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Rabon rolls to Murcia TT win

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Czech assumes race lead

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Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) time trials to an 8th place finish.

Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) time trials to an 8th place finish. (Image credit: Bosco Martin)
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Lance Armstrong (Team RadioShack) recons the time trial course.

Lance Armstrong (Team RadioShack) recons the time trial course. (Image credit: Bosco Martin)
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Oleg Chuzhda (Caja Rural)

Oleg Chuzhda (Caja Rural) (Image credit: Bosco Martin)
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American time trial champion David Zabriskie (Garmin - Transitions)

American time trial champion David Zabriskie (Garmin - Transitions) (Image credit: Bosco Martin)
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Overnight race leader Josep Jufre (Astana) finished ninth and lost his yellow jersey to Rabon.

Overnight race leader Josep Jufre (Astana) finished ninth and lost his yellow jersey to Rabon. (Image credit: Bosco Martin)
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Andreas Klöden (Team RadioShack) en route to a fourth place finish in the time trial.

Andreas Klöden (Team RadioShack) en route to a fourth place finish in the time trial. (Image credit: Bosco Martin)
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2009 Murcia champion Denis Menchov finished second in the time trial.

2009 Murcia champion Denis Menchov finished second in the time trial. (Image credit: Bosco Martin)
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Norway's Lars Petter Nordhaug (Team Sky)

Norway's Lars Petter Nordhaug (Team Sky) (Image credit: Bosco Martin)
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Frantisek Rabon (HTC - Columbia) celebrates his time trial victory.

Frantisek Rabon (HTC - Columbia) celebrates his time trial victory. (Image credit: Bosco Martin)
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Frantisek Rabon (HTC - Columbia) takes over the race lead entering Sunday's final stage.

Frantisek Rabon (HTC - Columbia) takes over the race lead entering Sunday's final stage. (Image credit: Bosco Martin)
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Czech time trial champion Frantisek Rabon (HTC - Columbia) won the Murcia time trial stage for the second straight year.

Czech time trial champion Frantisek Rabon (HTC - Columbia) won the Murcia time trial stage for the second straight year. (Image credit: Bosco Martin)
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British time trial champion Bradley Wiggins (Sky) in action during stage four.

British time trial champion Bradley Wiggins (Sky) in action during stage four. (Image credit: Bosco Martin)
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Bradley Wiggins (Sky) finished third, 48 seconds down on Rabon.

Bradley Wiggins (Sky) finished third, 48 seconds down on Rabon. (Image credit: Bosco Martin)

Frantisek Rabon (HTC-Columbia) won the 22km individual time trial stage at the Tour of Murcia on Saturday and took the overall race lead.

The time trial specialist from the Czech Republic set a time of 25:10 for the flat 22km course, beating all the other big name favourites to earn his team's 10th win of the season and the leader’s yellow jersey.

Denis Menchov (Rabobank) was 33 seconds slower, Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) was third at 48 seconds and Andreas Klöden (RadioShack) was fourth at 52 seconds.

Rabon started the time trial with a five second advantage on most of his rivals and so leads Menchov by 38 seconds with only Sunday’s flat stage remaining.

Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) finished eighth in the time trial, 1:18 slower than Rabon and so is now seventh overall. Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Transitions) was tenth at 1:23 on the stage.

Rabon also won the time trial stage in last year's Tour of Murcia and said, "My performance was pretty similar, but I think the big difference overall is that last year after winning the time trial I got dropped on the mountains the following day. This time we've already had the race's most mountainous stage and I got through fine.

"I was feeling confident because I'd done pretty well in my previous race, the Tour of the Algarve [in Portugal], where I was seventh overall. I was third last rider to start, which was an advantage because I had time references on my rivals and knew when I had to go faster."

Rabon is optimistic about defending the leader's jersey on Sunday's final stage. "Some of the other teams will try to attack me on the last stage, and of course it can be dangerous, but I've already shown I'm pretty strong in the climbs," said Rabon. "We've got a good team here, so if everything goes well I'll be able to hold on."

The Tour of Murcia finishes with a 121km stage from Redyser to Murcia. The stage includes two climbs but is expected to end in a sprint.

Full Results
1Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team HTC - Columbia0:25:10
2Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank0:00:33
3Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky0:00:48
4Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack0:00:52
5Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia0:01:03
6Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:01:11
7Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank0:01:18
8Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack
9Josep Jufre (Spa) Astana0:01:21
10David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Transitions0:01:23
11Timon Seubert (Ger) Team Netapp0:01:34
12Jack Bauer (NZl) Endura Racing0:01:38
13Daryl Impey (RSA) Team Radioshack0:01:39
14Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank0:01:41
15Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram0:01:42
16Roger Kluge (Ger) Team Milram0:01:51
17Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Team HTC - Columbia0:01:52
18Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:01:59
19Robert Bengsch (Ger) German National Team
20Martin Velits (Svk) Team HTC - Columbia0:02:09
21Lukasz Bodnart (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice
22José Herrada (Spa) Caja Rural0:02:10
23Jan Barta (Cze) Team Netapp0:02:11
24Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana0:02:12
25Danny Pate (USA) Garmin - Transitions0:02:14
26Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Astana0:02:15
27Robert Bartko (Ger) German National Team0:02:16
28Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank
29Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana0:02:19
30Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin - Transitions0:02:20
31Dominik Roels (Ger) Team Milram0:02:24
32Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:02:25
33Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Team Radioshack
34Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:02:31
35Stefan Denifl (Aut) Cervélo TestTeam0:02:33
36Bjorn Schroder (Ger) Team Milram0:02:35
37José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Team Radioshack0:02:37
38Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:02:38
39Philip Deignan (Irl) Cervélo TestTeam0:02:44
40Nicolas Portal (Fra) Team Sky0:02:45
41Robert Partridge (GBr) Endura Racing0:02:46
42Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Rabobank0:02:50
43Tomasz Lisowicz (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:02:52
44Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Team HTC - Columbia0:02:53
45Trent Lowe (Aus) Garmin - Transitions0:02:56
46Sergey Shilov (Rus) Russian National Team0:03:01
47Alexandre Blain (Fra) Endura Racing0:03:04
48Ian Wilkilson (GBr) Endura Racing0:03:09
49Theo Bos (Ned) Cervélo TestTeam0:03:10
50Thomas Rohregger (Aut) Team Milram
51Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team HTC - Columbia0:03:11
52Mauricio Ardila (Col) Rabobank
53Dominik Nerz (Ger) Team Milram
54Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam0:03:14
55Gert Dockx (Bel) Team HTC - Columbia0:03:16
56Michel Kreder (Ned) Garmin - Transitions
57Sergey Chernetskiy (Rus) Russian National Team0:03:17
58Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team Netapp0:03:25
59Adan Sznitko (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:03:28
60Nico Keinath (Ger) Team Netapp0:03:32
61Dariusz Batek (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:03:33
62Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky0:03:35
63Michal Golas (Pol) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:03:39
64Joao Correia (Por) Cervélo TestTeam0:03:42
65Marcel Wyss (Swi) Cervélo TestTeam0:03:43
66Artur Ershow (Rus) Russian National Team0:03:44
67Peter Wrolich (Aut) Team Milram0:03:50
68Egor Korolev (Rus) Russian National Team0:03:51
69Bolat Raimbekov (Kaz) Astana0:03:54
70Víctor Cabedo (Spa) Spanish National Team0:03:55
71Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Caja Rural0:03:56
72Oleg Chuzhda (Ukr) Caja Rural0:03:57
73Jason Mccartney (USA) Team Radioshack0:03:58
74Russell Downing (GBr) Team Sky0:04:01
75Arturo Mora (Spa) Caja Rural0:04:05
76Oscar Pujol (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam
77Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Sky0:04:07
78Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin - Transitions
79Morris Possoni (Ita) Team Sky0:04:10
80Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
81Rubén Reig (Spa) Caja Rural0:04:12
82Krzystof Jezowsky (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:04:16
83Gregory Rast (Swi) Team Radioshack0:04:18
84José Carlos Lara (Spa) Spanish National Team0:04:23
85Higinio Fernández (Spa) Caja Rural0:04:26
86Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Team Netapp0:04:29
87Henning Bommel (Ger) German National Team0:04:37
88Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Team Netapp0:04:38
89Antonio Cabello (Spa) Spanish National Team0:04:39
90Matteo Carrara (Ita) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:04:42
91Pablo Lechuga (Spa) Spanish National Team0:04:48
92Evan Oliphant (GBr) Endura Racing0:04:51
93Salvador Guardiola (Spa) Spanish National Team0:05:09
94Vitor Rodrigues (Por) Caja Rural0:05:10
95James Moss (GBr) Endura Racing0:05:16
96Stefan Schafer (Ger) German National Team
97Marcel Barth (Ger) German National Team0:05:18
98Manuel Anton (Spa) Spanish National Team0:05:20
99Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana0:05:26
100Ross Creber (GBr) Endura Racing0:05:33
101Erik Mohs (Ger) German National Team0:06:05
102Maxim Kozyrev (Rus) Russian National Team0:06:58
103Alexander Sokolov (Rus) Russian National Team0:07:04
DNSAlexander Rybakov (Rus) Russian National Team

Points
1Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team HTC - Columbia25pts
2Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank20
3Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky16
4Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack14
5Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia12
6Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team10
7Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank9
8Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack8
9Josep Jufre (Spa) Astana7
10David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Transitions6
11Timon Seubert (Ger) Team Netapp5
12Jack Bauer (NZl) Endura Racing4
13Daryl Impey (RSA) Team Radioshack3
14Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank2
15Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram1

Teams
1Team HTC - Columbia1:18:25
2Rabobank0:00:37
3Team Radioshack0:00:54
4Astana0:02:53
5Team Milram0:03:02
6Garmin - Transitions
7Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:03:12
8CCC Polsat Polkowice0:04:05
9Sky Professional Cycling Team0:04:13
10Team Netapp0:04:15
11Endura Racing0:04:33
12Cervélo TestTeam0:05:32
13German National Team0:05:57
14Russian National Team0:07:07
15Caja Rural0:07:08
16Spanish National Team0:10:02

General classification after stage 4
1Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team HTC - Columbia13:17:49
2Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank0:00:38
3Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky0:00:53
4Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack0:00:57
5Josep Jufre (Spa) Astana0:01:21
6Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank0:01:23
7Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack
8Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank0:01:41
9Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram0:01:42
10Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:01:59
11Martin Velits (Svk) Team HTC - Columbia0:02:14
12José Herrada (Spa) Caja Rural0:02:15
13Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank0:02:21
14Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana0:02:24
15Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:02:30
16Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Team Radioshack
17Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:02:31
18Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:02:38
19Jack Bauer (NZl) Endura Racing0:02:41
20José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Team Radioshack0:02:42
21Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana0:02:55
22Thomas Rohregger (Aut) Team Milram0:03:10
23Stefan Denifl (Aut) Cervélo TestTeam0:03:16
24Matteo Carrara (Ita) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:04:42
25Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin - Transitions0:05:13
26Oscar Pujol (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam0:05:14
27Philip Deignan (Irl) Cervélo TestTeam0:05:37
28Danny Pate (USA) Garmin - Transitions0:06:00
29Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team HTC - Columbia0:06:52
30Dominik Nerz (Ger) Team Milram
31Gert Dockx (Bel) Team HTC - Columbia0:07:02
32Michal Golas (Pol) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:07:20
33Rubén Reig (Spa) Caja Rural0:07:58
34Jan Barta (Cze) Team Netapp0:08:17
35Morris Possoni (Ita) Team Sky0:08:33
36Sergey Chernetskiy (Rus) Russian National Team0:08:45
37David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Transitions0:09:35
38Mauricio Ardila (Col) Rabobank0:09:45
39Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Astana0:10:06
40Vitor Rodrigues (Por) Caja Rural0:10:38
41Ian Wilkilson (GBr) Endura Racing0:11:16
42Michel Kreder (Ned) Garmin - Transitions0:11:22
43Egor Korolev (Rus) Russian National Team0:11:58
44Marcel Wyss (Swi) Cervélo TestTeam0:12:33
45Daryl Impey (RSA) Team Radioshack0:13:16
46Salvador Guardiola (Spa) Spanish National Team0:13:59
47Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam0:14:14
48Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:14:25
49Artur Ershow (Rus) Russian National Team0:15:26
50Peter Wrolich (Aut) Team Milram0:15:27
51Gregory Rast (Swi) Team Radioshack0:16:00
52Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Team Netapp0:16:11
53Evan Oliphant (GBr) Endura Racing0:17:11
54Robert Partridge (GBr) Endura Racing0:17:16
55Dariusz Batek (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:18:03
56Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky0:21:53
57Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Sky0:22:16
58Bolat Raimbekov (Kaz) Astana0:22:57
59Higinio Fernández (Spa) Caja Rural0:23:54
60Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia0:25:36
61Sergey Shilov (Rus) Russian National Team0:26:54
62Alexandre Blain (Fra) Endura Racing0:26:57
63Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team Netapp0:27:18
64Jason Mccartney (USA) Team Radioshack0:27:56
65Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank0:28:03
66Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Team HTC - Columbia0:29:39
67Nico Keinath (Ger) Team Netapp0:30:26
68Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Team Netapp0:31:51
69Nicolas Portal (Fra) Team Sky0:32:31
70Russell Downing (GBr) Team Sky0:33:47
71José Carlos Lara (Spa) Spanish National Team0:34:01
72Bjorn Schroder (Ger) Team Milram0:34:13
73Arturo Mora (Spa) Caja Rural0:34:24
74Henning Bommel (Ger) German National Team0:36:21
75Trent Lowe (Aus) Garmin - Transitions0:36:46
76Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana0:37:05
77James Moss (GBr) Endura Racing0:37:16
78Stefan Schafer (Ger) German National Team0:38:27
79Roger Kluge (Ger) Team Milram0:39:33
80Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) Team HTC - Columbia0:39:34
81Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin - Transitions0:41:02
82Víctor Cabedo (Spa) Spanish National Team0:41:33
83Krzystof Jezowsky (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:46:18
84Theo Bos (Ned) Cervélo TestTeam0:46:20
85Erik Mohs (Ger) German National Team0:46:35
86Oleg Chuzhda (Ukr) Caja Rural0:46:37
87Timon Seubert (Ger) Team Netapp0:46:58
88Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Rabobank0:47:40
89Joao Correia (Por) Cervélo TestTeam0:49:06
90Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Caja Rural0:49:20
91Manuel Anton (Spa) Spanish National Team0:50:45
92Marcel Barth (Ger) German National Team0:50:46
93Robert Bengsch (Ger) German National Team0:51:47
94Lukasz Bodnart (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:51:57
95Robert Bartko (Ger) German National Team0:52:04
96Dominik Roels (Ger) Team Milram0:52:12
97Tomasz Lisowicz (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:52:40
98Ross Creber (GBr) Endura Racing0:55:21
99Pablo Lechuga (Spa) Spanish National Team0:55:25
100Maxim Kozyrev (Rus) Russian National Team0:56:46
101Alexander Sokolov (Rus) Russian National Team0:56:52
102Adan Sznitko (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice0:59:44
103Antonio Cabello (Spa) Spanish National Team1:02:20

Points classification
1Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank40pts
2Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team HTC - Columbia35
3Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank34
4Josep Jufre (Spa) Astana32
5Vicente Reynes (Spa) Team HTC - Columbia32
6Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram28
7Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack26
8Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team23
9Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky23
10Daryl Impey (RSA) Team Radioshack21
11Alexandre Blain (Fra) Endura Racing20
12Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team Netapp19
13Michel Kreder (Ned) Garmin - Transitions17
14Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team15
15Ian Wilkilson (GBr) Endura Racing14
16Roger Kluge (Ger) Team Milram14
17Michal Golas (Pol) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team13
18Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia12
19Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank11
20Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank10
21Krzystof Jezowsky (Pol) CCC Polsat Polkowice10
22Stefan Denifl (Aut) Cervélo TestTeam9
23Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack8
24Russell Downing (GBr) Team Sky8
25José Herrada (Spa) Caja Rural6
26David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Transitions6
27Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Astana6
28Jack Bauer (NZl) Endura Racing5
29Bolat Raimbekov (Kaz) Astana5
30Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana5
31Timon Seubert (Ger) Team Netapp5
32Thomas Rohregger (Aut) Team Milram4
33Víctor Cabedo (Spa) Spanish National Team4
34Martin Velits (Svk) Team HTC - Columbia3
35Egor Korolev (Rus) Russian National Team3
36Peter Wrolich (Aut) Team Milram3
37Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank2
38Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana2
39José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Team Radioshack2
40Sergey Shilov (Rus) Russian National Team2
41Marcel Barth (Ger) German National Team2
42Rubén Reig (Spa) Caja Rural1
43Erik Mohs (Ger) German National Team1
44Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Caja Rural1

Sprints classification
1Alexandre Blain (Fra) Endura Racing6pts
2Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team5
3Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team3
4Marcel Barth (Ger) German National Team2
5José Luis Rubiera (Spa) Team Radioshack2
6Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank2
7Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Caja Rural1
8Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Astana1
9Erik Mohs (Ger) German National Team1
10Rubén Reig (Spa) Caja Rural1

Mountains classification
1Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team30pts
2Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team22
3Stefan Denifl (Aut) Cervélo TestTeam22
4Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team20
5Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank8
6José Herrada (Spa) Caja Rural8
7Jan Barta (Cze) Team Netapp8
8Danny Pate (USA) Garmin - Transitions7
9Josep Jufre (Spa) Astana4
10Rubén Reig (Spa) Caja Rural4
11Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin - Transitions2
12Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Astana2
13Iñigo Cuesta (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam2
14Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky2
15Alexandre Blain (Fra) Endura Racing2
16Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky1
17Stef Clement (Ned) Rabobank1
18Oscar Pujol (Spa) Cervélo TestTeam1
19Trent Lowe (Aus) Garmin - Transitions1
20Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Caja Rural1

Teams classification
1Rabobank39:57:04
2Team Radioshack0:00:22
3Astana0:02:16
4Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team0:02:30
5Team HTC - Columbia0:03:04
6Team Milram0:06:01
7Garmin - Transitions0:06:06
8Cervélo TestTeam0:07:25
9Caja Rural0:15:45
10Endura Racing0:24:18
11Sky Professional Cycling Team0:25:30
12Team Netapp0:26:44
13Russian National Team0:31:37
14CCC Polsat Polkowice0:59:55
15Spanish National Team1:13:10
16German National Team1:50:40

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