ZUBELDIA WINS TOUR DE L AIN / LEVI LEIPHEIMER SETS NEW LEADVILLE COURSE RECORD
Belley - August 14th / Team RadioShack’s Haimar Zubeldia took the overall victory in the Tour de l’Ain on Saturday by the slimmest of margins at twenty-hundredths of a second over second-place finisher and stage winner Wouter Poels (Vacansoleil). Zubeldia and Poels tied on time and the hundredths of a second from the prologue result decided about the overall victory. After five days of racing, the gaps going into the final stage were so small that the race was up for grabs down to the wire, pushing the riders in contention for the win to give it their all on the final stage. Tackling the HC Grand Colombier (20 K, 6%) in the final 35km, a group went away that included all the race favorites. Zubeldia’s fourth place in the stage placed him in the winner’s circle, marking his first overall win in ten years, the last time being on May 28th 2000 in the Bicicleta Vasca.
“We knew it would be close today,” said GC winner Zubeldia. “There were some strong guys very close in the GC. We watched Moncoutié as he was potentially the most dangerous. In the end it was Poels who came up with the results. It’s good we survived to take the victory.” The33-year old Basque rider continued, saying, “ The Team did a great job for me today. First Beppu and Irizar worked and then Muravyev, Rovny and Chechu on the Grand Colombier. It was a small team but a big success. For me personally it is nice to win although my job in the team is to help others win. This time the responsibility came to me and I’m glad I didn’t disappoint them. Now I will take one week of rest and then race the Grand Prix of Plouay and the Tour of Poitou-Charentes. My season is not over yet.” After missing the Tour de France due to a broken wrist, Haimar Zubeldia has a full end-of-the-season race calendar ahead of him.
“I’m so glad I pushed Haimar in the prologue when you see that the margin of victory was so small,” commented Team Director Alain Gallopin after the stage. “The team was superb. We were lucky to win with such a small time difference, but sometimes you have to create your own luck! It’s a pity that we took the yellow jersey from my nephew Tony but there is no room for sentimentality here. Every Team RadioShack victory counts. We still want to show and prove that we deserved a spot in the Vuelta,” concluded Gallopin, referring to the non-selection of the 2010 Tour de France Best Team.
A group of eight was able to establish a gap on the Grand Colombier and with plenty of fire power and the possible win on the line, the group drove on to the finish in Belley. Poels took the victory with David Moncoutié (Cofidis) and Thibault Pinot (FdJ) coming in just behind. Zubeldia captured fourth with the same time as the first three finishers.
Result Stage 4: Culoz - Belley 126.1km/78mi:
1 Wouter Poels 3:15:39 ; 2 David Moncoutié; 3 Thibault Pinot; 4 Haimar Zubeldia (Team Radioshack); 5 Fabrice Jeandesboz 0:00:03; 6 Johann Tschopp; 7 Jérôme Coppel 0:00:05; 8 Tejay van Garderen; 9 Greg Van Avermaet 0:00:28; 10 Maxime Mederel 0:00:38
Final General Classification:
1 Haimar Zubeldia (Team Radioshack) 13:44:32; 2 Wouter Poels; 3 David Moncoutié 0:00:05; 4 Tejay van Garderen 0:00:07; 5 Thibault Pinot 0:00:10; 6 Jérôme Coppel 0:00:11; 7 Fabrice Jeandesboz 0:00:13; 8 Johann Tschopp 0:00:19; 9 Greg Van Avermaet 0:00:23; 10 Tony Gallopin 0:00:31
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Levi Leipheimer wins Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race in record time
Levi Leipheimer won Colorado’s Leadville 100 on Saturday, knocking more than 12 minutes off of the old record and finished about nine minutes ahead of Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski. Todd Wells finished 3rd with six-time winner Dave Wiens in fourth. The Leadville 100 is a 100 mile (160.9 K) epic mountain bike race within the high altitude mountains and valleys of Leadville, Colorado. The majority is on back-country roads with some short sections of paved road. The entire course is 9,000 feet (2740 m) and climbs to 12,600 feet (3840 m). In 2009 Lance Armstrong won the ultramarathon race in a record time of 6:28:30. On Saturday August 14th 2010, Levi Leipheimer finished on his Trek bike in 6:16:37.
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Photos courtesy of CSE Cycling
