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Tondo climbs to 3rd; Sastre 12th in Andorra

September 08, 2010 - Filed under: TestTeam

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Cervélo TestTeam's Xavier Tondo (ESP) climbed into third overall at the Vuelta a España in Wednesday's decisive climbing stage into the Pyrénées in the 208.8km 11th stage from Vilanova i la Geltrú to Andorra.

Igor Antón (ESP) won the stage and claimed the leader's jersey while Tondo crossed the line third at nine seconds back and moved up to third overall at 1:04 back. Cervélo's Carlos Sastre (ESP) was also strong in the first summit finish of the 2010 Vuelta, ceding just 32 seconds and slotting into 13th overall at 3:03 back.

"We decided this morning that we wanted to be in a big group if there was an attack. We saw that there was a lot of wind early in the stage, so we decided only to cover the big breakaways. Then we saw the breakaway of two riders was gone and Katusha decided to set the pace," explained Cervélo sport director Philippe Mauduit.

"We arrived at the bottom of Andorra and the peloton just exploded. Five or six kilometers from the end, Mosquera did a big attack. I was just asking the boys to keep their own pace and to pace themselves for the finale. Our boys caught the others and Tondo made a nice attack with one kilometer to go and he was third on the stage and third overall. That's pretty good. Carlos also moved up, so it was a good day."
Mauduit said too much shouldn't be read into Wednesday's first of five summit finishes in the final half of the 2010 Vuelta.

"We have still have a long way to go to Madrid. The next stages are also very hard," he said. "It will be more tactical next week. We have to take care of all aspects of the race. At the moment we cannot still make any prognostic on who will win. Our boys are in a good way, so we are satisfied with the situation."
Cervélo TestTeam lost its first rider when Philip Deignan (IRE) did not finish the stage. Deignan won a stage and finished in the top-10 in last year's Vuelta, but has struggled with injury and illness throughout the 2010 season.

"Philip was pretty tired. He's had a hard season with all his illness and today was too much for him," Mauduit said. "He just did his best. The other day on the Catí climb, Philip was one of the strongest on the team, so there is nothing to complain about."

The 65th Vuelta continues Thursday with the 172.5km 12th stage from Andorra to Lleida. The stage rolls out of the Pyrénées, tackling a moderate second-category climb at 54.3km before hitting the flats to Lleida. It should be a day for the sprinters if a breakaway group does not manage to stay clear. Cervélo still has stage-winner Thor Hushovd (NOR) and Theo Bos (NED) in the race.

"Tonight we will discuss with the riders to see how everyone feels. They have to have a good rest and then we'll see tomorrow who is feeling good," Mauduit said. "Maybe we can organize something, but there are a lot of sprints ahead of us in the Vuelta."

Vuelta a España Stage 11 Results: VilanovaIla I la Geltrú – Andorra 208.4 km

1^st	Igor Anton (ESP)	5:25:44	38.39 km/h (23.85 mph)
2^nd	Ezequiel Mosquera (ESP)	+0.03
3^rd	Xavier Tondo (ESP)	+0.10
4^th	Marzio Bruseghin (ITA)	+0.15
5^th	Rigoberto Uran (COL)	s.t.

9^th	Íñigo Cuesta (ESP)	+0.32
10^th	Carlos Sastre (ESP)	s.t.
57^th	Oscar Pujol (ESP)	+5.14
88^th	Xavier Florencio (ESP)	+10.46
92^nd	Thor Hushovd (NOR)	+13.09
152^nd	Stefan Denifl (AUT)	+19.14
169^th	Theo Bos (NED)	+20.56
DNF	Philip Deignan

General Classification after Stage 11:

1^st	Igor Anton (ESP)	47:37:15	38.36 km/h (23.84 mph)
2^nd	Vincenzo Nibali (ITA)	+0.45
3^rd	Xavier Tondo (ESP)	+1.04

13^rd	Carlos Sastre (ESP)	+3.03
23^rd	Íñigo Cuesta (ESP)	+6.48
58^th	Oscar Pujol (ESP)	+37.53
92^nd	Xavier Florencio (ESP)	+1.08.30
129^th	Thor Hushovd (NOR)	+1.49.36
137^th	Stefan Denifl (AUT)	+1.49.36
171^st	Theo Bos (NED)	+2.12.40