Spain - Rojas beats Giro champion
José Joaquín Rojas (Movistar) beat Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) for the Spanish road race title in a two-up sprint. Euskaltel-Euskadi rider Koldo Fernandez De Larrea led home the first big group 28 seconds later for third place.
Contador made the decisive move on the tough category-two climb, the Desierto de Las Palmas. Rojas was the only one able to follow the surge and they traded turns perfectly on the descent, 15 kilometers from the finish. Rojas is known to have a fast kick and did not let get himself surprised by Contador.
Rojas was reflective at the finish. "This was a very emotional victory. It seems like we're having a streak of bad luck with all the disasters suffered, but we're still taking really important successes," Rojas said. "This one can only be dedicated for those two people: Xavi Tondo, who will surely feel happy up there, and Mauricio Soler, still recovering from his crash in Switzerland."
Rojas was happy that he could show his critics, after climbing with Contador. "I have always said I wasn't only a sprinter, I feel more like a rider for one-day races like today's, and I hope to keep improving this way." Rojas has been going well lately. "I showed my level was really high at the Tour de Suisse, and this victory was the confirmation of my form."
The tactics for Movistar were clear-cut. "We knew from the start that the strongest rider was Contador. He's the best climber in the world, and so we tried to make the race difficult for everyone, so we could compete with only him in the key moment."
Contador then made his expected move, dropping everyone but Rojas. "I gave everything into the ascent to keep his wheel, because I knew there was some reward at the end," Rojas said. "I never thought we would be caught behind, because we were strong and cooperated well."
His next race will be the Tour de France "It's obvious that this gives me more morale to achieve my goal: winning a stage. I obtained fourth place in the green jersey competition, which shows that I was on consistent, but I think there are some selective finished that suit me well, too."
Results - 196.7 km
1. ROJAS GIL Jose Joaquin MOV
2. CONTADOR VELASCO Alberto SBS 01"
3. FERNANDEZ DE LARREA Koldo EUS 28"
4. HERRADA LOPEZ Jesus MOV 28"
5. MADRAZO RUIZ Angel MOV 28"
6. LASTRAS GARCIA Pablo MOV 28"
7. FLECHA GIANNONI Juan Antonio SKY 28"
8. PASAMONTES RODRIGUEZ Luis MOV 28"
9. CABEDO CARDA Victor ORB 28"
10. GARCIA FERNANDEZ Marcos TKT 28"
Netherlands - Ligthart adds title to dream neo-pro season
Pim Ligthart (Vacansoleil) won the Dutch road race championships in Ootmarsum over 243 kilometers. He beat Bram Tanking from the favored Rabobank team and Reinier Honig (Landbouwkrediet).
Ligthart believed in his chance from a long way out. "Really, when I heard where it was being held," he said to cyclingzone.nl. Ligthart was the quickest in a six-man front group. "When I came through the final turn I knew it was looking good," Ligthart said.
He thanked his teammate Rob Ruijgh for the work in the front group. "He rode incredibly strong, I am really thankful for that." Despite the pre-race confidence, Ligthart admitted there were doubts sometimes during the race. "When we were six on the front, I expected someone to come from behind. Only when there were no attacks in the last half lap did I believe in victory."
Results - 243 kilometers
1. LIGTHART Pim VCD
2. TANKINK Bram RAB
3. HONIG Reinier LAN
4. GOESINNEN Floris DPC
5. MOLLEMA Bauke RAB
6. RUIJGH Rob VCD
7. BOS Theo RAB
8. VAN DIJK Stefan VWA
9. VEELERS Tom SKS
Luxembourg - Schleck brothers decide on Fränk
Like last year, Fränk Schleck became the Luxembourg national champion ahead of his brother Andy. Both Schlecks came to the finish line together, with the younger brother Andy letting Fränk get the glory and his third title, after 2008 and 2010. Laurent Didier was third, 35 seconds back.
Results - 160.8km
1. SCHLECK Fränk LEO 3h54'06"
2. SCHLECK Andy LEO 06"
3. DIDIER Laurent SBS 01'15"
4. HELMIG Christian - 04'01"
5. DISEVISCOURT Ralph - 04'01"
6. WURTH Benn - 04'01"
7. ZANGERLE Joel CCD 04'01"
8. GASTAUER Ben ALM 04'01"
9. HERMAN Philippe - 04'01"
10. TRIEBEL Pascal - 04'05"
Other results
Denmark - 208 km
1. SÖRENSEN Nicki SBS 4h43'10"
2. MORTENSEN Martin LEO 48"
3. REIHS Michael TST 48"
4. RASMUSSEN Alex THR 50"
5. SÖRENSEN Chris Anker SBS 50"
6. MORKOV CHRISTENSEN Michael SBS 50"
7. LANDER Sebastian VPC 50"
8. VINTHER Troels Ronning GLU 50"
9. HESTER HANSEN Marc TST 50"
10. BRESCHEL Matti RAB 50"
Norway - 195.6km
1. KRISTOFF Alexander BMC
2. LAENGEN Vegard Stake TJM
3. HUSHOVD Thor GRM
4. EIDSHEIM Filip SPV
5. NORDHAUG Lars Petter SKY
6. BYSTRØM Sven Erik -
Slovakia
1. SAGAN Peter LIQ 4h38'42"
2. JURCO Matej DUK 58"