Kiryienka escapes for solo victory

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Vasili Kiryienka (Movistar) won his first race in almost three years at stage two of the Vuelta Pais Vasco, with a perfectly executed late attack and a sustained burst of speed.

Andreas Klöden (RadioShack) brought home the chasers, just ahead of Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek), and so the German took the overall race leads from Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) thanks to better stage placings. Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) is third, also in the same time.

Kiryienka finished second overall behind Fränk Schleck at the recent Criterium International but had not won a race since the 2008 Giro d’Italia when he won the 238km stage to Monte Pora with a solo attack.

“This is my first win for a long time, so I’m very happy. I’ve often worked for the rest of the team but it’s nice to win, especially here because I live very close (in Pamplona),” he said on television immediately after his win.

“I have to thank my teammates because there were three or four of us at the top of the last climb. We don’t have a big leader because Alejandro [Valverde] is not with us but we’ve got lots of strong riders who can win stages and we’re all feeling pretty good: David Lopez, Beñat Intxausti and Xavier Tondo are all going well. I’m not going badly either. My big goal is the Giro d’Italia.”

The hilly stage profile, tough last climb and the warm weather meant that most of the big-name stage racers showed their form in the finale.

Behind Klöden and Andy Schleck, Chris Anker Sørensen (Saxo Bank-SunGard) finished fourth, 2010 overall winner Chris Horner (RadioShack) was fifth, Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto) was sixth, Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Cervelo) was seventh and Fränk Schleck (Leopard Trek) was eighth.

Horner is now fourth overall, just one second behind Klöden, giving RadioShack a strong hand to play before the final time trial on Saturday.

“It was difficult stage because we started off fast and the finish was difficult. There were a lot of attacks, probably 10 on the last climb, including a good one from Fränk Schleck,” Horner said on television.

“I was happy to finish with Rodriguez yesterday. I hope to do well later on too. Klodi is good in time trials and I’m good too, so having two leaders is better for us.”

Hard and hilly racing

The 163km stage included seven short climbs, with the painful sounding final climb of Alto de Azpiroz rising at an average of 8.5% for 3.5km.

Craig Lewis (HTC-Highroad) and Michael Rogers (Team Sky) were in the early break but they were pulled back. Then just before the Paso de Altzo, after 39km, four riders formed another move and this time they got a gap. In the move were Amaël Moinard (BMC), Maxim Iglinsky (Astana), Dario Cataldo (Quick Step) and Rafa Valls (Geox-TMC). They opened a 5:45 lead but the Katusha team, with some help from Lampre-ISD, lead the chase.

The tough terrain and a determined chase by Garmin-Cervelo team on the Alto de Leaburu climb meant the break was caught 30km from the finish. Garmin-Cervelo rode hard at the front, sacrificing several riders, including Christian Vande Velde, to set up team leader Hesjedal for the final Azpiroz climb.

The first real attack, however, came from former Under 23 world champion Fabio Duarte (Geox-TMC). He jumped away and got a gap but only served as something to chase for the big-name riders behind. Fränk Schleck sparked the chase with a strong attack and was joined by Kiryienka, Horner and briefly by Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) and Rigoberto Uran (Team Sky). Rodriguez also jumped across after Duarte was caught but the race came back together at the summit of the climb.

Movistar had four riders in the front group and used their numerical advantage well. Kiryienka went first and dragged the four others away. However he was hungry for his first win for three years and went again with 1400 metres to go as if he was trying to take a lap in the points race. Despite a high speed chase, he held on to win, with the big-name stage racers all finishing behind him.