We’re on the Bola Del Mundo. The rain stings past the entrance to the ski lift at 45 degrees and tries its damnedest to puncture the metal sheets on the roof; thunder roars in and echoes around the concrete walls, lightning sparks across the dark sky, the air temperature has dropped from a pleasant Spanish summer’s afternoon to January on Porty Prom.
Welcome to the Bola del Mundo; they say it’s the toughest climb in European cycling – we believe it.
We’ve been up to Covadonga a time or two and the Angliru, plus most of the Giro and Tour ‘biggies.’
But this is evil.
The name means ‘ball of the world’ – derived from the perfect radius on one side of the summit which does look a bit like part of a ball.
But Al Hamilton has another explanation;
“It seems the ‘Bola del Mundo’ comes from TVE, the national Spanish TV station.
“As you know there are lots of TV ariels on the summit and the logo of TVE is a ball (the globe) with transmissions coming from it.
“So it’s named for the TV.”
You chose!
There are a number of factors which make it savage; it’s located at the top of a fast mountain pass; parts are insanely steep and it’s more than three kilometres long.
But the biggest factor is the surface – on the mountain bike I’ve ridden many a farmer’s ‘home made’ concrete access road to his fields which has a better surface.
The smooth ‘skin’ on top is long gone and rough gravel pokes up to wreak havoc on tubular tyres at high pressures.
I know that many folks don’t agree with me, but I have my reservations about these crazy climbs – it’s a thin line between ‘spectacle’ and ‘circus.’
We were thinking that if the storm didn’t ease and the riders had to tackle the Bola in the wet, it would gruesome.
It’s hard to overstate how nasty a climb this is and how bad the surface is – trying to get grip on that wet concrete would have been impossible on some sections.
But fortunately – for our health and photography as well as the riders – the storm passed, the roads was dry and the sun shone.
The climb is only one hour from Madrid but the crowds on the approach climb to the Bola – the Puerto de Navacerrada – are nothing like you’d see at the Giro or Tour.
The ‘camper van culture’ isn’t really there and the road is shut early so it’s a long grind on foot or on the bike.
When we were stopped at the road block which comes not far from the start of the climb, we talked our way through because we had a race road book – courtesy a friendly race truck driver we’d met – and press cards.
But none of the cars getting sent back down the climb which they’d just driven up, had either – my suspicion is that most would just go home.
We headed upwards and onwards, though – with no campers on the climb and not another vehicle to bother us.
At the top the logistics were good – press room, accreditation, café and ski lift up the Bola were all right there within metres of each other.
We went up on the ski lift twice – the first time just to get the lay of the land, the second to watch the show.
Our second accension came after we’d watched the peloton pass the bottom of the Bola, on their way to the Cercedilla loop – around 40 K – which they described and then came back to the Bola from the opposite direction.
The breakaway we saw leading on the first pass, by around six minutes had survived and from it, Menchov and Porte had attacked.
Best leave it to the man who was third on the day to explain, here’s what QuickStep’s Kevin De Weert had to say;
‘When two riders attacked at the bottom of the climb, I was on their wheel and followed immediately. Menchov also arrived, and attacked. I followed him, but the tempo was a little bit too high for me.
“Still, I stayed on the wheel of Porte and Menchov to try and recover, but it’s not so easy to recover on such difficult percentages of the climb. In the last two or three K I lost contact because they went just a little bit too fast.
“I tried to keep up my tempo and climb with my pace. You never know, maybe you can return or maybe they will be busy looking at each other and you can return.
“I knew this climb pretty well, I did it already in 2010. I was hoping they’d lose some time on the climb, as you can lose your tempo on a climb like that in a moment. But they kept going good.
“I did my best and I am happy about my performance.”
It was a good ride, no question – but not as good as Menchov’s.
The Russian – who’s just ‘passed’ on Worlds selection – was too strong and clever for Porte at the top.
When they passed us, Porte was trying to get Menchov to come trough, but Menchov was having none of it, retaining his position of surprise until it was time to attack and win.
Despite Rodriguez succumbing to Contador’s ambush, it’s been a great Vuelta for Katusha; ‘Purito’ spent 13 – unlucky for some – days in red and won three stages, with Menchov making it four stages in total for the Russian team.
Porte was obviously given his freedom by Sky; it’s apparent that Froome has learned the hard way – as Contador did last year – that back to back to Grand Tours ridden to win, aren’t feasible in modern cycling.
One of the unfortunate side effects of Laurens Ten Dam’s stubble is that it retains the snot, making him look even more hideously wasted.
Roche’s top ten dream has gone, too – if he has what it takes to be a Grand Tour contender, then Riis will find it in him, next year at Saxo.
Last man up was Garmin’s Raymond Kreber – a long way from his wee cabin at the Rotterdam six day, which was where I last spoke to him.
‘Circus’ or not, it was a great day, a great show and served to underline that the Vuelta organisers rider got their race just right.
And to those Spanish climbers – who Vik has so little time for – respect, compañeros.
Madrid tomorrow, can’t wait.
Hasta mañana.
Results - La Vuelta a España 2012 - Stage 20, Bola del Mundo
Stage Result
2 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:00:17
3 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:00:42
4 Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team 0:01:16
5 Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:01:39
6 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:02:30
7 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:39
8 Simon Geschke (Ger) Argos-Shimano 0:03:14
9 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team 0:03:31
10 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:03:56
11 Tiago Machado (Por) Radioshack-Nissan 0:04:08
12 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 0:04:15
13 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team
14 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:04:24
15 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin – Sharp 0:04:34
16 David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Caja Rural 0:04:37
17 Thomas Peterson (USA) Garmin – Sharp 0:04:38
18 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
19 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:04:43
20 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
21 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:04:47
22 Denys Kostyuk (Ukr) Lampre – ISD 0:04:54
23 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:04:58
24 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Garmin – Sharp 0:05:09
25 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 0:05:15
26 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
27 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:05:35
28 Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge
29 Rafal Majka (Pol) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 0:05:50
30 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre – ISD
31 Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
32 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan
33 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 0:06:07
34 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:06:21
35 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
36 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:06:34
37 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica – GreenEdge 0:06:39
38 Andre Fernando S. Martins Cardoso (Por) Caja Rural
39 Winner Anacona Gomez (Col) Lampre – ISD 0:06:42
40 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 0:06:50
41 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:07:19
42 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:07:31
43 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:07:35
44 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:07:52
45 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre – ISD 0:07:58
46 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan 0:08:12
47 Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:08:22
48 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team 0:08:32
49 Cayetano José Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Col) Liquigas-Cannondale
50 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team
51 Antonio Piedra Perez (Spa) Caja Rural 0:09:09
52 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:09:20
53 Cristiano Salerno (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:09:23
54 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Argos-Shimano 0:09:47
55 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:09:55
56 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:10:03
57 Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:10:12
58 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:10:31
59 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 0:10:34
60 Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:10:50
61 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:10:53
62 Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Movistar Team 0:10:59
63 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:11:16
64 Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:11:48
65 Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:11:50
66 Sergio Carrasco Garcia (Spa) Andalucia 0:12:02
67 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
68 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Katusha Team 0:12:22
69 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge 0:12:48
70 Marcos Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural 0:12:52
71 Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
72 Hernani Broco (Por) Caja Rural
73 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:13:44
74 Adrian Palomares Villaplana (Spa) Andalucia 0:14:10
75 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 0:15:18
76 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 0:15:23
77 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling
78 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:15:26
79 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 0:15:30
80 Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:15:56
81 Julian Dean (NZl) Orica – GreenEdge 0:16:00
82 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:16:04
83 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha Team 0:16:53
84 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Radioshack-Nissan 0:17:00
85 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Katusha Team 0:17:08
86 Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Astana Pro Team 0:17:31
87 Grégory Rast (Swi) Radioshack-Nissan 0:17:36
88 Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:17:39
89 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling 0:17:41
90 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre – ISD 0:18:00
91 Oleksandr Kvachuk (Ukr) Lampre – ISD 0:18:16
92 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 0:18:21
93 Daniel Teklehaymanot (Eri) Orica – GreenEdge 0:18:29
94 Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:18:37
95 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:18:57
96 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:19:00
97 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Lotto Belisol Team 0:19:09
98 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
99 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:19:19
100 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team
101 Gianni Meersman (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:19:31
102 Laurent Didier (Lux) Radioshack-Nissan 0:19:52
103 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin – Sharp 0:19:59
104 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:20:11
105 Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:20:13
106 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat
107 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:20:16
108 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team
109 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
110 Bruno Pires (Por) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 0:20:22
111 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:20:24
112 Javier Ramirez Abeja (Spa) Andalucia
113 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
114 Florent Barle (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
115 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha Team 0:20:56
116 Tiziano Dall’antonia (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:21:12
117 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale
118 Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
119 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:21:19
120 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:21:44
121 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha Team 0:21:49
122 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 0:22:12
123 Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha Team 0:22:37
124 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:25:33
125 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano 0:26:35
126 Alexandre Geniez (Fra) Argos-Shimano
127 Thierry Hupond (Fra) Argos-Shimano 0:27:01
128 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 0:27:11
129 John Degenkolb (Ger) Argos-Shimano 0:28:11
130 Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Argos-Shimano 0:28:23
131 Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:28:27
132 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Radioshack-Nissan 0:28:33
133 Michel Kreder (Ned) Garmin – Sharp 0:28:52
134 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat 0:28:54
135 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:28:57
136 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Big Mat 0:29:22
137 Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling
138 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:29:26
139 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:29:29
140 Martijn Keizer (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team
141 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank
142 Javier Francisco Aramendia Lorente (Spa) Caja Rural
143 Danail Andonov Petrov (Bul) Caja Rural
144 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:29:35
145 Allan Davis (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge 0:29:45
146 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin – Sharp 0:29:47
147 Yannick Eijssen (Bel) BMC Racing Team
148 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:29:53
149 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team
150 Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 0:29:56
151 Manuel Antonio Leal Cardoso (Por) Caja Rural 0:30:01
152 Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Garmin – Sharp 0:30:05
153 Gustavo Cesar Veloso (Spa) Andalucia 0:30:08
154 Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 0:30:09
155 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge 0:30:17
156 Jose Vicente Toribio Alcolea (Spa) Andalucia 0:30:27
157 Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:30:36
158 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 0:30:43
159 Egor Silin (Rus) Astana Pro Team
160 Travis Meyer (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge
161 Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre – ISD 0:30:53
162 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – ISD 0:30:59
163 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin – Sharp 0:31:03
164 Aitor Galdos Alonso (Spa) Caja Rural 0:31:21
165 Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:31:29
166 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:31:30
167 Javier Chacon (Spa) Andalucia 0:31:32
168 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:31:38
169 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:31:57
170 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:32:12
171 Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Andalucia 0:32:39
172 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:32:44
173 Cheng Ji (Chn) Argos-Shimano 0:33:32
174 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 0:34:31
175 Raymond Kreder (Ned) Garmin – Sharp 0:34:37
DNF Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
General Classification
2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:16
3 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team 0:01:37
4 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:10:16
5 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team 0:11:29
6 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:12:23
7 Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin – Sharp 0:13:28
8 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:13:41
9 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:14:01
10 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 0:16:13
11 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:16:22
12 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:17:50
13 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 0:19:14
14 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 0:19:59
15 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre – ISD 0:20:48
16 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan 0:20:50
17 Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:20:56
18 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:22:30
19 Winner Anacona Gomez (Col) Lampre – ISD 0:23:38
20 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:26:30
21 Andre Fernando S. Martins Cardoso (Por) Caja Rural 0:31:51
22 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan 0:32:45
23 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:40:48
24 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:46:26
25 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:46:54
26 Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:48:42
27 Marcos Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural 0:49:29
28 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:51:44
29 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:54:08
30 Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0:55:01
31 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Garmin – Sharp 0:59:10
32 Rafal Majka (Pol) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 1:05:42
33 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre – ISD 1:06:30
34 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:08:15
35 Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team 1:15:37
36 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team 1:15:53
37 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Katusha Team 1:19:08
38 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 1:19:16
39 Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Astana Pro Team 1:23:04
40 Tiago Machado (Por) Radioshack-Nissan 1:23:38
41 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:23:39
42 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 1:27:15
43 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 1:32:30
44 Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel – Euskadi 1:33:05
45 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 1:33:44
46 Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1:34:03
47 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1:37:43
48 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 1:38:22
49 Cristiano Salerno (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:39:07
50 Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 1:39:53
51 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:44:15
52 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:44:21
53 Hernani Broco (Por) Caja Rural 1:46:16
54 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 1:46:22
55 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 1:48:44
56 Denys Kostyuk (Ukr) Lampre – ISD 1:49:25
57 Gianni Meersman (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 1:49:34
58 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team 1:52:10
59 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 1:53:25
60 Cayetano José Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Col) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:54:07
61 Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team 1:55:21
62 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 1:55:47
63 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team 1:56:51
64 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:57:21
65 David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Caja Rural 2:00:10
66 Javier Moreno Bazan (Spa) Movistar Team 2:00:59
67 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 2:01:42
68 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 2:02:07
69 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 2:02:47
70 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 2:03:13
71 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre – ISD 2:06:12
72 Simon Geschke (Ger) Argos-Shimano 2:06:21
73 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 2:06:49
74 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team 2:08:50
75 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 2:10:05
76 Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge 2:10:28
77 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:12:01
78 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 2:13:48
79 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin – Sharp 2:14:56
80 Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:19:04
81 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 2:19:20
82 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Lotto Belisol Team 2:20:23
83 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Argos-Shimano 2:22:31
84 Antonio Piedra Perez (Spa) Caja Rural 2:24:55
85 Laurent Didier (Lux) Radioshack-Nissan 2:26:35
86 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano 2:26:59
87 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:27:40
88 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica – GreenEdge 2:27:56
89 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:28:40
90 Alexandre Geniez (Fra) Argos-Shimano 2:31:20
91 Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:32:24
92 Grégory Rast (Swi) Radioshack-Nissan 2:34:27
93 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Radioshack-Nissan 2:35:04
94 Sergio Carrasco Garcia (Spa) Andalucia 2:36:58
95 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha Team 2:37:56
96 Michel Kreder (Ned) Garmin – Sharp 2:39:18
97 Bruno Pires (Por) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 2:39:37
98 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Procycling 2:42:28
99 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 2:42:43
100 Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 2:44:02
101 Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:44:13
102 Martijn Keizer (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 2:45:46
103 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team 2:47:54
104 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:48:06
105 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Katusha Team 2:49:28
106 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:51:20
107 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha Team 2:51:45
108 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 2:53:57
109 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 2:54:01
110 Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:54:35
111 Adrian Palomares Villaplana (Spa) Andalucia 2:55:39
112 Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling 2:55:45
113 Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:56:09
114 Gustavo Cesar Veloso (Spa) Andalucia 2:56:52
115 Thomas Peterson (USA) Garmin – Sharp 2:57:56
116 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 2:58:17
117 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha Team 2:58:30
118 Yannick Eijssen (Bel) BMC Racing Team 2:59:25
119 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) FDJ-Big Mat 3:00:05
120 Javier Ramirez Abeja (Spa) Andalucia 3:00:39
121 Thierry Hupond (Fra) Argos-Shimano 3:01:07
122 Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling 3:01:13
123 Egor Silin (Rus) Astana Pro Team 3:01:18
124 Oleksandr Kvachuk (Ukr) Lampre – ISD 3:02:54
125 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 3:03:02
126 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 3:06:54
127 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 3:07:10
128 Elia Viviani (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 3:08:02
129 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 3:08:40
130 Florent Barle (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:09:16
131 Jose Vicente Toribio Alcolea (Spa) Andalucia 3:09:57
132 Yukihiro Doi (Jpn) Argos-Shimano 3:10:05
133 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team 3:10:07
134 John Degenkolb (Ger) Argos-Shimano 3:10:18
135 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 3:10:57
136 Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Garmin – Sharp 3:11:05
137 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 3:11:39
138 Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 3:12:06
139 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 3:12:07
140 Tiziano Dall’antonia (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 3:13:17
141 Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 3:17:05
142 Davide Vigano (Ita) Lampre – ISD 3:17:29
143 Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 3:17:35
144 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Radioshack-Nissan 3:18:04
145 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar Team 3:18:23
146 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge 3:18:31
147 Daniel Teklehaymanot (Eri) Orica – GreenEdge 3:18:46
148 Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling 3:18:48
149 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin – Sharp 3:19:45
150 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin – Sharp 3:21:03
151 Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-Dcm Pro Cycling Team 3:21:34
152 William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 3:22:45
153 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ-Big Mat 3:23:10
154 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 3:24:07
155 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Saxo Bank – Tinkoff Bank 3:24:24
156 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 3:26:46
157 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 3:27:35
158 Julian Dean (NZl) Orica – GreenEdge 3:28:08
159 Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team 3:34:30
160 Manuel Antonio Leal Cardoso (Por) Caja Rural 3:38:31
161 Javier Chacon (Spa) Andalucia 3:39:04
162 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 3:39:57
163 Travis Meyer (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge 3:44:37
164 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre – ISD 3:46:11
165 Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge 3:47:25
166 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
167 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 3:48:25
168 Allan Davis (Aus) Orica – GreenEdge 3:51:06
169 Danail Andonov Petrov (Bul) Caja Rural
170 Mikhail Ignatyev (Rus) Katusha Team 3:55:07
171 Javier Francisco Aramendia Lorente (Spa) Caja Rural 3:55:45
172 Raymond Kreder (Ned) Garmin – Sharp 3:58:16
173 Aitor Galdos Alonso (Spa) Caja Rural 4:05:32
174 Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Andalucia 4:19:17
175 Cheng Ji (Chn) Argos-Shimano 4:31:28
