Valverde increases lead in ProTour; crash not serious
After finishing eighth in the Clasica San Sebastian , Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes...
After finishing eighth in the Clasica San Sebastian, Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears) has managed to extend his lead in the ProTour rankings. Valverde gained five points for his eighth place, and now leads Frank Schleck (CSC) by a full 50 points, as the Luxembourger did not score in yesterday's classic. Tom Boonen (Quick.Step) is still in third place on 145 points, and may be able to score a few more in this week's Eneco Tour.
Thanks to Valverde, Caisse d'Epargne closed to within 10 points of Team CSC on the teams rankings, with Rabobank moving up two spots to third place. In addition, he also helped Spain increase its lead over Italy by five points in the nations rankings (only top five from each nation count towards the nations rankings).
In yesterday's Subida a Urkiola, won by Euskaltel-Euskadi's Iban Mayo, Valverde crashed while climbing the Urkiola, but was not seriously hurt. The rider from Murcia remounted his bike almost immediately and finished the race in 15th place.
ProTour Rankings as of August 12, 2006
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