2010 Tour of the Basque Country - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 2010 Tour of the Basque Country, was the 50th edition of the Tour of the Basque Country cycling stage race. It started on 5 April and ended on 10 April. Chris Horner

Chris Horner

Christopher Horner is an American professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . A native and current resident of Bend, Oregon, Horner dominated the American road racing scene by winning the points standings in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar.-PAA-NutraFig...

won the race 7 seconds ahead of Alejandro Valverde

Alejandro Valverde

Alejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish road racing cyclist currently under suspension. He last rode for UCI ProTour team . Valverde's biggest wins have been the 2009 Vuelta a España, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2006, 2008 and 2006 UCI ProTour series championship...

after winning the sixth and final stage which was an individual time trial

Individual time trial

An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

8 seconds ahead of Valverde. Valverde's results were subsequently removed after a retroactive suspension was applied.

Pre-Race Favourites

Two time defending champion, Alberto Contador

Alberto Contador

Alberto Contador Velasco is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . He was the winner of the 2007 Tour de France with the team. With the Astana team he has won the 2008 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Vuelta a España, the 2009 Tour de France, the 2010 Tour de France and won 2011 Giro...

announced that he would not be taking part in the 2010 Tour. Instead he put his focus at the Critérium International

Critérium International

The Critérium International is a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932....

.
2009 Tour de France

2009 Tour de France

The 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco...

runner up Andy Schleck

Andy Schleck

Andy Raymond Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . He is the younger brother of Fränk Schleck, who also rides for . Their father Johny Schleck rode the Tour de France and Vuelta a España between 1965 and 1974...

and his brother, Frank Schleck

Fränk Schleck

Fränk René Schleck is a Luxembourgish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam . At the start of 2005, Schleck was joined by his younger brother Andy on , and they split the 2005 national championships between them, with Fränk winning the road race and Andy winning the time trial...

as well as 2009 Vuelta a España

2009 Vuelta a España

The 2009 Vuelta a España was the 64th Vuelta a España. The event took place from 29 August to 20 September 2009. For only the second time in the race's history, it began away from Spanish soil, with the race not in fact reaching Spain until Stage 5....

champion Alejandro Valverde

Alejandro Valverde

were heavy favourites. However other favourites also included 's Andreas Klöden

Andreas Klöden

Andreas Klöden is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . His major achievements include a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games and second place in the 2004 Tour de France and 2006 Tour de France...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

's Damiano Cunego

Damiano Cunego

Damiano Cunego is an Italian professional road racing cyclist who rides for the Italian UCI ProTeam . His biggest wins are the 2004 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Amstel Gold Race, and the Giro di Lombardia in 2004, 2007, 2008. He finished second in the UCI Road World Championships in 2008 and in the...

and Samuel Sánchez

Samuel Sánchez

Samuel Sánchez González is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He was the gold medal winner in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Men's Road Race. In recent years Sánchez has proven himself in hilly classics and stage races as one of the most important riders in the peloton...

from Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

Teams

There are 20 teams competing in the 2010 Tour of the Basque Country. They are:

Stage 1

5 April 2010 – Zierbena

Zierbena

Zierbena is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:*...

to Zierbena, 163 km (101.3 mi)

Alejandro Valverde

Alejandro Valverde

was awarded the opening stage after Óscar Freire

Óscar Freire

Óscar Freire Gómez is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, riding for the UCI ProTeam Rabobank. He is one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the world championship a three times, equalling Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx...

, who crossed the line first, was disqualified for interfering with him in the sprint. After the subsequent removal of Valverde's results, Freire was reinstated as stage winner.
Pre-race favourite, Samuel Sánchez

Samuel Sánchez

missed a decisive split in the peloton

Peloton

The peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...

and finished 1:38 behind the peloton, making a victory for him seem very unlikely.

Stage 1 results

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			3h 57' 57"
2			s.t.
3			s.t.
4			s.t.
5			s.t.
6			s.t.
7			s.t.
8			s.t.
9			s.t.
10			s.t.

General Classification after Stage 1

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			3h 57' 57"
2			s.t.
3			s.t.
4			s.t.
5			s.t.
6			s.t.
7			s.t.
8			s.t.
9			s.t.
10			s.t.

Stage 2

6 April 2010 – Zierbena to Viana

Viana, Spain

Viana is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. Cesare Borgia is buried there. Francisco Gonzalez de Ibarra, a missionary active in Southern California between 1820 and 1840 was a native of Viana, born there in 1782.**...

, 209 km (129.9 mi)

Stage 2 Results

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			5h 53' 40"
2			s.t.
3			+ 1"
4			+ 1"
5			+ 1"
6			+ 1"
7			+ 1"
8			+ 1"
9			+ 1"
10			+ 1"

General Classification after Stage 2

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			9h 51' 38"
2			s.t.
3			+ 1"
4			+ 1"
5			+ 1"
6			+ 1"
7			+ 1"
8			+ 1"
9			+ 1"
10			+ 1"

Stage 3

7 April 2010– Viana to Amurrio

Amurrio

Amurrio is a town and municipality located in the province of Álava, in the Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:* Information available in Spanish...

, 162 km (100.7 mi)

Stage 3 Results

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			4h 49' 52"
2			s.t.
3			s.t.
4			s.t.
5			s.t.
6			s.t.
7			s.t.
8			s.t.
9			s.t.
10			s.t.

General Classification after Stage 3

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			14h 41' 30"
2			+ 2"
3			+ 3"
4			+ 3"
5			+ 3"
6			+ 3"
7			+ 3"
8			+ 3"
9			+ 3"
10			+ 3"

Stage 4

8 April 2010 – Murgia

Murgia

Murgia is a sub-region of Apulia in southern Italy, corresponding to a karst topographic plateau of rectangular shape, occupying the central area of the region. The name stems from the Latin murex, meaning "sharp stone"....

to Eibar

Éibar

Eibar is a city and municipality within the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country of Spain. The city was chartered by Alfonso XI of Castile in 1346...

, 170 km (105.6 mi)

After missing a decisive split that put him over 1:30 behind the race leader, it was the Olympic Champion

Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's road race

The men's road race, a part of the cycling events at the 2008 Summer Olympics, took place on August 9 at the Urban Road Cycling Course in Beijing. It started at 11:00 China Standard Time , and was scheduled to last until 17:30 later that day...

Samuel Sánchez

who won the hilliest stage of this years tour.

Samuel Sánchez

Samuel Sánchez

caught Chris Horner

Chris Horner

at the top of the Alto de Usartza climb and then dived down the short descent to the finish to win by two seconds. Alejandro Valverde

Alejandro Valverde

and Robert Gesink

Robert Gesink

Robert Gesink is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Rabobank.-Early years:At the Junior World Championships of 2004 UCI Road World Championships in Verona, Gesink finished eighth in the individual time trial and sixth in the road race, while riding for team De Peddelaars in...

also caught Chris Horner who barely managed to stay with them.

The victory put Alejandro Valverde

Alejandro Valverde

only one second ahead of Chris Horner

Chris Horner

and Robert Gesink

Robert Gesink

respectively. The overall favourites knew they had to wait for the Alto de Usartza, that ended just two kilometres from the finish.

Samuel Sánchez

Samuel Sánchez

's victory was 's first victory of the 2010 cycling year as well.

Stage 4 Results

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			4h 05' 16"
2			+ 2"
3			+ 2"
4			+ 2"
5			+ 33"
6			+ 33"
7			+ 40"
8			+ 40"
9			+ 49"
10			+ 49"

General Classification after Stage 4

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			18h 46' 50"
2			+ 1"
3			+ 1"
4			+ 32"
5			+ 32"
6			+ 39"
7			+ 39"
8			+ 48"
9			+ 48"
10			+ 48"

Stage 5

9 April 2010 – Eibar to Orio

Orio

Orio is a fishing town located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community, northern Spain, with the town nucleus lying on the river Oria, roughly one mile away from its mouth by the Bay of Biscay....

, 162 km (100.7 mi)

Joaquin Rodriguez soloed across the finish line, taking 14 seconds off of race leader Alejandro Valverde

Alejandro Valverde

and put him comfortably in 3rd place. 2008 Champion Samuel Sánchez

Samuel Sánchez

came in 2nd place, just ahead of race leader Alejandro Valverde

Alejandro Valverde

.

A large attack group including mountains classification leader Amets Txurruka

Amets Txurruka

Amets Txurruka Ansola is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team ....

spent much of the day ahead of the peloton

Peloton

The peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...

. On the penultimate climb Txurruka attacked solo, but crashed on the descent towards the final climb. He was able to complete the stage, but broke his collarbone in the incident and had to drop out before the final time trial.

Robert Gesink

Robert Gesink

who was in 3rd place after the previous stage, is now in 8th place after experiencing a crash on the final climb. His team (Rabobank

Rabobank (cycling team)

Rabobank is a professional bicycle racing team, sponsored by the Rabobank. The team consists of three sections: ProTeam , Continental , and Cyclo-cross...

) reported that he may have broken a bone in his hand.

Joaquin Rodriguez had attacked out of the chasing peloton

Peloton

The peloton , field, bunch or pack is the large main group of riders in a road bicycle race. Riders in a group save energy by riding close near other riders...

with about 20 km to go, passing the remnants of an earlier escape group. He had come into the stage 48 seconds down on the general ranking, dangerous enough for Valverde, Horner and Sánchez to give chase.

Joaquin Rodriguez was happy with the result and the ITT

Individual time trial

An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

is different than normal because it has a hilly finish. His dream is to take the GC

General Classification

The general classification in bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for bicycle riders in multi-stage bicycle races...

Stage 5 Results

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			4h 07' 52"
2			+ 14"
3			+ 14"
4			+ 14"
5			+ 20"
6			+ 20"
7			+ 20"
8			+ 20"
9			+ 20"
10			+ 20"

General Classification after Stage 5

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			22h 54' 56"
2			+ 1"
3			+ 34"
4			+ 38"
5			+ 38"
6			+ 45"
7			+ 54"
8			+ 54"
9			+ 54"
10			+ 1' 16"

Stage 6

10 April 2010 – Orio to Orio, 22 km (13.7 mi) (Individual Time Trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...

)

Stage 6 Results

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			32' 33"
2			+ 8"
3			+ 13"
4			+ 18"
5			+ 21"
6			+ 23"
7			+ 25"
8			+ 33"
9			s.t.
10			+ 34""

General Classification after Stage 6

	Cyclist	Team	Time
1			23h 27' 30"
2			+ 7"
3			+ 58"
4			+ 1' 06"
5			+ 1' 10"
6			+ 1' 18"
7			+ 1' 47"
8			+ 1' 58"
9			+ 1' 59"
10			+ 2' 27"

Classification Leadership

Stage	Winner	General Classification	Points Classification	Mountains Classification	Sprints Classification
1	Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish road racing cyclist currently under suspension. He last rode for UCI ProTour team . Valverde's biggest wins have been the 2009 Vuelta a España, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2006, 2008 and 2006 UCI ProTour series championship... Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Gómez is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, riding for the UCI ProTeam Rabobank. He is one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the world championship a three times, equalling Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx...	Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish road racing cyclist currently under suspension. He last rode for UCI ProTour team . Valverde's biggest wins have been the 2009 Vuelta a España, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2006, 2008 and 2006 UCI ProTour series championship... Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Gómez is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, riding for the UCI ProTeam Rabobank. He is one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the world championship a three times, equalling Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx...	Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish road racing cyclist currently under suspension. He last rode for UCI ProTour team . Valverde's biggest wins have been the 2009 Vuelta a España, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2006, 2008 and 2006 UCI ProTour series championship... Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Gómez is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, riding for the UCI ProTeam Rabobank. He is one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the world championship a three times, equalling Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx...	Gonzalo Rabuñal Gonzalo Rabuñal Gonzalo Rabuñal Rios is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI Professional Continental team Xacobeo-Galicia.- Palmarès :2010- External links :...	Christian Meier Christian Meier (cyclist) Christian Meier in Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada, is a Canadian racing cyclist who rides for UCI Professional Continental team , having previously ridden for team and Garmin-Slipstream....
2	Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish road racing cyclist currently under suspension. He last rode for UCI ProTour team . Valverde's biggest wins have been the 2009 Vuelta a España, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2006, 2008 and 2006 UCI ProTour series championship... Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Gómez is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, riding for the UCI ProTeam Rabobank. He is one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the world championship a three times, equalling Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx...
3	Francesco Gavazzi Francesco Gavazzi Francesco Gavazzi is an Italian professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Lampre-N.G.C..-Palmares:2011* 1st, Stage 18 2011 Vuelta a Espana* 1st, Stage 5, Tour of the Basque Country...	Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Gómez is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, riding for the UCI ProTeam Rabobank. He is one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the world championship a three times, equalling Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx...	Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Gómez is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer, riding for the UCI ProTeam Rabobank. He is one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the world championship a three times, equalling Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen and Eddy Merckx...
4	Samuel Sánchez Samuel Sánchez Samuel Sánchez González is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He was the gold medal winner in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Men's Road Race. In recent years Sánchez has proven himself in hilly classics and stage races as one of the most important riders in the peloton...	Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish road racing cyclist currently under suspension. He last rode for UCI ProTour team . Valverde's biggest wins have been the 2009 Vuelta a España, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2006, 2008 and 2006 UCI ProTour series championship... Chris Horner Chris Horner Christopher Horner is an American professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . A native and current resident of Bend, Oregon, Horner dominated the American road racing scene by winning the points standings in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar.-PAA-NutraFig...	Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish road racing cyclist currently under suspension. He last rode for UCI ProTour team . Valverde's biggest wins have been the 2009 Vuelta a España, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2006, 2008 and 2006 UCI ProTour series championship... Samuel Sánchez Samuel Sánchez Samuel Sánchez González is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He was the gold medal winner in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Men's Road Race. In recent years Sánchez has proven himself in hilly classics and stage races as one of the most important riders in the peloton...	Amets Txurruka Amets Txurruka Amets Txurruka Ansola is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team ....
5	Joaquin Rodriguez
6	Chris Horner Chris Horner Christopher Horner is an American professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . A native and current resident of Bend, Oregon, Horner dominated the American road racing scene by winning the points standings in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar.-PAA-NutraFig...	Chris Horner Chris Horner Christopher Horner is an American professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . A native and current resident of Bend, Oregon, Horner dominated the American road racing scene by winning the points standings in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar.-PAA-NutraFig...		Gonzalo Rabuñal Gonzalo Rabuñal Gonzalo Rabuñal Rios is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI Professional Continental team Xacobeo-Galicia.- Palmarès :2010- External links :...
Final		Chris Horner Chris Horner Christopher Horner is an American professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . A native and current resident of Bend, Oregon, Horner dominated the American road racing scene by winning the points standings in the 2002, 2003 and 2004 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar.-PAA-NutraFig...	Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish road racing cyclist currently under suspension. He last rode for UCI ProTour team . Valverde's biggest wins have been the 2009 Vuelta a España, the Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2006, 2008 and 2006 UCI ProTour series championship... Samuel Sánchez Samuel Sánchez Samuel Sánchez González is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He was the gold medal winner in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Men's Road Race. In recent years Sánchez has proven himself in hilly classics and stage races as one of the most important riders in the peloton...	Gonzalo Rabuñal Gonzalo Rabuñal Gonzalo Rabuñal Rios is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI Professional Continental team Xacobeo-Galicia.- Palmarès :2010- External links :...	Christian Meier Christian Meier (cyclist) Christian Meier in Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada, is a Canadian racing cyclist who rides for UCI Professional Continental team , having previously ridden for team and Garmin-Slipstream....

General Classification

	Rider	Team	Time
1			23h 27' 30"
2			+ 58"
3			+ 1' 06"
4			+ 1' 10"
5			+ 1' 18"
6			+ 1' 47"
7			+ 1' 58"
8			+ 1' 59"
9			+ 2' 27"
10			+ 2' 37"

Points Classification

	Rider	Team	Points
1			79
3			60
4			53
5			51
6			46
7			34
8			33
9			26
10			24

Mountains Classification

	Rider	Team	Points
1			23
2			19
3			16
4			16
5			14
6			13
7			12
8			11
9			9
10			8

Sprints Classification

	Rider	Team	Points
1			14
2			9
3			9
4			9
5			8
6			4
7			4
8			3
9			3
10			2

Team classification

Pos.	Team	Time
1		70h 28′ 40″
2		+ 17″
3		+ 2′ 14″
4		+ 6′ 09″
5		+ 14′ 32″
6		+ 18′ 08″
7		+ 20′ 44″
8		+ 21′ 43″
9		+ 23′ 29″
10		+ 24′ 17″

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