Tour of Murcia

Stage 3: Las Torres de Cotillas to Alhama de Murcia, 166.5km/103mi

By Cathy Mehl

Staying together on the descent of the climb, four of Team RadioShack’s riders controlled the front group and remain in the hunt for the overall in the Tour of Murcia.  Andreas Klöden, Lance Armstrong, Haimar Zubeldia and Chechu Rubiera all crossed the line at five seconds behind Australian Luke Roberts (Milram) who took the victory in Stage 3, followed by Sergeuy Lagutin (Vacansoleil) and Josep Jufre of Astana in third.   The new race leader is Spaniard Jufre of Astana with Roberts and Frantisek Rabon (THC-Columbia) just behind for 2^nd and 3^rd on the general classification. After back-to-back wins and leading the race for two days, Robbie Hunter (Garmin) dropped out of the race today as he received word that his wife had gone into labor with their second child.

Asked about today’s ride, Armstrong said, “Today was pretty good.  Obviously the climb was harder than the previous days’ and I have to say I didn’t expect to be near the front because I haven’t really been focused on my climbing.  I still need to lose some weight but the sensations were good.  All in all to be on the same time as the favorites is a good sign for me.” 

A peloton of 107 riders rolled out from Las Torres de Cotillas under cloudy skies with temperatures of 62F/16C.  Early attempts to break away were quickly brought back, including an effort by Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) which was immediately shut down by Team RadioShack.  A four-man group that included Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil) and Marcel Barth of the German National team finally established a time advantage, which they built to over nine minutes.  With two Category 1 climbs in the latter part of the stage, the peloton knew the upward slopes would do some of the work to bring the escapees back into the fold.

The peloton was first challenged by the Alto de Espuna before tackling the Alto del Collado Bermejo.  On the slopes of the first climb the group of four split in two with the peloton chasing.  Westra was first over the top, followed by Barth. Wouter Poels (Vacansoleil) reached the summit first on the final climb, followed by Pieter Weening of Rabobank.   Weening led the 23km descent of the Alto del Collado Bermejo, followed by Lance and Wiggins leading a group of more than 20 riders.  As the peloton approached the final kilometer of racing, the leaders were swept up and the mass sprint unfolded with Roberts emerging the victor.

Saturday’s Stage 4 brings the highly anticipated time trial.  The riders will ride 22km/13.6mi  in Alhama de Murcia, battling for overall victory in the 30^th Tour of Murcia.

“I’ll try to do my best tomorrow,” Lance said, speaking of the time trial.  “I still think Wiggins by far is the favorite.  Everyone will suffer tomorrow in the time trial.  That’s why it’s called the Race of Truth.  It’s an effort where you do your maximum and at the end of the story the proof is in the pudding, as we say.”

Beyond the Finish Line:  The beaches of Murcia’s coast are enjoyed by travels on holiday but tourists rarely visit the inland mountains.  The scenery inland ranges from picturesque valley and hills to semi-desert.  It is one of the dryest regions in Europe.

Top Ten Results

1        Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram    4:16:47        

2        Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team               

3        Josep Jufre (Spa) Astana                   

4        Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank                 

5        Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack              

6        Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank            

7        Stefan Denifl (Aut) Cervélo TestTeam                  

8        Michel Kreder (Ned) Garmin - Transitions                     

9        Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky               

10      José Herrada (Spa) Caja Rural

Team RadioShack on Stage 3

25      Haimar Zubeldia (Spa)              

26      Lance Armstrong (USA)

29      José Luis Rubiera (Spa)

66      Daryl Impey (RSA)  0:11:37              

67      Gregory Rast (Swi)

88      Jason Mccartney (USA) 0:23:53

General Classification after Stage 3

1        Josep Jufre (Spa) Astana        12:52:39      

2        Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram               

3        Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team HTC - Columbia               

4        Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team                     

5        Thomas Rohregger (Aut) Team Milram                

6        Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice                    

7        Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team                  

8        Matteo Carrara (Ita) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team                 

9        Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank                  

10      Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    0:00:05      

Team RadioShack on General Classification

14      Andreas Klöden (Ger)

19      Lance Armstrong (USA)                    

20      Haimar Zubeldia (Spa)            

21      José Luis Rubiera (Spa)

47      Daryl Impey (RSA) 0:11:37

50      Gregory Rast (Swi) 0:11:42

64      Jason Mccartney (USA) 0:23:58