TOUR OF SPAIN (August 24 – September 15)Stage 3, Vigo – Mirador de Lobeira (184,8 km)
Two months prior to turning 42, Chris Horner has won his first stage in a Grand Tour in his nineteenth season as a pro cyclist and taken the red jersey of the Vuelta a España from Vincenzo Nibali. Nobody was able to follow his attack with 1-km to go to the top of the Mirador de Lobeira above Villagarcia de Arousa in a spectacular stage alongside the windy coast of Galicia.
Just like the day before, a breakaway went from the gun. Basque rider Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel) was joined at the front by Fabricio Ferrari (Caja Rural) who is the only pro rider from uruguay, Cyril Bessy (Cofidis), Vicente Reynes (Lotto-Belisol) and a bit further by Luca Dodi (Lampre-Merida). Their advantage went up to 5.56 at km 24, after which Astana and Omega Pharma-Quick Step took control of the peloton and maintained the gap around four minutes. Later on, BMC and Belkin took part in the chase. Breakaway riders only had one minute lead with 70km to go.
A couple of crashes occurred. One of them affected Sergio Henao (Team Sky) with 63km to go but the Colombian who got hungerflat towards the end of the previous stage managed to get back on this time around. Approaching the island of Arousa 37km before the end, climbers Mikel Nieve and Domenico Pozzovivo got caught in another crash caused by the strong crosswind. AG2R-La Mondiale, Euskaltel and Omega Pharma-Quick Step rode behind until they made it back in the bunch with 20km to go.
Up to the Mirador de Lobeira, Juan-Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM) attacked. Italian champion Ivan Santaromita (BMC) countered but American veteran Horner from the oldest team of the Vuelta RadioShack-Leopard (with an average age over 32 years) emerged in the last kilometre and finished solo.
Horner will wear the red jersey tomorrow during stage 4 from Lalin to Fisterra, called “la etape del fin del mundo”, which means the stage of the end of the world. It’s not the end of the world to ride the Vuelta with success at the age of 42!
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Chris Horner : “My contract is free and open”
What’s your feeling about winning a stage and taking the red jersey at the Vuelta?
It’s a big emotion of course. I can say that I’ve waited for that moment for a long time. My goal was to wear the red jersey. I thought the team time trial could take me there. I had it in mind before the start of today’s stage. It’s a dream come true.
How do you manage to keep this winner’s mentality at the age of 42?
It’s very easy: I love to race on a bike, I love to train on a bike. Every day I understand that at my age, it might be the last time I’m riding. It’s possible that I crash and it could mean “never again”, so every day it’s easy to stay focus and motivated. With my experience, I can appreciate how difficult it can be to win and how bizarre it is to be a winner when many others have stopped racing. I won’t make names but today someone in the bunch told me he was tired of bike racing, but as I get older, I love the sport more and more and I want to continue.
Can you describe the last kilometer?
Everyone was attacking from the bottom to the top of the climb, and still, some riders left a gap and I just decided to put my head down and go full gas till the line. How many times had someone worn a leader’s jersey in a Grand Tour at 42 and won a stage at the Vuelta?
What’s your objective after this one?
It is to get the highest place possible on GC at the Vuelta. The most difficult part for me is the time trial. Sometimes I can do well, like I won the Tour of the Basque country [in 2010] thanks to the time trial, but it’s difficult for me to say that I can win against guys who can both climb and time trial. I can climb very good but I cannot always time trial very good.
What’s your contract situation for next season?
RadioShack has been a fantastic sponsor, to the team and to me personally but the contract is terminated. I want to continue racing, so my contract is free and open.
Former race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana): “I just can’t sprint like this! This kind of finale is not suitable for me. The stage went pretty smoothly for me. Chris Horner anticipated the sprint at the right moment. I can’t be disappointed by losing the leader’s jersey because I didn’t even look for it!”
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar): “I could have won this stage because the finale suited me well and I had the legs to finish it off, but never mind, with the time bonus, it’s a positive result to come second. Initially, we didn’t intend to contest it but how the race unfolded forced to ride at the front. That’s why ‘Purito’ was also up there. At the Vuelta, you can’t sit up, it’s important to get time bonus.”
Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodriguez (Katusha): “I thought I’d catch Chris Horner but to say the truth, he did a great job. I did my best for finishing second but Valverde was faster than me. Anyway, I’m satisfied with my shape, considering that I haven’t raced for a month after the Tour de France.”
Mikel Nieve (Euskaltel): “In the crash, I lost about one minute and it has taken me a lot of fatigue for coming across. Chasing with the crosswinds was not the easiest thing to do. After the Tour de France, I’m not in my best shape but I’m relieved that I’ve limited the losses at the end.”
1º 184 HORNER, Christopher USA RLT 4:30:18 10″
2º 1 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP MOV a 3 6″
3º 121 RODRIGUEZ, Joaquin ESP KAT a 3 4″
4º 198 URAN, Rigoberto COL SKY a 3
5º 111 MARTIN, Daniel IRL GRS a 3
6º 41 MOLLEMA, Bauke NED BEL a 3
7º 131 SCARPONI, Michele ITA LAM a 3
8º 189 ZUBELDIA, Haimar ESP RLT a 3
9º 205 ROCHE, Nicolas IRL TST a 3
10º 71 BASSO, Ivan ITA CAN a 3
11º 31 NIBALI, Vincenzo ITA AST a 3
12º 202 MAJKA, Rafal POL TST a 3
13º 127 MORENO, Daniel ESP KAT a 3
14º 191 HENAO, Sergio Luis COL SKY a 13
15º 11 POZZOVIVO, Domenico ITA ALM a 13
16º 22 BARGUIL, Warren FRA ARG a 13
17º 46 SÁNCHEZ, Luis León ESP BEL a 13
18º 156 HUZARSKI, Bartosz POL TNE a 13
19º 186 KISERLOVSKI, Robert CRO RLT a 13
20º 96 NIEVE, Mikel ESP EUS a 13
21º 48 TEN DAM, Laurens NED BEL a 13
22º 201 KREUZIGER, Roman CZE TST a 13
23º 91 SÁNCHEZ, Samuel ESP EUS a 13
24º 139 ULISSI, Diego ITA LAM a 13
25º 101 PINOT, Thibaut FRA FDJ a 13
26º 151 KONIG, Leopold CZE TNE a 13
27º 58 SANTAROMITA, Ivan ITA BMC a 13
28º 56 NERZ, Dominik GER BMC a 13
29º 19 NOCENTINI, Rinaldo ITA ALM a 13
30º 2 CAPECCHI, Eros ITA MOV a 13
31º 52 EIJSSEN, Yannick BEL BMC a 13
32º 8 MORENO, Javier ESP MOV a 13
33º 206 SÖRENSEN, Chris Anker DEN TST a 13
34º 103 ELISSONDE, Kenny FRA FDJ a 13
35º 209 ZAUGG, Oliver SUI TST a 24
36º 32 BRAJKOVIC, Janez SLO AST a 24
37º 51 GILBERT, Philippe BEL BMC a 24
38º 164 MEERSMAN, Gianni BEL OPQ a 24
39º 104 GENIEZ, Alexandre FRA FDJ a 29
40º 92 ANTON, Igor ESP EUS a 29
41º 166 SERRY, Pieter BEL OPQ a 29
42º 5 HERRADA, José ESP MOV a 29
43º 107 ROUX, Anthony FRA FDJ a 29
44º 36 KANGERT, Tanel EST AST a 29
45º 183 HERMANS, Ben BEL RLT a 29
46º 63 CARDOSO, Andre POR CJR a 29
47º 157 MENDES, José Joao POR TNE a 29
48º 212 BOLE, Grega SLO VCD a 33
49º 82 BAGOT, Yohann FRA COF a 37
50º 178 MATTHEWS, Michael AUS OGE a 41
51º 141 DE CLERCQ, Bart BEL LTB a 44
52º 154 DE LA CRUZ, David ESP TNE a 48
53º 148 VANENDERT, Jelle BEL LTB a 51
54º 27 PREIDLER, Georg AUT ARG a 51
55º 216 MARCZYNSKI, Tomasz POL VCD a 51
56º 165 PAUWELS, Serge BEL OPQ a 51
57º 68 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP CJR a 51
58º 9 SZMYD, Sylvester POL MOV a 1:03
59º 81 COPPEL, Jerome FRA COF a 1:03
60º 122 CARUSO, Giampaolo ITA KAT a 1:03
61º 61 ARROYO, David ESP CJR a 1:11
62º 78 SARMIENTO, Cayetano José COL CAN a 1:11
63º 123 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS KAT a 1:11
64º 12 BERARD, Julien FRA ALM a 1:11
65º 159 VOSS, Paul GER TNE a 1:15
2º 1 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP MOV a 3 6″
3º 121 RODRIGUEZ, Joaquin ESP KAT a 3 4″
4º 198 URAN, Rigoberto COL SKY a 3
5º 111 MARTIN, Daniel IRL GRS a 3
6º 41 MOLLEMA, Bauke NED BEL a 3
7º 131 SCARPONI, Michele ITA LAM a 3
8º 189 ZUBELDIA, Haimar ESP RLT a 3
9º 205 ROCHE, Nicolas IRL TST a 3
10º 71 BASSO, Ivan ITA CAN a 3
11º 31 NIBALI, Vincenzo ITA AST a 3
12º 202 MAJKA, Rafal POL TST a 3
13º 127 MORENO, Daniel ESP KAT a 3
14º 191 HENAO, Sergio Luis COL SKY a 13
15º 11 POZZOVIVO, Domenico ITA ALM a 13
16º 22 BARGUIL, Warren FRA ARG a 13
17º 46 SÁNCHEZ, Luis León ESP BEL a 13
18º 156 HUZARSKI, Bartosz POL TNE a 13
19º 186 KISERLOVSKI, Robert CRO RLT a 13
20º 96 NIEVE, Mikel ESP EUS a 13
21º 48 TEN DAM, Laurens NED BEL a 13
22º 201 KREUZIGER, Roman CZE TST a 13
23º 91 SÁNCHEZ, Samuel ESP EUS a 13
24º 139 ULISSI, Diego ITA LAM a 13
25º 101 PINOT, Thibaut FRA FDJ a 13
26º 151 KONIG, Leopold CZE TNE a 13
27º 58 SANTAROMITA, Ivan ITA BMC a 13
28º 56 NERZ, Dominik GER BMC a 13
29º 19 NOCENTINI, Rinaldo ITA ALM a 13
30º 2 CAPECCHI, Eros ITA MOV a 13
31º 52 EIJSSEN, Yannick BEL BMC a 13
32º 8 MORENO, Javier ESP MOV a 13
33º 206 SÖRENSEN, Chris Anker DEN TST a 13
34º 103 ELISSONDE, Kenny FRA FDJ a 13
35º 209 ZAUGG, Oliver SUI TST a 24
36º 32 BRAJKOVIC, Janez SLO AST a 24
37º 51 GILBERT, Philippe BEL BMC a 24
38º 164 MEERSMAN, Gianni BEL OPQ a 24
39º 104 GENIEZ, Alexandre FRA FDJ a 29
40º 92 ANTON, Igor ESP EUS a 29
41º 166 SERRY, Pieter BEL OPQ a 29
42º 5 HERRADA, José ESP MOV a 29
43º 107 ROUX, Anthony FRA FDJ a 29
44º 36 KANGERT, Tanel EST AST a 29
45º 183 HERMANS, Ben BEL RLT a 29
46º 63 CARDOSO, Andre POR CJR a 29
47º 157 MENDES, José Joao POR TNE a 29
48º 212 BOLE, Grega SLO VCD a 33
49º 82 BAGOT, Yohann FRA COF a 37
50º 178 MATTHEWS, Michael AUS OGE a 41
51º 141 DE CLERCQ, Bart BEL LTB a 44
52º 154 DE LA CRUZ, David ESP TNE a 48
53º 148 VANENDERT, Jelle BEL LTB a 51
54º 27 PREIDLER, Georg AUT ARG a 51
55º 216 MARCZYNSKI, Tomasz POL VCD a 51
56º 165 PAUWELS, Serge BEL OPQ a 51
57º 68 TXURRUKA, Amets ESP CJR a 51
58º 9 SZMYD, Sylvester POL MOV a 1:03
59º 81 COPPEL, Jerome FRA COF a 1:03
60º 122 CARUSO, Giampaolo ITA KAT a 1:03
61º 61 ARROYO, David ESP CJR a 1:11
62º 78 SARMIENTO, Cayetano José COL CAN a 1:11
63º 123 GUSEV, Vladimir RUS KAT a 1:11
64º 12 BERARD, Julien FRA ALM a 1:11
65º 159 VOSS, Paul GER TNE a 1:15
66º 215 HOOGERLAND, Johnny NED VCD a 1:23
67º 218 VALLS FERRI, Rafael ESP VCD a 1:23
68º 89 ZINGLE, Romain BEL COF a 1:23
69º 136 MORI, Manuele ITA LAM a 1:26
70º 138 STORTONI, Simone ITA LAM a 1:26
71º 152 BARTA, Jan CZE TNE a 1:37
72º 182 BUSCHE, Matthew USA RLT a 1:37
73º 192 BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald NOR SKY a 1:48
74º 149 VANENDERT, Dennis BEL LTB a 1:51
75º 119 VAN SUMMEREN, Johan BEL GRS a 1:51
76º 69 VELASCO, Ivan ESP CJR a 2:11
77º 25 JANSE VAN RENSBURG, RSA ARG a 2:19
78º 169 VANDEWALLE, Kristof BEL OPQ a 2:22
79º 108 SOUPE, Geoffrey FRA FDJ a 2:24
80º 161 MARTIN, Tony GER OPQ a 2:24
81º 214 FLECHA, Juan Antonio ESP VCD a 2:26
82º 59 WYSS, Danilo SUI BMC a 2:26
83º 174 COOKE, Baden AUS OGE a 2:26
84º 211 POELS, Wouter NED VCD a 2:55
85º 23 FRÖHLINGER, Johannes GER ARG a 2:55
86º 85 MATE, Luis Angel ESP COF a 2:55
87º 195 KNEES, Christian GER SKY a 2:55
88º 129 VICIOSO, Angel ESP KAT a 2:59
89º 77 RATTO, Daniele ITA CAN a 2:59
90º 53 KOHLER, Martin SUI BMC a 3:04
91º 24 HUPOND, Thierry FRA ARG a 3:44
92º 28 SINKELDAM, Ramon NED ARG a 3:44
93º 145 REYNES, Vicente ESP LTB a 3:44 2″
94º 143 HANSEN, Adam AUS LTB a 3:44
95º 175 DOCKER, Mitchell AUS OGE a 3:44
96º 144 HENDERSON, Gregory NZL LTB a 3:44
97º 112 FAIRLY, Caleb USA GRS a 3:44
98º 142 DE GREEF, Francis BEL LTB a 4:10
99º 95 MARTÍNEZ, Egoi ESP EUS a 4:10
100º 99 VERDUGO, Gorka ESP EUS a 4:10
101º 187 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR RLT a 4:10
102º 125 KOZONTCHUK, Dmitry RUS KAT a 4:16
103º 181 CANCELLARA, Fabian SUI RLT a 4:51
104º 185 IRIZAR, Markel ESP RLT a 4:51
105º 33 FUGLSANG, Jacob DEN AST a 4:51
106º 18 MONTAGUTI, Matteo ITA ALM a 4:51
107º 146 VAN DE WALLE, Jurgen BEL LTB a 4:51
108º 97 OROZ, Juan Jose ESP EUS a 4:51
109º 4 GUTIERREZ, José Iván ESP MOV a 4:51
110º 29 STAMSNIJDER, Tom NED ARG a 4:51
111º 44 CLEMENT, Stef NED BEL a 4:51
112º 196 PUCCIO, Salvatore ITA SKY a 4:51
113º 3 ERVITI, Imanol ESP MOV a 4:51
114º 39 ZEITS, Andrey KAZ AST a 4:51
115º 199 ZANDIO, Xabier ESP SKY a 4:51
116º 55 LODEWYCK, Klaas BEL BMC a 4:51
117º 66 LASCA, Francesco ITA CJR a 4:51
118º 35 IGLINSKIY, Maxim KAZ AST a 4:51
119º 7 LASTRAS, Pablo ESP MOV a 4:51
120º 203 MORKOV, Michael DEN TST a 4:51
121º 158 SCHORN, Daniel AUT TNE a 5:18
122º 14 CHAINEL, Steve FRA ALM a 5:40
123º 16 GASTAUER, Ben LUX ALM a 5:40
124º 106 PINEAU, Cédric FRA FDJ a 5:40
125º 124 ISAICHEV, Vladimir RUS KAT a 5:40
126º 105 MANGEL, Laurent FRA FDJ a 5:40
127º 75 LONGO BORGHINI, Paolo ITA CAN a 5:40
128º 76 PATERSKI, Maciej POL CAN a 5:40
129º 193 CATALDO, Dario ITA SKY a 5:40
130º 72 BOIVIN, Guillaume CAN CAN a 5:40
67º 218 VALLS FERRI, Rafael ESP VCD a 1:23
68º 89 ZINGLE, Romain BEL COF a 1:23
69º 136 MORI, Manuele ITA LAM a 1:26
70º 138 STORTONI, Simone ITA LAM a 1:26
71º 152 BARTA, Jan CZE TNE a 1:37
72º 182 BUSCHE, Matthew USA RLT a 1:37
73º 192 BOASSON HAGEN, Edvald NOR SKY a 1:48
74º 149 VANENDERT, Dennis BEL LTB a 1:51
75º 119 VAN SUMMEREN, Johan BEL GRS a 1:51
76º 69 VELASCO, Ivan ESP CJR a 2:11
77º 25 JANSE VAN RENSBURG, RSA ARG a 2:19
78º 169 VANDEWALLE, Kristof BEL OPQ a 2:22
79º 108 SOUPE, Geoffrey FRA FDJ a 2:24
80º 161 MARTIN, Tony GER OPQ a 2:24
81º 214 FLECHA, Juan Antonio ESP VCD a 2:26
82º 59 WYSS, Danilo SUI BMC a 2:26
83º 174 COOKE, Baden AUS OGE a 2:26
84º 211 POELS, Wouter NED VCD a 2:55
85º 23 FRÖHLINGER, Johannes GER ARG a 2:55
86º 85 MATE, Luis Angel ESP COF a 2:55
87º 195 KNEES, Christian GER SKY a 2:55
88º 129 VICIOSO, Angel ESP KAT a 2:59
89º 77 RATTO, Daniele ITA CAN a 2:59
90º 53 KOHLER, Martin SUI BMC a 3:04
91º 24 HUPOND, Thierry FRA ARG a 3:44
92º 28 SINKELDAM, Ramon NED ARG a 3:44
93º 145 REYNES, Vicente ESP LTB a 3:44 2″
94º 143 HANSEN, Adam AUS LTB a 3:44
95º 175 DOCKER, Mitchell AUS OGE a 3:44
96º 144 HENDERSON, Gregory NZL LTB a 3:44
97º 112 FAIRLY, Caleb USA GRS a 3:44
98º 142 DE GREEF, Francis BEL LTB a 4:10
99º 95 MARTÍNEZ, Egoi ESP EUS a 4:10
100º 99 VERDUGO, Gorka ESP EUS a 4:10
101º 187 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR RLT a 4:10
102º 125 KOZONTCHUK, Dmitry RUS KAT a 4:16
103º 181 CANCELLARA, Fabian SUI RLT a 4:51
104º 185 IRIZAR, Markel ESP RLT a 4:51
105º 33 FUGLSANG, Jacob DEN AST a 4:51
106º 18 MONTAGUTI, Matteo ITA ALM a 4:51
107º 146 VAN DE WALLE, Jurgen BEL LTB a 4:51
108º 97 OROZ, Juan Jose ESP EUS a 4:51
109º 4 GUTIERREZ, José Iván ESP MOV a 4:51
110º 29 STAMSNIJDER, Tom NED ARG a 4:51
111º 44 CLEMENT, Stef NED BEL a 4:51
112º 196 PUCCIO, Salvatore ITA SKY a 4:51
113º 3 ERVITI, Imanol ESP MOV a 4:51
114º 39 ZEITS, Andrey KAZ AST a 4:51
115º 199 ZANDIO, Xabier ESP SKY a 4:51
116º 55 LODEWYCK, Klaas BEL BMC a 4:51
117º 66 LASCA, Francesco ITA CJR a 4:51
118º 35 IGLINSKIY, Maxim KAZ AST a 4:51
119º 7 LASTRAS, Pablo ESP MOV a 4:51
120º 203 MORKOV, Michael DEN TST a 4:51
121º 158 SCHORN, Daniel AUT TNE a 5:18
122º 14 CHAINEL, Steve FRA ALM a 5:40
123º 16 GASTAUER, Ben LUX ALM a 5:40
124º 106 PINEAU, Cédric FRA FDJ a 5:40
125º 124 ISAICHEV, Vladimir RUS KAT a 5:40
126º 105 MANGEL, Laurent FRA FDJ a 5:40
127º 75 LONGO BORGHINI, Paolo ITA CAN a 5:40
128º 76 PATERSKI, Maciej POL CAN a 5:40
129º 193 CATALDO, Dario ITA SKY a 5:40
130º 72 BOIVIN, Guillaume CAN CAN a 5:40