Impey on the Move in Murcia
Stage 1: San Pedro del Pintar to San Pedro del Pintar, 166.5km/103mi
By Cathy Mehl
It was a return to racing for Lance Armstrong as he took part in Stage 1 of the 30th Tour of Murcia on Wednesday. With a peloton of 111 riders from 16 teams, Lance and his team rode smart in the opener which ended in a mass sprint with South African Robbie Hunter (Garmin) taking the victory over Graeme Brown (Rabobank) and Vicente Reynes (HTC-Columbia). The Shack’s Daryl Impey showed good legs and slotted in to 5th place on the line. Hunter holds the first leader’s jersey with four stages to go.
Armstrong talked about his objectives in Murcia, saying, “I’m feeling ok. It seems a long time since I’ve raced. Australia was six weeks ago. This is a good test this week. We have a TT and a mountain stage. I think my condition, especially on the climbs is not good enough yet so we’ll see.” Asked if his condition is better than last year, Lance replied, “No idea. Maybe similar but perhaps a bit different. Last year we had the benefit of a hard Tour of California by now. I will take the opportunity to win stages when the occasion is there – every rider would do so – so of course we will take our chances. Most riders think of Friday and Saturday as the important stages but there will always be other opportunities.”
It was a sunny day with temperatures near 66F/19C but with wind on course throughout the afternoon. A day-long break of four riders included Danny Pate (Garmin) and Alexandre Blain (Endura Racing). The quartet established a gap of just over five minutes over the five catagorized climbs on the profile. Rabobank and Cervelo steadily brought the group back and by 35km to go the advantage was only 55-seconds. By 20km to go the peloton was all together.
Team RadioShack then went to work to drive the pace and break up the group, hoping to shed some GC contenders, but attentive overall hopefuls stayed near the front and a mass sprint ensued.
Team Director Johan Bruyneel commented, “We tried to make the race hard at the end. We pulled the last 20k hoping to eliminate some riders. We succeeded, but of course none of the favorites. All seven of our riders were in the front. Good job. For Lance, you have to look at this race as his first race. Adelaide was so long ago.”
“This is an important race in the build up of the Tour and to the classics too,” said Lance. “The time trial will be an important test. Last year I was not super in the TT but we’ve tweeked the position a little bit. The bike has continued to evolve and helmets too. But we mainly worked on the position and the training aspects of it. Last year I didn’t train very much on the TT bike which was my mistake. Winning now is not my obsession. I will ride as hard as I can and ride a smart race. Plus I’ll ride a time trial that is well tempoed. I’ll be watching the watts to make sure thay they are high and see how it goes.”
Thursday’s stage 2 is Capasparva to Caravaca de la Cruz at 154.km. There are two big climbs with a long descent into the finish line.
Beyond the Finish Line: Murcia is on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Spain and is a vibrant holiday destination with beaches known as Costa Blanca, Costa del Azabar and Costa Calida. Muslim settlers made these areas bloom and the region is still known for fertile fields and citrus groves.
Top Ten Results
1 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Transitions 4:15:40
2 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
3 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team HTC - Columbia
4 Roger Kluge (Ger) Team Milram
5 Daryl Impey (RSA) Team Radioshack
6 Krzystof Jezowsky (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice
7 Michal Golas (Pol) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team
8 Russell Downing (GBr) Team Sky
9 Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team Netapp
10 Ian Wilkilson (GBr) Endura Racing
Team RadioShack on Stage 1
36 Gregory Rast (Swi)
38 Andreas Klöden (Ger)
46 Lance Armstrong (USA)
51 José Luis Rubiera (Spa)
53 Jason Mccartney (USA)
54 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa)
General Classification after Stage 1
1 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Transitions 4:15:40
2 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
3 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team HTC - Columbia
4 Roger Kluge (Ger) Team Milram
5 Daryl Impey (RSA) Team Radioshack
6 Krzystof Jezowsky (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice
7 Michal Golas (Pol) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team
8 Russell Downing (GBr) Team Sky
9 Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team Netapp
10 Ian Wilkilson (GBr) Endura Racing
Team RadioShack on General Classification
36 Gregory Rast (Swi)
38 Andreas Klöden (Ger)
46 Lance Armstrong (USA)
51 José Luis Rubiera (Spa)
53 Jason Mccartney (USA)
54 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa)
Photo courtesy of Graham Watson
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