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The Spaniard of FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI gets no chance to fight for victory after a mechanical failure when he was part of the leading move. Gilbert (OmegaPharma) wins in Eeklo and takes over the lead
CELIS LOSES THE WINNING BREAK IN BELGIUM
Belgian rider Philippe Gilbert (OmegaPharma) was the strongest in a rainy, fully accidented opening race in the 80th Tour of Belgium (2.HC), whose 157 kilometers around Eeklo came into a 5-man group sprint where the Walloon bested Rony Martias (Saur) and Tomas Vaitkus (RadioShack). The winning break, starting in the 64th kilometer into the course, had a FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI rider inside, but only for few kilometers: Spaniard Vidal Celis got dropped when the escape already counted a 1-minute gap over the bunch, due to a mechanical. The Gold Generation`s failure count did not end there: the two other Cantabrians from the team -Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, involved in a crash with no consequences, and Gutiérrez Palacios, having a flat tire with six kilometers to go- were also stroke by misfortune. The 17-second gap from the leading quintet to the peloton -in which Celis (19th) was the best Gold of the day- give Gilbert a fair margin to defend his black leader jersey tomorrow, on another flat route of 163 kilometers from Eeklo to Knokke-Heist.
Monier, second French-won break in Giro
On the other hand, Frenchman Damien Monier was the strongest within the 16-rider group leading the way home in the seventeenth stage of the 93rd Giro d`Italia -173 kilometers from Brunico to Pejo Terme-, dropping Danilo Hondo (Lampre) and Steven Kruijswijk (Rabobank) in the last three kilometers of a race full of attacks in the front group, but not bringing any major difficulties to the four FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI riders still active in the Corsa Rosa. The GC favourites` group, cleared by Liquigas in the final ascent, came well ten minutes behind Monier, as David Arroyo (Caisse d`Epargne) will have another calm day in the lead on Thursday, with the last chance for the sprinters coming in the 18th stage, 156 kilometers between Levico Terme and Brescia.
CLASSIFICATIONS:
Ronde van België (2.HC), Stage 1, Eeklo - Eeklo, 156`6 km.
1. Philippe Gilbert (OmegaPharma-Lotto) 3.32.18
2. Rony Martias (Saur-Sojasun) s.t.
3. Tomas Vaitkus (Team RadioShack) s.t.
(...)
19. Vidal Celis (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) 0.17
27. Enrique Mata (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) s.t.
48. David Vitoria (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) s.t.
74. Johnnie Walker (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) s.t.
76. David Gutiérrez Gutiérrez (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) s.t.
104. Aitor Pérez Arrieta (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) s.t.
139. David Gutiérrez Palacios (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) 2.44
154. Tmo Faiers (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) 5.42
Giro d`Italia (GT), Stage 17, Brunico - Pejo Terme, 173 km.
1. Damien Monier (Cofidis) 4.29.19
2. Danilo Hondo (Lampre-Farnese Vini) 0.36
3. Steven Kruijswijk (Rabobank) 0.39
(...)
45. Iban Mayoz (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) 11.18
62. Markus Eibegger (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) 12.04
70. Matthias Brändle (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) 12.59
145. Marco Corti (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) 18.13
General Classification.
1. David Arroyo (Caisse d`Epargne) 73.11.38
2. Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Doimo) 2.27
3. Richie Porte (Team Saxo Bank) 2.44
(...)
28. Iban Mayoz (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) 38.00
60. Markus Eibegger (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) 1.33.14
113. Matthias Brändle (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) 2.31.22
151. Marco Corti (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) 3.33.20
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