A day after Julian Arredondo took the first victory of the year for the Trek Factory Racing squad, his team-mate Giacomo Nizzolo made it a second victory for the new setup when he won a big bunch gallop to the line in the Tour de San Luis yesterday.
The Italian, who won two stages plus the points classification in last year’s Tour of Luxembourg, sped in ahead of Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Movistar Team), Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team), Tyler Farrar (Garmin Sharp), Davide Appollonio (AG2R La Mondiale) and the rest of the peloton at the end of the 175.4 kilometre stage from Tilisarao to Juana Koslay.
Boonen had been led out by his team-mate Mark Cavendish but, despite that effort, was unable to overcome Nizzolo and Ventoso.
“The last three or four kilometers were a little bit uphill so the speed was not so high. It was hard because everyone tried to move up,” said Nizzolo. “When it’s bunched up like that it’s a little crazy.
“In the last kilometer I was tenth or fifteenth position with Danilo [Hondo] and Eugenio [Alafaci]. Lampre was leading the sprint and then Cavendish started with Boonen on his wheel. I came from behind and I overtook them with around 100 meters to go.”
Boonen said that after trying to take the stage on day one, the Omega Pharma Quick Step team decided to go for it again today. “I’m already in good condition, but these weather circumstances are really hard. It was the hottest day of my career,” he said. “I was really suffering. Everybody was really suffering. Going into the sprint I think everything went perfectly, but I think I wanted it too much. I think I went a bit too early.
“Cavendish gave me a good leadout and he still wasn’t finished, but I saw the sign and I thought it was a headwind with a three to four percent uphill. I had the sensation that we weren’t going fast enough so I just went. So when I came into the wind I felt I was going to lose by the last 30 meters. My legs just blew in the last five seconds. I’m already happy to be there, but if you’re doing all those big efforts you want to do something more than third place.”
Still, he saw his showing as a good sign, particularly as the team lost leadout man Alessandro Petacchi on day one due to food poisoning.
Stage one winner Phil Gaimon (Garmin Sharp) finished in the main bunch and, in doing so, preserved his healthy overnight lead.
He is one minute 47 seconds ahead of his closest rival Marc De Maar (Team Unitedhealthcare) at 1 min 47 secs, while Christian Meier (Orica Greenedge) is three minutes 56 secs behind in third. Stage two runner-up Peter Stetina (BMC Racing Team) and the rider who beat him to the line, Julian Arredondo (Trek Factory Racing), are both four minutes 16 seconds back, three seconds ahead of Stetina’s team-mate Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (BMC Racing Team) and 2013 Tour de France runner-up Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Movistar Team).
The stage was another extremely hot one, with temperatures above forty degrees Celsius. The attackers weren’t deterred, though, with Juan Ignacio Curuchet and Julian Barrientos of Selecion Argentina, Clement Koretzky of team Bretagne Secha, Ignacio Maldonado of Selección de Uruguay and Patricio Almonacid of Selección de Chile all attacking right after the drop of the flag.
They move was finally reeled in eighteen kilometres from the end, after which the sprinters’ teams controlled things and helped pave the way for a massive bunch gallop.
“The wind caused a lot of stress during the stage but at the end it did not make such a difference because the last three to four kilometers were uphill,” said Nizzolo, “and we were shielded from the wind. It was a side-wind all day and it was really hard; it was a tough stage.
“It was positive to arrive early to San Luis and get adapted to the heat,” he continued, explaining one advantage he had. “To win over Boonen and Ventoso makes me very happy because they’re great riders.”
The race continues today with a 166 kilometre stage finishing at the top of the Cerro El Amago.
Tour de San Luis, Argentina (2.1)
Stage 3, Tilisarao to Juana Koslay:
1, Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing) 175.4 kilometres in 4 hours 14 mins 19 secs
2, Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Movistar Team)
3, Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team)
4, Tyler Farrar (Garmin Sharp)
5, Davide Appollonio (AG2R La Mondiale)
6, Damiano Caruso (Cannondale)
7, Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing Team)
8, Juan Esteban Arango (Team Colombia)
9, Edwin Alcibiades Avila (Team Colombia)
10, Marc De Maar (Team Unitedhealthcare)
11, Clement Koretzky (Bretagne - Seche Environnement)
12, Anthony Delaplace (Bretagne - Seche Environnement)
13, Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team)
14, Peter Stetina (BMC Racing Team)
15, Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (Astana Pro Team)
16, Aidis Kruopis (Orica Greenedge)
17, Mikel Landa Meana (Astana Pro Team)
18, Martijn Verschoor (Team Novo Nordisk)
19, Luke Keough (Team Unitedhealthcare)
20, Lucas Euser (Team Unitedhealthcare)
21, Ivan Santaromita (Orica Greenedge)
22, Christian Meier (Orica Greenedge)
23, Eugenio Alafaci (Trek Factory Racing)
24, Facundo Lezica (Argentina)
25, Eduardo Sepulveda (Bretagne - Seche Environnement)
26, Giampaolo Caruso (Team Katusha)
27, Carlos Alzate (Team Unitedhealthcare)
28, Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (Movistar Team)
29, Kenny De Haes (Lotto Belisol)
30, Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida)
31, Marcos Crespo (Buenos Aires Provincia)
32, Dominik Nerz (BMC Racing Team)
33, Lawrence Warbasse (BMC Racing Team)
34, Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Movistar Team)
35, Gregory Brenes (Jamis-Hagens Berman)
36, Emanuele Sella (Androni Giocattoli)
37, Julian Arredondo (Trek Factory Racing)
38, Ignacio Maldonado (Uruguay)
39, Winner Anacona Gomez (Lampre-Merida)
40, Fabricio Ferrari (Uruguay)
41, Andrea Peron (Team Novo Nordisk)
42, Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (BMC Racing Team)
43, Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Lotto Belisol)
44, Gianfranco Zilioli (Androni Giocattoli)
45, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team)
46, Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Trek Factory Racing)
47, Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale)
48, Ben Jacques-Maynes (Jamis-Hagens Berman)
49, Enzo Moyano (San Luis Somos Todos)
50, Florian Guillou (Bretagne - Seche Environnement)
King of the mountains:
Category three climb at Paso Grande (km. 53.4):
1, Patricio Almonacid (Chile) 3 pts
2, Ignacio Maldonado (Uruguay) 2
3, Julian Barrientos (Argentina) 1
Intermediate sprints:
La Toma (km 66):
1, Juan I. Curuchet (Argentina) 3 pts
2, Patricio Almonacid (Chile) 2
3, Ignacio Maldonado (Uruguay) 1
Circuito Auto. (km 149.70):
1, Pieter Weening (Orica Greenedge) 3 pts
2, Jonathan Guzman (Chile) 2
3, Daniel Diaz (San Luis Somos Todos) 1
Teams:
1, Bretagne - Seche Environnement, 12 hours 42 mins 57 secs
2, UnitedHealthcare
3, BMC Racing Team
4, Orica GreenEdge
5, Trek Factory Racing
6, Movistar Team
7, Astana
8, Team Colombia
9, Garmin Sharp
10, AG2R La Mondiale
11, Lampre-Merida
12, Buenos Aires Provincia
13, Jamis-Hagens Berman
14, Androni Giocattoli
15, San Luis Somos Todos
16, Clube Dataro de Ciclismo-Bottecchia
17, Team Novo Nordisk, at 15 secs
18, Lotto Belisol, at 22 secs
19, Team Katusha, at 1 min 0 secs
20, Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team, at 1 min 6 secs
21, Cannondale, at 1 min 23 secs
22, Uruguay, at 2 mins 36 secs
23, Chile, at 3 mins 11 secs
24, Cuba, at 8 mins 19 secs
25, Argentina, at 15 mins 52 secs
Overall classification:
1, Phillip Gaimon (Garmin Sharp) 12 hours 34 mins 53 secs
2, Marc De Maar (Team Unitedhealthcare) at 1 min 47 secs
3, Christian Meier (Orica Greenedge) at 3 mins 56 secs
4, Peter Stetina (BMC Racing Team) at 4 mins 16 secs
5, Julian Arredondo (Trek Factory Racing)
6, Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (BMC Racing Team) at 4 mins 19 secs
7, Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Movistar Team)
8, Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Trek Factory Racing) at 4 mins 21 secs
9, Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale)
10, Ivan Santaromita (Orica Greenedge)
11, Damiano Caruso (Cannondale) at 4 mins 24 secs
12, Thomas Danielson (Garmin Sharp)
13, Eduardo Sepulveda (Bretagne - Seche Environnement)
14, Miguel Angel Rubiano (Team Colombia)
15, Enzo Moyano (San Luis Somos Todos) at 4 mins 27 secs
16, Lucas Euser (Team Unitedhealthcare)
17, Isaac Bolivar (Team Unitedhealthcare)
18, Florian Guillou (Bretagne - Seche Environnement) at 4 mins 47 secs
19, Adam Yates (Orica Greenedge)
20, Robert Squire (Jamis-Hagens Berman)
21, Winner Anacona Gomez (Lampre-Merida) at 4 mins 50 secs
22, Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) at 4 mins 55 secs
23, Dominik Nerz (BMC Racing Team)
24, Gianfranco Zilioli (Androni Giocattoli) at 5 mins 0 secs
25, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team) at 5 mins 10 secs
26, Lawrence Warbasse (BMC Racing Team)
27, Sergio Godoy (San Luis Somos Todos)
28, Mikel Landa Meana (Astana Pro Team) at 5 mins 15 secs
29, Emanuele Sella (Androni Giocattoli)
30, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) at 5 mins 17 secs
31, Patrick Facchini (Androni Giocattoli) at 5 mins 23 secs
32, Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Movistar Team) at 5 mins 33 secs
33, Caio Godoy (Clube Dataro de Ciclismo-Bottecchia) at 5 mins 36 secs
34, Alcides Vieira (Clube Dataro de Ciclismo-Bottecchia) at 5 mins 47 secs
35, Alberto Losada Alguacil (Team Katusha) at 5 mins 49 secs
36, Juan Pablo Valencia (Team Colombia) at 6 mins 2 secs
37, Alfredo Lucero (San Luis Somos Todos) at 6 mins 5 secs
38, Clement Koretzky (Bretagne - Seche Environnement) at 6 mins 19 secs
39, Cleberson Weber (Clube Dataro de Ciclismo-Bottecchia) at 6 mins 28 secs
40, Michele Scarponi (Astana Pro Team) at 6 mins 35 secs
41, Danilo Hondo (Trek Factory Racing) at 6 mins 54 secs
42, Fabricio Ferrari (Uruguay)
43, Jean-Marc Bideau (Bretagne - Seche Environnement)
44, Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (Movistar Team) at 6 mins 58 secs
45, Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team)
46, Daniel Diaz (San Luis Somos Todos)
47, David Lozano (Team Novo Nordisk) at 7 mins 9 secs
48, Anthony Delaplace (Bretagne - Seche Environnement) at 7 mins 23 secs
49, Wolfgang Burmann (Chile) at 7 mins 25 secs
50, Edwin Alcibiades Avila (Team Colombia) at 7 mins 28 secs
King of the Mountains:
1, Julian Arredondo (Trek Factory Racing) 10 pts
2, Peter Stetina (BMC Racing Team) 8
3, Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Movistar Team) 6
4, Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (BMC Racing Team) 4
5, Patricio Almonacid (Chile) 3
6, Cristian Martinez (San Luis Somos Todos) 3
7, Phillip Gaimon (Garmin Sharp) 3
8, Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale) 2
9, Ignacio Maldonado (Uruguay) 2
10, Jorge Giacinti (San Luis Somos Todos) 2
11, Marc De Maar (Team Unitedhealthcare) 2
Sprints:
1, Sebastian Tolosa (Buenos Aires Provincia) 6 pts
2, Julian Gaday (Buenos Aires Provincia) 5
3, Jonathan Guzman (Chile) 5
4, Juan I. Curuchet (Argentina) 3
5, Pieter Weening (Orica Greenedge) 3
6, Emiliano J. Contreras (Argentina) 3
7, Marc De Maar (Team Unitedhealthcare) 3
8, Jorge Giacinti (San Luis Somos Todos) 3
9, Patricio Almonacid (Chile) 2
10, Phillip Gaimon (Garmin Sharp) 1
11, Daniel Diaz (San Luis Somos Todos) 1
Under 23:
1, Adam Yates (Orica Greenedge)
2, Caio Godoy (Clube Dataro de Ciclismo-Bottecchia)
3, Lucas Gaday (Buenos Aires Provincia)
4, Facundo Lezica (Argentina)
Teams:
1, UnitedHealthcare 37 hours 55 mins 20 secs
2, San Luis Somos Todos, at 1 min 52 secs
3, Orica GreenEdge, at 2 mins 23 secs
4, BMC Racing Team, at 2 mins 49 secs
5, Bretagne - Seche Environnement, at 4 mins 49 secs
6, Trek Factory Racing, at 4 mins 50 secs
7, Androni Giocattoli, at 4 mins 57 secs
8, Garmin Sharp, at 5 mins 25 secs
9, Astana, at 5 mins 39 secs
10, Movistar Team, at 6 mins 9 secs
11, Clube Dataro de Ciclismo-Bottecchia, at 6 mins 27 secs
12, Team Colombia, at 7 mins 13 secs
13, Lampre-Merida, at 7 mins 30 secs
14, Jamis-Hagens Berman, at 11 mins 58 secs
15, Lotto Belisol, at 12 mins 16 secs
16, AG2R La Mondiale, at 13 mins 30 secs
17, Team Novo Nordisk, at 14 mins 27 secs
18, Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team, at 14 mins 39 secs
19, Team Katusha, at 15 mins 15 secs
20, Cannondale, at 15 mins 58 secs
21, Uruguay, at 17 mins 18 secs
22, Chile, at 20 mins 14 secs
23, Buenos Aires Provincia, at 20 mins 18 secs
24, Argentina, at 24 mins 23 secs
25, Cuba, at 43 mins 31 secs