Sanchez prevails in Eibar

Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) gave something for the thousands of Basque cycling fans to celebrate at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco on Thursday by winning the fourth stage from Amurrio to Eibar with a late attack on the descent to the finish.

Sanchez made his move in the final kilometre after a series of attacks on the steep final climb had selected a high quality front group but failed to eliminate any of the main contenders. He won on the same stage finish last year to make a rare double.

Sanchez caught his rivals by surprise and dived through several fast corners to finish a few metres ahead of Andreas Klöden (RadioShack) and Alexandre Vinokourov.

Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha), Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Cervelo) and Chris Horner (RadioShack) were just behind and finished in the same time. With no time bonuses awarded at stage finishes, Rodriguez kept the overall race lead. Klöden and Sanchez are second and third in the same time, with Horner fourth at just one second. Hesjedal is fifth at six seconds and Vinokourov is tenth at 10 seconds.

Friday’s stage to Zalla is not expected to spark any major changes, meaning overall victory will be decided in Saturday’s 27km time trial.

“When I saw I couldn’t get time during the stage to try and get the lead, I thought I'd go for the stage win and leave it at that,” Sanchez explained on Spanish television.

“I was lucky, maybe, but knowing the climb and being a bit cunning made for a big difference. I didn't feel at all good on the climb. The heat was really bad, we all suffered a lot. I want to dedicate this win to the Basque fans that always support our team in good times and bad.”

Rodriguez pulled on the yellow jersey and seemed happy just to hold onto it for another day. He must know that Klöden, Sanchez, and the others are all better time triallists and will surely take time out of him on Saturday.

“It's going to be very hard defending this jersey in the final time trial but I'll give it everything. I'm guessing tomorrow there'll be a breakaway and then I'll start the time trial as leader,” he said.

“The heat was tough for everybody, I'd have liked to have attacked but I lacked the jump in my legs and so rode more defensively.”

Hard racing in the hills and heat

The Vuelta al Pais Vasco is known for its rain-soaked stages and hilly roads but yet again this year, the sun was shining on the riders at the start in Amurrio, although the riders faced seven nasty categorised climbs and dozens of other short climbs as the stage winds through the hills and valleys to Eibar.

After a fast start and several attacks, the early break of the day formed at the 21km mark when Michael Albasini (HTC-Highroad), Maxim Belkov (Vacansoleil) and Sánchez Pimienta (Caja Rural) got away. The peloton, and especially the Katusha team of race leader Joaquin Rodriguez, was happy to let them go and they gradually built a double digit lead.

At 74km it touched a massive 12:20 but that was as high as it got, as Euskaltel-Euskadi accepted responsibility for the chase and gathered on the front. Katusha also did their bit and the gap fell as the kilometres ticked down and the climbs were covered.

David Arroyo (Movistar), Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha), Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) tried to go across to the break with 35km to go but they were given little freedom and were quickly pulled back as Euskaltel-Euskadi rode on the front to set up Sanchez. Eddie Ratto (Geox-TMC) tried to go across on the descent to Eibar before the final climb but he was quickly caught too as Jens Voigt pulled everything together to set up the Schleck brothers.

The race came back together at the very foot of the Alto de Usartza, ready for the big show down, but quickly split again as the gradient reared its head and began to hurt. Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) was soon struggling and other names fell out the back on the 8% climb, including Tony Martin and Jurgen Van den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto).

Frank Schleck (Leopard Trek) was the first to make a serious move with five kilometres to go. He surged away with his jersey flapping in the wind and was quickly joined by Xavier Tondo (Movistar). They opened a 15-secopnd gap as the other overall contenders hesitated and saved their best for nearer the summit. It proved the best way to race because Schleck quickly lost contact with Tondo and was then almost dropped near the summit after his huge effort.

Tondo fought on through the huge crowds in the final three kilometres of the climb and looked good but behind strong attacks by Vinokourov and Sanchez cut into his lead. He made it over the top of the climb but the chasers had him in their sights during the three kilometres of flat road and descent to the finish.

Schleck made a late attack just before the final kilometre and was followed by Vinokourov but they were pulled back because nobody wanted to lose contact.

Suddenly Sanchez made his move in the shadow of the trees. He got a few metres advantage at the front and caught the others by surprise. Klöden went after him and the others followed but they were too late to stop the adopted Basque rider from crossing the line first and taking the cheers of the crowd. Sanchez may have been born in the Asturias region of Spain but after spending his entire career with Euskaltel-Euskadi, this was a win for the Basque Country.

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