Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step) knows something that we don't? (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) not quite in form (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step) has a relaxing moment in the bunch (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Bettini concentrates with Vinokourov on his wheel (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel) attacks on the Jaizkibel (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
The bunch decides on what to do (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Damiano Cunego (Lampre) showing himself at the front (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Carlos Sastre (CSC) with Ricardo Ricco on his wheel, and Mayo and Schleck coming up (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Iban Mayo (Euskaltel) drives the break with Schleck and Sastre in tow (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Menchov, Mayo and Sastre come up the Jaizkibel in the lead (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Giuliano Figueras (Lampre) was almost, but not quite good enough to make the lead group (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) accompanied by Vladimir Karpets (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Luis Perez (Cofidis) leads the bunch up the Jaizkibel (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel) and Ricardo Ricco (Saunier Duval) help control the chase on the Jaizkibel (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) back in the game (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Xavier Florencio (Bouygues Telecom) beats Stefano Garzelli (R) and Andrey Kashechkin (L) to win the Clasica San Sebastian (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Xavier Florencio (Bouygues Telecom) celebrates his win in the Clasica San Sebastian (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) and fans (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
The Olympic champion has won on this course before (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) at the start (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
Swedish champion Thomas Lovkvist (Francaise Des Jeux) (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
Cadel Evans (Davitamon Lotto) heads to sign on (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
Salvatore Commesso (Lampre) talks to him at the start (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
Michael Rogers (T-Mobile) signs autographs (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
So too Carlos Sastre (CSC) - ever popular with the Spanish fans (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
Sastre said he would decide soon whether or not to ride the Vuelta this year, having already done the Giro and the Tour (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) got a very big response from the crowd, due in part to his status as ProTour leader but also because of his nationality (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
Alejandro Valverde was happy to be back racing (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
White carbon for Valverde (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
And an adoring fan (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
Alejandro Valverde and the rest of the team are presented to the crowd (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
Alejandro Valverde salutes his fans (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
Custom saddle - it reads 'Go like a Green Bullet' (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
Autograph time (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
Alejandro Valverde would ride well today (Image credit: Shane Stokes/Cyclingnews)
Bouygues Telecom rider surprises top favourites in taking career-best win
Spanish rider Xavier Florencio spent a lot of time in the Basque region as an amateur, riding many races here, but he admitted after today's Clásica San Sebastián that victory here was outside even his own high expectations. "If somebody told me this morning that I was going to win, I would have laughed," he told the media at the post-race press conference. Yet win he did, the 26 year old Bouygues Telecom rider unleashing a long but very powerful sprint to hold off 50 other riders on the flat, twisting finale down the Avenida de la Zurriola.
Florencio kicked for home with over 200 metres to go but in doing so was able to take the perfect – in other words, most direct – line along the curving run in to the line. Kazakh champion Andrey Kashechkin (Astana) was right on his wheel and looked set to come by, but despite a perfect leadout he couldn't match the Spaniard's raw strength. Neither could Italian rider Stefano Garzelli (Liquigas), who got by Kashechkin before the flag but could do nothing against Florencio, who romped home to take what was easily his biggest career win.
The Spanish rider has in the past achieved results such as 5th in both the Eneco Tour and the Tour of Valencia, as well as 18th in the Tour of Flanders plus 21st and 25th in editions of Milan San Remo, but nothing compared to what he did today. Even his recent good form in the Tour de L'Ain, where he was second on stage 1 and third overall, didn't give any real indication that he could top the podium in such a prestigious one day race. However the bunch contained plenty of strong riders who finished behind him, reflecting the power of his sprint and the quality of his win.
The vanquished include the likes of Garzelli and Kashechkin, as well as Mirko Celestino (Lampre, 6th), Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears, 8th), George Hincapie (Discovery Channel, 9th), Denis Menchov (Rabobank, 15th), Frank Schleck (CSC, 21st), Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank, 28th), Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana-Wurth, 39th), Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas, 40th), Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner, 43rd), Carlos Sastre (CSC, 45th) and Iban M
