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Clásica San Sebastián, Spain

13 August, 227K

Saunier Duval-Prodir Repeat with a 1-2

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Today Saunier Duval-Prodir repeated last year's victory of the Clásica San Sebastián, but this time it was a 1-2 success. The Spanish-Swiss team won with Constantino Zaballa, attacking 3K from the line from a small group of seven. In that group was also Zaballa's teammate, Joaquin Rodriguez, who came home for the 2nd pace sprint. A wonderful day for the yellow team under the warm Basque sun.

A warm and sunny day greeted the riders as they departed from San Sebastián for the 25th Clásica San Sebastián. At 25K into the race, on the slopes of the Alto de Garate, the day's big move was formed. There was good team representation in the move of 8: Rubén Lobato (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Christophe Moreau (Crédit Agricole), Michael Barry (Discovery Channel), Patxi Vila (Lampre-Caffita), Mauro Facci (Fassa Bortolo), Roberto Laiseka (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Matthias Kessler (T-Mobile) and Antonio Tauler (Illes Balears).

By the Alto de Azkarate (59K) the group had over 4 minutes to the peloton. Their lead eventually rose as high as 7 minutes before the slopes of the giant Alto de Udana. The peloton started to chip away at the advantage of the escape on the 8K climb (3.2 gradient). By the top there were only 5'30" back to the main field. The Udana was a huge climb, but way too far from the finish to play any role. The Alto de Jaizkibel was going to sort out the race, at 30K to the finish.

Approaching the Jaizkibel with 45K to go the gap was down to 1'35". The early escape was doomed, and the time gap tumbled down to 15" at the foot of the Jaizkibel (39K to go). Phonak was leading the charge with last year's winner, Martin Perdiguero, in their ranks. David Moncoutié (Cofidis) launched a missile as part of the escape group was reeled in. Only Moreau, Vila, Lobato and Kessler were left fighting up the road.

There was a reshuffling, and at 5K to go to the summit there was a new move formed. On the stiffest section Denis Menchov (Rabobank) went away. The Rabo-rider was hammering out the tempo amongst the numerous Basque fans on the Jaizkibel, but he looked labored. Right behind Menchov was a small chase group: Joaquin Rodriguez, Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Davide Rebellin, Levi Leipheimer (both Gerolsteiner), Carlos Sastre (Team CSC), Cadel Evans (Davitamon-Lotto), Stefano Garzelli (Liquigas-Bianchi), Luis Perez (Cofidis).

No where on the course could BiciRace.com see any of the Liberty or Quick-Step boys, or Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) in his white ProTour jersey. On the other hand there was our favorite lesser known team, Relax Fuenlabrada, setting tempo. They were aiding Illes Balears in the pace-making, keeping the time-gap small to the leading group. Also, there amongst the red Relax kits was Igor Astarloa (Barloworld-Valsir). Astarloa was having a great day, even if he did not win.

Over the top of the Jaizkibel, with 30K to ride, the gap was at 20". The front group was jamming downhill in the Basque countryside. Over to their side was the beautiful Atlantic Ocean, and closer on the horizon was the bella città, San Sebastián. A great day for bike racing under the blue skies.

There was a reformation on the descent and the following flatlands. Saunier Duval-Prodir were starting to launch their offensive with the American, Chris Horner. He was attacking like a man possessed for the team's bigger game plan at the end of the day. This went on until the mellow slopes of the Alto de Gurutze. Off the front on the final ascent was a group of four: Joaquin Rodriguez, Denis Menchov, Stefano Garzelli and Davide Rebellin. The four worked up a small gap at the top.

Garzelli was on fire and keeping the pace high. The Italian made the formation of the final group on the decent of the Gurutze. A group of seven came together, and this was to be the winning move. The final 7: Constantino Zaballa, Stefano Garzelli, Haimar Zubeldia, Joaquin Rodriguez, Yon Bru (Kaiku), David Moncoutié, Eddy Mazzoleni (Lampre-Caffita). Menchov cracked after riding so aggressive over the day's final climbs. At 9K to go the 7-man group had 14", this gap was to grow as the kilometers counted down.

The seven made their way to the streets of San Sebastián, with 42" and 5K remaining. Yon Bru (28 year-old) was looking the happiest of all to be in the move. His pink Spanish squadra, Kaiku, was the only non-ProTour team represented. However, it was to be the more experienced Zaballa-Rodriguez duo to win. They played the perfect team card with 3K to go. Zaballa launched up the road, while behind Rodriguez followed any attempts to bridge. This is how you win a race if you have the numbers, and Saunier Duval-Prodir did.

Zooming to the finish line first was Zaballa. The 27 year-old had enough time to celebrate a well earned victory, finishing 20" ahead of his teammate. Rodriguez sprinted off the front of the group of six, beating out Eddy Mazzoleni and Stefano Garzelli. Yon Bru finished a great 5th for his Kaiku team, bravo Bru!

Other riders of note were Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Caffita) and Francesco Mancebo (Illes Balears). The two young riders looked impressive on the day's final climbs. They limited the damage but did not have the support to bring back the winning move. Cunego was satisfied to set back because his teammate, Mazzoleni, was up the road.

Results: 5:24'18", 42.0 K/h
1 Constantino Zaballa (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
2 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.31
3 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
4 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
5 Jon Bru (Spa) Kaiku
6 David Moncoutié (Fra) Cofidis
7 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
8 Unai Yus (Spa) Bouygues Telecom 0.40
9 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Cofidis
10 Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.43
11 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Barloworld-Valsir
12 Chris Horner (USA) Saunier Duval-Prodir
13 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
14 Paolo Valoti (Ita) Domina Vacanze
15 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Illes Balears
16 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto
17 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
18 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC
19 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
20 Luis Perez (Spa) Cofidis
21 José Miguel Elías (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada
22 Luca Solari (Ita) Domina Vacanze
23 Moisés Dueñas (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada
24 Francisco Mancebo (Spa) Illes Balears
25 Aitor González (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
26 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 1.06
27 Patxi Vila (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 2.39
28 Steffen Wesemann (Ger) T-Mobile
29 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Liberty Seguros-Würth
30 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel
31 Sébastien Joly (Fra) Crédit Agricole 3.44
32 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Domina Vacanze 3.55
33 Marcus Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner
34 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank
35 Marco Serpellini (Ita) Gerolsteiner
36 Björn Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
37 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel
38 Jorge Garcia (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada
39 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner
40 Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) Liberty Seguros-Würth
41 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
42 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) Illes Balears
43 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team CSC
44 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux
45 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Lampre-Caffita
46 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Crédit Agricole
47 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Française Des Jeux
48 Didier Rous (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
49 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
50 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Liquigas-Bianchi
51 Luca Celli (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir
52 Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada
53 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick-Step
54 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Domina Vacanze
55 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Crédit Agricole
56 Pablo Lastras (Spa) Illes Balears
57 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Liberty Seguros-Würth
58 Israel Nuñez (Spa) Kaiku
59 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto
60 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Phonak
61 Joseba Albizu (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
62 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile
63 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas-Bianchi
64 Luis Perez (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada
65 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel
66 Gorka Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
67 Bingen Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis
68 Volodimir Gustov (Ukr) Fassa Bortolo
69 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
70 Javier Pascual Llorente (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana
71 Manuel Calvente (Spa) Team CSC
72 Juan Miguel Mercado (Spa) Quick-Step
73 Andrea Noè (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
74 Rafael Casero (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
75 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank
76 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak
77 Mauricio Ardila (Col) Davitamon-Lotto
78 José Antonio Pecharroman (Spa) Quick-Step
79 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Crédit Agricole
80 Daniel Atienza (Spa) Cofidis
81 Xavier Florencio (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada
82 Javier Pascual Rodríguez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana
83 David Herrero (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
84 Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Team CSC
85 David Latasa (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana
86 Massimo Giunti (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
87 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner
88 Francisco Cabello (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana
89 Angel Casero (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana
90 Ezequiel Mosquera (Spa) Kaiku
91 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Fassa Bortolo
92 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
93 Axel Merckx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
94 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
95 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
96 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
97 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Crédit Agricole
98 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Quick-Step
99 Daniele Nardello (Ita) T-Mobile
100 Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze
101 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel
102 Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 4.05
103 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
104 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Rabobank 6.08
105 Oscar Sevilla (Spa) T-Mobile 8.06
106 Pierrick Fédrigo (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
107 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis 8.34
108 Victor Hugo Peña (Col) Phonak 11.08
109 Oscar Laguna (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada
110 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Illes Balears
111 Iker Leonet (Spa) Illes Balears
112 Nicki Sørensen (Den) Team CSC
113 Mauro Facci (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
114 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française Des Jeux
115 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra) Française Des Jeux
116 Manuel Lloret (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana
117 José Luis Martinez (Spa) Comunidad Valenciana
118 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas-Bianchi
119 David De La Fuente (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
120 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
121 Paolo Longo (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir
122 Stefano Cavallari (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir
123 Javier Ramirez (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth
124 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth
125 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Cofidis
126 Inaki Isasi (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
127 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
128 Francisco José Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 11.15
129 Miguel Angel Perdiguero (Spa) Phonak
130 Roberto Laiseka (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
131 David Etxebarria (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth
132 Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 12.23
133 Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
134 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Phonak
135 Benoît Poilvet (Fra) Crédit Agricole
136 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel
137 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Crédit Agricole
138 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
139 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole
140 Walter Bénéteau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
141 Iban Mayoz (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 15.37
142 Pedro Horrillo (Spa) Rabobank 16.04
143 Rubén Oarbeascoa (Spa) Kaiku
144 Ricardo Serrano (Spa) Kaiku
145 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile
146 Antonio Tauler (Spa) Illes Balears
147 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas-Bianchi
148 Mickaël Delage (Fra) Française Des Jeux
149 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Domina Vacanze

Mountains
Alto De Orio - Zudugarai - Cat. 3
1 Oscar Laguna (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 3
2 Joseba Albizu (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2
3 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1

Alto De Garate - Cat. 2
1 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 6
2 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel 4
3 Francisco Javier Vila (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 2
4 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Crédit Agricole 1

Alto De Azkarate - Cat. 2
1 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 6
2 Francisco Javier Vila (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 4
3 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel 2
4 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Crédit Agricole 1

Alto De Udana - Cat. 2
1 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 6
2 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel 4
3 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Crédit Agricole 2
4 Francisco Javier Vila (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 1

Alto De Jaizkibel - Cat. 1
1 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 10
2 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 8
3 Luis Perez (Spa) Cofidis 6
4 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 4
5 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 2
6 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 1

Alto De Gurutze - Cat. 3
1 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 3
2 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 2
3 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1

Mountains
1 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 18
2 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 10
3 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel 10
4 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Gerolsteiner 8
5 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 7
6 Francisco Javier Vila (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 7
7 Luis Perez (Spa) Cofidis 6
8 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Crédit Agricole 4
9 Oscar Laguna (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 3
10 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 2
11 Cadel Evans (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 2
12 Joseba Albizu (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2
13 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1
14 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Team CSC 1
15 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1

Metas volantes
Zarautz
1 Oscar Laguna (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 3
2 Adrián Palomares (Spa) Kaiku 2
3 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Illes Balears 1

Azpeitia
1 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel 3
2 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 2
3 Francisco Javier Vila (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 1

Tolosa
1 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel 3
2 Francisco Javier Vila (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 2
3 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1

Irún
1 Francisco Javier Vila (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 3
2 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Illes Balears 2
3 Jon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 1

Oiartzun
1 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 3
2 Jon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 2
3 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1

Metas volantes
1 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel 6
2 Francisco Javier Vila (Spa) Lampre-Caffita 6
3 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 3
4 Oscar Laguna (Spa) Relax Fuenlabrada 3
5 Jon Bru (Spa) Kaiku 3
6 Ruben Lobato (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 3
7 Xabier Zandio (Spa) Illes Balears 2
8 Adrián Palomares (Spa) Kaiku 2
9 Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1
10 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Illes Balears 1

Teams
1 Saunier Duval-Prodir 15
2 Cofidis 35
3 Euskaltel-Euskadi 42
4 Lampre-Caffita 47
5 Domina Vacanze 68
6 Gerolsteiner 72
7 Illes Balears 81
8 Relax Fuenlabrada 82
9 Bouygues Telecom 105
10 Davitamon-Lotto 111
11 Liquigas-Bianchi 117
12 Liberty Seguros-Würth 126
13 Rabobank 128
14 Team CSC 132
15 Discovery Channel 132
16 Crédit Agricole 132
17 Kaiku 153
18 Barloworld-Valsir 183
19 T-Mobile 189
20 Quick-Step 203
21 Française Des Jeux 205
22 Fassa Bortolo 223
23 Comunidad Valenciana 237
24 Phonak 244