Gorka but I haven't seen anything from Haimar and that's a bit disappointing. On the climb Robert Gesink from Rabobank showed his great talent but was beaten in the sprint by Cadel Evans.
Due to the fact that Gorka only lost 2.18 minutes, he was able to stay nicely 7th in the general rank. Anton is now 13th, Haimar 42th.

Results
1 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 4.32.56 (38,691 km/h)
2 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank ST
3 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale +0.33
...
21. Igor Anton +2:18
22. Gorka Verdugo +2:18
37. Haimar Zubeldia +4:09
62. Dioni Galparsoro +8:58
86. Aitor Hernandez +15:09
95. Markel Irizar +18:28
97. Lander Aperribai +18:28

General Rank
1 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 17.10.12
2 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner +0.32
3 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale +0.35
...
7. Gorka Verdugo +2:11
13. Igor Anton +4:48
42. Haimar Zubeldia +24:22
61. Dioni Galparsoro +31:01
91. Markel Irizar +41:22
125. Lander Aperribai +52:01
144. Aitor Hernandez +1:04:22

Tirreno 1 : Ruben Perez 11th

The first stage of the Tirreno - Adriatico was a classical sprint one but it wasn't Aitor Galdos who defended the colors of Euskaltel, but Ruben Perez. In the last kilometres he was constantly in the top 20 and at the end he sprinted to a good 11th place. Also Javier Aramendia was active, he tried to get in a break together with Ignatiev, but that didn't work out. Freire won the race before Petacchi and Rojas.

Results
1 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank 4.10.01 (38.397 km/h)
2 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram ST
3 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne ST
...
11. Ruben Perez ST
51. Aitor Galdos ST
88. Juan Jose Oroz ST
107. Egoi Martinez ST
115. Alan Perez ST
116. Iñigo Landaluze ST
144. Javier Aramendia +5:51
166. Antton Luengo +10:06