There were no ‘pistolero’ gestures into Santander – it wasn’t a moment for playing to the photo opportunity.
Just sheer joy of a man being back where he belongs – if you’ve taken the knocks and clawed back, then you’ll know that feeling.
Alberto Contador Velasco has taken the knocks; he was close to death in 2004 when he suffered a cerebral cavernoma during the Vuelta a Asturias; in 2009 he had to fight not only the other 21 teams in the race but also half of his own Astana team as Lance made his ill-starred return; and he had to watch as his name was crossed off last year’s Giro result as a result of a controversial ‘positive.’
A slight, wiry man, simpatico and approachable, he’s not a seeker of the limelight off the bike – but on that Specialized he’s a ruthless, killer.
When it became apparent that Rodriguez was having a post-rest day ‘blockage,’ as the red jersey struggled in the face of a flurry of early attacks, Contador exploited the situation immediately and with one goal in mind – to take that red jersey.
With 48 kilometres covered in the first hour the live TV feed kicked in with only 30-odd kilometres until the finish.
Contador was in the break with team mate, Sergio Paulinho.
The Portuguese is a quality rider with World U23 TT and Olympic Road Race medals to his name as well as stage wins in the Vuelta and Tour.
But when he gestured he was about to swing off, Contador was having none of it, barking at his team mate to stay put and give him the last drops.
The reason became clear soon after as Contador went for the sprint bonus – every second a prisoner in his race for red.
Only his amigo and former team mate Paolo Tiralongo could go with him – and remember that stage win ‘Bert’ gave him in 2011 at the Giro?
The wiry Italian gave his all for Contador; with the Saxo-Tinkoff team car rewarding the Astana man’s labours with a fresh bidon.
But once he was ‘empty’ Contador was away, solo without a backward glance.
Behind, Rodriguez didn’t look like the rider we’ve been watching for the last two weeks, I sent a text to Dan Fleeman; ‘has he sold it?’
Dan’s reply was succinct; ‘No chance!‘
Katusha have been paying 10,000 Euros a time to helicopter him off the mountain top finishes.
Plus he must be sick of podium finishes but not getting the win.’
The other thought I had was that perhaps his legs were ‘blocked’ after the rest day; Dave Chapman heard that Rodriguez didn’t go for a leg loosener on Tuesday.
Dan reckons;
“Blocked legs after the rest day is likely; but also a bit of complacency – this wasn’t expected to be a hard day.”
Whatever the reason, Rodriguez was completely isolated; initially he had Losada – but a man can only work at that level for so long…
Valverde was another of Contador’s victims; but he had help in the form of team mate Intxausti who had originally been in the break with the Saxo-Tinkoff man and ‘came back’ to his boss.
Valverde is another man who has no problems with a leader’s role; ‘Vamos!’ he yelled at his Intxausti as he sat on his team mate’s wheel.
Just like at Saxo-Tinkoff, you earn that big monthly salary on Movistar.
But despite Valverde’s best efforts, the day was all about Alberto Contador – untwisting his wiry frame like a spring being unleashed as he crossed the line, roaring with joy and revealing those perfect teeth of his.
Valverde took second place in Santander and the bonus which goes with it, just six seconds back, whilst Rodriguez trailed in tenth at 2’38”, not as bad as it could have been, but bad enough to drop to third on GC.
It was hard not to feel sympathy for the gallant Catalan, but the Grand Tours are a shark pool and whilst Contador may not look like Great White, he has the instincts of one, and more.
Let’s not say that the race is won, we said that about Rodriguez and look what happened.
But we can say that it will be very hard for anyone to wrest that red jersey from Contador and those skinny, self sacrificing animated skeletons he has around him.
And before we go, let’s have a look at what the Spanish Press has to say, courtesy of ‘our man in Havana’ – well, Alicante actually, Al Hamilton.
Sports daily, AS has gone with “Contador, for Eternity“;
“An historical exhibition by Alberto Contador, the Tour leader and virtual champion […]
“An offensive which reminds us of Hinault in 1983 and Perico Delgado in 1985.
“We must go back nearly thirty years in the history of the Vuelta to find an attack as risky as the counter attack which will eventually change the winner of the race.”
Marca headlines: “Contador le da la Vuelta“;
“‘I had a devil in my ear telling me to attack’ Alberto Contador said upon his arrival at Fuente Dé, where he won the stage and is now leader of the Vuelta, with today a day which will remain in the memory of all.”
It’s going to grim when the Vuelta ends on Sunday – thank goodness it’s only another week until the Worlds.
Thank you Alberto and commiserations and respect to you, Joaquim.
Hasta mañana.
Results - La Vuelta a España 2012 - Stage 17
Stage Result
2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:06
3 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling
4 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
5 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:19
6 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan 0:00:55
7 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:13
8 Alexandre Geniez (Fra) Argos-Shimano 0:01:40
9 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:02:13
10 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team 0:02:38
11 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank
12 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team
13 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:03:03
14 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre – ISD 0:03:18
15 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:04:05
16 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:04:17
17 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre – ISD 0:04:48
18 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin – Sharp
19 Gianni Meersman (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
20 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
21 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team
22 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
23 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan
24 Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
25 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
26 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
27 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
28 Winner Anacona Gomez (Col) Lampre – ISD
29 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
30 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
31 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
32 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:04:58
33 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 0:05:10
34 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:05:19
35 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
36 Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Movistar Team
37 Andre Fernando S. Martins Cardoso (Por) Caja Rural 0:05:28
38 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
39 Marcos Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural 0:05:32
40 Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:05:43
41 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:06:01
42 Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:07:14
43 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:07:55
44 Bruno Pires (Por) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank
45 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:09:21
46 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre – ISD
47 Rafal Majka (Pol) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 0:12:31
48 Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:18:29
49 Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling
50 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Katusha Team 0:20:22
51 Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Argos-Shimano 0:20:51
52 Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
53 Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
54 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
55 Martijn Keizer (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
56 Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team
57 Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
58 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge
59 Cayetano José Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Col) Liquigas-Cannondale
60 Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Garmin – Sharp
61 Hernani Broco (Por) Caja Rural
62 Tiago Machado (Por) Radioshack-Nissan
63 Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Astana Pro Team
64 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
65 Jesus Rosendo Prado (Spa) Andalucia
66 Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
67 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale
68 Julian Dean (NZl) Orica – GreenEdge
69 Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
70 Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
71 Danail Andonov Petrov (Bul) Caja Rural
72 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
73 Michel Kreder (Ned) Garmin – Sharp
74 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Radioshack-Nissan
75 Cristiano Salerno (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
76 Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
77 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
78 Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
79 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team
80 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Lotto Belisol Team
81 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
82 Grégory Rast (Swi) Radioshack-Nissan
83 Jose Vicente Toribio Alcolea (Spa) Andalucia
84 Florent Barle (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
85 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Argos-Shimano
86 Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel – Euskadi
87 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
88 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale
89 Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
90 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
91 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Radioshack-Nissan
92 Javier Ramirez Abeja (Spa) Andalucia
93 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team
94 Adrian Palomares Villaplana (Spa) Andalucia
95 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank
96 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
97 Thierry Hupond (Fra) Argos-Shimano
98 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha Team
99 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team
100 Oleksandr Kvachuk (Ukr) Lampre – ISD
101 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team
102 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha Team
103 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank
104 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
105 Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team
106 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
107 Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge
108 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank
109 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin – Sharp
110 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank
111 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
112 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team
113 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Katusha Team
114 Daniel Teklehaymanot (Eri) Orica – GreenEdge
115 Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
116 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team
117 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
118 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
119 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team
120 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica – GreenEdge
121 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team
122 Tiziano Dall’antonia (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
123 Sergio Carrasco Garcia (Spa) Andalucia
124 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Big Mat
125 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
126 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling
127 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team
128 Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha Team
129 Gustavo Cesar Veloso (Spa) Andalucia
130 David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Caja Rural
131 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
132 Denys Kostyuk (Ukr) Lampre – ISD
133 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
134 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
135 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
136 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha Team
137 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar Team
138 Antonio Piedra Perez (Spa) Caja Rural
139 Yannick Eijssen (Bel) BMC Racing Team
140 Simon Geschke (Ger) Argos-Shimano
141 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin – Sharp
142 Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team
143 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano
144 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
145 John Degenkolb (Ger) Argos-Shimano
146 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
147 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Garmin – Sharp
148 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling
149 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – ISD
150 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
151 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin – Sharp
152 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Radioshack-Nissan
153 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
154 Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
155 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
156 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
157 Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre – ISD
158 Egor Silin (Rus) Astana Pro Team
159 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team
160 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling
161 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 0:23:17
162 Aitor Galdos Alonso (Spa) Caja Rural 0:24:23
163 Manuel Antonio Leal Cardoso (Por) Caja Rural
164 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
165 Javier Francisco Aramendia Lorente (Spa) Caja Rural
166 Laurent Didier (Lux) Radioshack-Nissan
167 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
168 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
169 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat
170 Raymond Kreder (Ned) Garmin – Sharp
171 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge
172 Allan Davis (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge
173 Javier Chacon (Spa) Andalucia
174 Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Andalucia
175 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
176 Thomas Peterson (USA) Garmin – Sharp
177 Cheng Ji (Chn) Argos-Shimano 0:25:41
178 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:25:49
179 Travis Meyer (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge
DNF Joost Van Leijen (Ned) Lotto Belisol Team
DNF Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
General Classification
2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:52
3 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team 0:02:28
4 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:09:40
5 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team 0:11:36
6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:12:06
7 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:12:55
8 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin – Sharp 0:13:06
9 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:13:49
10 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 0:14:10
11 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:15:54
12 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:16:22
13 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 0:17:11
14 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 0:18:07
15 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan 0:18:12
16 Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:18:18
17 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre – ISD 0:19:13
18 Winner Anacona Gomez (Col) Lampre – ISD 0:20:08
19 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:20:24
20 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:28:13
21 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan 0:28:48
22 Andre Fernando S. Martins Cardoso (Por) Caja Rural 0:29:24
23 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:35:17
24 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:35:57
25 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:40:26
26 Marcos Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural 0:40:30
27 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:41:00
28 Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:44:27
29 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:45:19
30 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:50:22
31 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Garmin – Sharp 0:57:13
32 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team 0:58:43
33 Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:59:57
34 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:00:20
35 Rafal Majka (Pol) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 1:00:48
36 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre – ISD 1:02:23
37 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 1:03:42
38 Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Astana Pro Team 1:05:01
39 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Katusha Team 1:09:50
40 Tiago Machado (Por) Radioshack-Nissan 1:15:11
41 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 1:17:22
42 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 1:18:34
43 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 1:19:26
44 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 1:19:36
45 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:22:50
46 Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 1:22:52
47 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:23:03
48 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:23:14
49 Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1:23:26
50 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1:24:23
51 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 1:25:08
52 Cristiano Salerno (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:29:57
53 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 1:31:33
54 Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel – Euskadi 1:31:39
55 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team 1:31:44
56 Hernani Broco (Por) Caja Rural 1:31:55
57 Gianni Meersman (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 1:32:20
58 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin – Sharp 1:39:14
59 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team 1:39:41
60 Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Movistar Team 1:40:26
61 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 1:41:26
62 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:41:42
63 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 1:42:08
64 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre – ISD 1:43:53
65 Cayetano José Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Col) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:46:31
66 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 1:47:52
67 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 1:48:12
68 Denys Kostyuk (Ukr) Lampre – ISD 1:48:39
69 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 1:49:35
70 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 1:52:24
71 Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team 1:52:36
72 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team 1:52:43
73 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 1:53:05
74 David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Caja Rural 1:53:23
75 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 1:56:06
76 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Radioshack-Nissan 1:57:04
77 Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:58:49
78 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Lotto Belisol Team 1:59:45
79 Alexandre Geniez (Fra) Argos-Shimano 2:00:24
80 Laurent Didier (Lux) Radioshack-Nissan 2:00:48
81 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:00:58
82 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 2:03:14
83 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:03:24
84 Simon Geschke (Ger) Argos-Shimano 2:04:27
85 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano 2:04:31
86 Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge 2:05:10
87 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 2:07:17
88 Martijn Keizer (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 2:10:22
89 Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:10:55
90 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Radioshack-Nissan 2:11:22
91 Antonio Piedra Perez (Spa) Caja Rural 2:14:17
92 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:14:25
93 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Argos-Shimano 2:14:39
94 Michel Kreder (Ned) Garmin – Sharp 2:14:40
95 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:17:15
96 Bruno Pires (Por) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 2:18:06
97 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team 2:18:14
98 Sergio Carrasco Garcia (Spa) Andalucia
99 Grégory Rast (Swi) Radioshack-Nissan 2:20:28
100 Gustavo Cesar Veloso (Spa) Andalucia 2:20:49
101 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica – GreenEdge 2:21:30
102 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:22:53
103 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha Team 2:22:55
104 Egor Silin (Rus) Astana Pro Team 2:23:53
105 Yannick Eijssen (Bel) BMC Racing Team 2:25:32
106 Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 2:26:36
107 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 2:27:25
108 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 2:27:29
109 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling 2:27:42
110 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 2:28:04
111 Jose Vicente Toribio Alcolea (Spa) Andalucia 2:30:00
112 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha Team 2:30:09
113 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 2:30:11
114 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Big Mat 2:30:56
115 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:31:09
116 Javier Ramirez Abeja (Spa) Andalucia 2:31:57
117 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:32:06
118 Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:32:51
119 Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Argos-Shimano 2:33:24
120 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha Team 2:34:49
121 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Katusha Team 2:35:08
122 Thierry Hupond (Fra) Argos-Shimano 2:35:10
123 Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:35:29
124 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:36:04
125 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:36:12
126 Adrian Palomares Villaplana (Spa) Andalucia 2:37:37
127 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 2:40:21
128 Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:40:27
129 Oleksandr Kvachuk (Ukr) Lampre – ISD 2:40:46
130 Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Garmin – Sharp 2:41:13
131 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling 2:41:22
132 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 2:41:29
133 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:42:36
134 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin – Sharp 2:42:47
135 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 2:42:59
136 Florent Barle (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:44:50
137 Jesus Rosendo Prado (Spa) Andalucia 2:45:35
138 Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 2:45:40
139 John Degenkolb (Ger) Argos-Shimano 2:45:54
140 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:46:53
141 Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:47:50
142 Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre – ISD 2:49:14
143 Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling 2:49:50
144 Tiziano Dall’antonia (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:49:55
145 Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling 2:50:40
146 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:50:43
147 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Radioshack-Nissan 2:50:49
148 Thomas Peterson (USA) Garmin – Sharp 2:51:12
149 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team 2:51:44
150 Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 2:52:34
151 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:53:01
152 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:54:19
153 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat 2:54:29
154 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 2:55:59
155 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:57:46
156 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:58:53
157 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar Team 2:59:12
158 Javier Chacon (Spa) Andalucia 2:59:14
159 Daniel Teklehaymanot (Eri) Orica – GreenEdge 3:00:30
160 Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 3:01:21
161 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 3:02:45
162 Travis Meyer (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge 3:04:20
163 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin – Sharp 3:04:42
164 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge 3:05:56
165 Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team 3:07:10
166 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 3:09:10
167 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 3:09:22
168 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – ISD 3:10:09
169 Manuel Antonio Leal Cardoso (Por) Caja Rural 3:10:46
170 Julian Dean (NZl) Orica – GreenEdge 3:11:29
171 Raymond Kreder (Ned) Garmin – Sharp 3:14:05
172 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge 3:14:34
173 Danail Andonov Petrov (Bul) Caja Rural 3:17:45
174 Javier Francisco Aramendia Lorente (Spa) Caja Rural 3:24:06
175 Allan Davis (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge 3:24:28
176 Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha Team 3:28:11
177 Aitor Galdos Alonso (Spa) Caja Rural 3:29:09
178 Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Andalucia 3:40:43
179 Cheng Ji (Chn) Argos-Shimano 3:48:22
