Twins in the peloton

Vladimir Efimkin of Caisse d'Epargne won the fourth stage of the Vuelta a España and took over the leader's jersey with his ride up to the mountaintop finish. The most important thing in the 25 year-old's life is his family, as he explained at the winner's press conference yesterday.

Even before the assembled journalists could pose their questions, he said, "I have a twin brother named Alexander. He is a much better rider than me, trains better than me, and doesn't have a contract for next year," reported La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The twins live with their mother, Ludmilla, in Villongo, Italy, in the province of Bergamo. They are not alone in the village, sharing it with fellow pros Kanstantsin Siutsou (Barloworld), Mauricio Soler (Barloworld), Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas) and Vasil Kiryienka (Tinkoff Credit Systems).

Vladimir turned pro with Barloworld in 2005, before joining Caisse d'Epargne a year later. Alex turned pro with Barloworld in 2006, but is now looking for a new team, as his brother said.

The most famous twins in recent cycling history were Richard and Xavier Ochoa. Other twins currently riding include Martin and Peter Velits of Team Wiesenhof-Felt.