Chicchi wins San Luis opening stage

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Francesco Chicchi (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) narrowly outsprinted Juan Jose Haedo (Saxo Bank) in a photo finish to win the opening stage of the Tour de San Luis, 189.3km from San Luis to Villa Mercedes. In the drag race to the finish line, the pair finished slightly ahead of a select 33-man group with Mauro Richeze (Argentina) claiming third.

The 31-year-old Italian, who was winless in the previous season, started 2012 on a high note as he both captured a hard-fought stage win, also Omega Pharma-Quick Step's first, plus donned the leader's jersey.

Chicchi's teammate Tom Boonen played a pivotal role in the finale as he launched a solo attack with 1.5km remaining, disrupting the lead-out efforts of Saxo Bank and Movistar, and setting up the Italian for victory.

"I must thank the entire team for the great work they did and the trust they placed in me," said Chicchi. "We attacked with about 50 kilometres to go to the arrival, with team Saxo Bank taking advantage of the wind. My teammates did a splendid job and we managed to break up the group into several parts. When I lifted my head I would see athletes in front of me like Chavanel, Leipheimer and Boonen, all working for me, and my only thought was that I couldn't let them down.

"Having a last man like Boonen was super. Tom launched me perfectly. In the final metres I saw that Haedo was catching up to me. So I gave it everything I had and managed to just barely stay ahead of him. It's an enormous joy."

Argentina's Haedo, a three-time Tour de San Luis stage winner, nearly came around Chicchi for the win, but fell just a whisker short. "[Omega Pharma-]Quick Step took control and then my brother [Lucas] helped me in the end," Juan Jose Haedo told Cyclingnews. "The last kilometre was a bit messy because we let Boonen go so we had to chase. It was a good finish but the day was pretty crazy, it was raining all day."

A rainy day at the office

While it's typical for Tour de San Luis stages to be drenched in sunshine and heat during Argentina's summer, for much of the stage the peloton was deluged with heavy rain plus even a stint of hail, which forced the field to pull to the side of the road and seek shelter early in the action.

Local rider Emmanuel Guevara (San Luis Somos Todos), undaunted by the inclement conditions, went out on a solo attack and by the day's only KOM, 41.3km into the stage, his lead was over five minutes. As Guevara's lead steadily increased two riders, Guevara's teammate Maximiliano Badde along with Cesar Berti (Uruguay), jumped from the peloton, bridged the lengthy gap and ultimately enjoyed an advantage in excess of 11 minutes. For the moment the peloton seemed more interested in simple survival, rather than dogged pursuit, as crashes plagued the bunch during episodes of torrential rain and limited visibility.

The ProTour teams, however, eager to set up their sprinters for a bunch gallop, came to the fore and steadily chipped into the trio's lead. After 133km of racing in wide open, wind-swept terrain dominated by expansive acres of agriculture and cattle farms, Guevara, Badde and Berti's lead had dropped to just four minutes.

The writing was on the wall for the catch, especially when Guevara was unable to keep pace with his two companions, and the escape came to a conclusion just over 20km from the finish. Guevara and Badde would be rewarded for their efforts, however, with the mountains jersey and sprint jersey respectively.

Taxing conditions coupled with a spirited chase in the finale split the peloton, resulting in an elite selection containing GC favourites Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank), Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharma-Quick Step). The Chicchi-led first group crossed the line 2:09 ahead of the next bunch, 54 riders strong, while a third group with 69 riders ended the day 4:08 in arrears.

With the finishing time bonuses, Chicchi leads J.J. Haedo by four seconds and Mauro Richeze by six seconds entering stage 2, 145.3km from Fraga to Juana Koslay.

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