Cancellara rules wet time trial in Valencia, re-takes overall lead

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Topping the podium again precisely a week after his prologue victory, Olympic time trial champion Fabian Cancellara dramatically returned to the Maillot Oro of race leader on today's wet seventh stage of the race.

Just as he did on the motor racing track in Assen, the Swiss rider used his high octane power to zoom to victory on the Formula One track in Valencia, beating second-placed rider David Millar (Garmin Slipstream) by a cool 32 seconds and opening up a further four on world TT champ Bert Grabsch (Columbia HTC).

"For sure, I think the most difficult thing today was the weather conditions," the big Swiss rider said after the race. "It was very slippery, but in the end the big motivation was that we were in Valencia, where you have big events like the Americas Cup. It was great to go fast on the Formula One roads. It was a good test for me and I am very happy about this."

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General classification contenders such as Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Tom Danielson (Garmin Slipstream), Cadel Evans (Silence Lotto), Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) and Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) all lost between 47 seconds and one minute 12, with only the first three of these placing in the top ten.

Like each of those riders, Cancellara had to contend with water and wind, working out how to gauge his effort to maximum effect during the pan-flat 30km test. His tactic was to hold back early on, then gradually open up the gas.

"I tried to go easy in the corners in the beginning as the race as there was a lot of turns," he said, smiling broadly and, as always, enjoying his win. "I was trying to go slowly as it was very slippery after many days without rain. There was a lot of wind, but on the way back with the headwind I really pushed and tried to make the difference. It was a great race, and good preparation for the World time trial championships on home ground."

Grabsch will be up against the Saxo Bank rider when he aims to defend his world TT title later this month. Although he lost over half a minute to his rival, he said that he was pleased with his performance today.

"I rode slowly and without risk, because before me my teammates Vicente Reynes and Michael Albasini crashed," the German told Radsport-news.com. "The conditions were pretty much the same for everyone."

"I had enormous problems in the last few stages with the extreme heat. Yesterday I pretty much blew up, and couldn't do anything. So that makes me all the more satisfied with my performance and my finish today."

Boonen was one of those who came a cropper, racing in towards the finish with the right hand side of his green skinsuit bearing evidence of a fall. He nevertheless posted a respectable time, losing just 1'03, and ended the day second overall behind Cancellara.

Xacobeo Galicia rider David Herrero was the biggest surprise, placing fourth in the TT and jumping up to third overall, while Cadel Evans (Silence Lotto) moved to sixth despite his relatively disappointing tenth place in the race against the clock.

Sanchez surprisingly beat him, placing sixth in the test and ending the day ninth overall. He was pleased, but stressed that there’s a lot of racing yet to come. “The balance from the stage is positive, but it’s necessary to stay calm,” said the Euskaltel – Euskadi rider. “It’s only the beginning and there are many days ahead. We don’t have one decisive day in this Vuelta, all are important and it is necessary to be there at all times.

“The route of the time trial was very nice, I liked it, but the rain made some bends dangerous and I had to ride very carefully. If you are here to win the time trial it’s necessary to take risks, but if you are thinking of Madrid you must be more careful.”

Valverde was impressed by Sanchez’s ride, given that the Olympic road race champion beat him by 18 seconds.

“I achieved a good time trial with excellent sensations and I know I must be really happy this evening,” said the Caisse d’Epargne captain. “I lost less time that I foresaw compared to a rider like Cadel Evans and I came in ahead of Ivan Basso, which I still consider like being the most dangerous adversary for final victory, by 37 seconds. The only one who definitely achieved a better result is Samuel Sanchez, but that is not a surprise at all.”

He too said that the weather played a big part. “I lost something like ten seconds in the first kilometres because I did not want to take any risk at all in the curves. Because the road was so wet, they were really dangerous and it would have been stupid to crash there just to gain a few seconds. I went through them very slowly and later, when everything was a matter of strength, I recovered the time I lost in the previous section.”

Motoring to success

The early quick time on the stage was held by Rabobank's Lars Boom, who covered the flat course in 37'40, eventually good enough for ninth on the stage. Just over 40 minutes later Ag2r's Christophe Riblon improved on that, clocking 37'34, but his time was in turn bettered by Columbia HTC's Bert Grabsch, who is using the Vuelta to prepare for his world championship title defence.

Any hope that the German might give the Columbia team its fourth stage victory of the race was however threatened when Scottish rider David Millar went two seconds quicker at the first time check. Millar kept going full gas and maintained precisely the same advantage at the second intermediate point, then added another two seconds to that gap when he reached the finish line.

Further back on the course, 2006 Vuelta winner Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) matched Millar's speed at point one but was unable to maintain his pace. The comeback Kazakh faded somewhat and came home a provisional fifth, 40 seconds back, and would drop further down the rankings as other big guns reached the finish.

Tom Danielson was one of those quicker riders, finishing a provisional fourth and eventually taking seventh on the stage. The Garmin Slipstream team was undoubtedly pleased with his ongoing return to form and Millar's prominent showing, but the champagne was put on ice when it became clear that Cancellara was on a flier.

The Saxo Bank rider was only sixth fastest at the first time check, but improved as the time trial went on. He blitzed through the second intermediate point a full 19 seconds faster than Millar, catching his two-minute man Borut Bozic (Vacansoleil) there, and continued to pull further ahead between there and the finish.

With only four riders starting behind him and each of these conceding a chunk of time out on the course, it was clear he was set for another spell in the gold jersey. Maillot Oro leader André Greipel was looking uncomfortable going around the wet corners, and completed the TT 2'37 slower, placing only 67th.

Mountains on the horizon

After days of mainly flat roads – and plenty of time in the rain and the wind – a more traditional Vuelta stage awaits tomorrow when the first high mountains rear up on the parcours. The 206 kilometre leg to the Alto de Aitana is certain to shake up the general classification, with seven second- and third-category climbs preceding the ‘especial' [hors categorie] ascent up to the finish.

Cancellara surely knows his time at the top is very limited, but isn't too stressed about that. His number one priority is to get ready for the world championships, not to hang on to the gold jersey.

"I won today and it was important to see where I am, what level I am at, and it was good to push," he stated. "I think I did a good test today but tomorrow is a hard stage. It could be my last day in the Maillot Oro but I've enjoyed my time in it."

The nature of the climb is such that it could suit Alejandro Valverde or Samuel Sanchez. The two Spaniards are punchy riders who tend to perform well on the early mountain stages and who possess a good sprint at the end of a hard day’s racing. Valverde will be on the danger list of most riders, and he sounded upbeat heading towards higher ground.

“As I already said yesterday, I believe that the seconds won or lost today will have very little importance from tomorrow onwards, if we consider the fact that the first mountain stage will take place then with a very difficult finish at the top of Aitana.”

“Until now I have had a good Vuelta. I went through the first stages without any big crashes and lost no time until now. I hope that, now that we arrive in the mountains, which are the stages I most like, I will keep on being lucky.”

Sanchez also emphasized the chance that a big change is coming. “Tomorrow is a completely different type of stage profile,” he said. “We must cover seven climbs before finishing in Aitana, a very tough climb. The important thing now for me is to remain calm and keep working in the same way.”

One who can’t afford to bide his time is last year’s fourth-placed rider, Ezequiel Mosquera (Xacobeo Galicia). He was only 54th in the time trial, but said that the time losses he incurred were according to his expectations and that he was content with his ride. However he is 2’52” back and knows that he needs to get closer to the likes of Valverde and Sanchez if he is to challenge for the overall classification.

“From tomorrow I hope to begin to catch up,” he said. “The finish in Aitana will be very selective. This climb is the only special category one but the rest of the day will be very hard, a continuous up-down course. It will be the first mountain stage of the Vuelta, too, so everyone will have to turn their cards face-up.”