After the final tough mountain stage of the Vuelta Espana on Friday, Rabobank's Denis Menchov was '95 percent sure'
that he was going to claim the final victory. One can add another 4.9 percent after the 27 kilometer long time trial
in and around Collado Villalba on Saturday. But, the Russian rider failed to crown his upcoming final victory with another
stage win. On the one hand, that was caused by the excelling Samual Sanchez - the Euskaltel-rider won his third stage -
but on the other hand because the weather gods were not very inclined towards the overall leader. Menchov finished in second
place at 11 seconds behind the winner, who, in comparison to Menchov, did not have to ride such a large chunk of the
track in the rain.
Sanchez only had one kilometer left to ride when it started to rain. Menchov, however, still had to cover more than four
kilometers, including the few technical parts of the parcours.
Rabobank sports director Erik Breukink did not really reflect on the race afterwards. "Whether second place is a disappointment
or a success? It simply does not matter. We are going to win this race. Additionally, we were victorious in four stages, which
is great in itself. And, we are not focused on the points classification anymore. Those are the consolidation prizes; Bennati
can have it." The team boss also did not want to downplay the third success of Sanchez. "The rainfall was not to our advantage,
but it did not affect the race that much, despite the fact that Denis was a little bit shocked by it."
Carlos Sastre had a margin of 47 seconds to Cadel Evans, but the Spanish stage race specialist stayed within the narrow
time frame in what was to become one of the most important time trials of his entire career. This means the overall second
place is a reality for Sastre.
”Of course I was hoping even though I knew it would be close and luckily I made
it. We've fought hard all through the Vuelta and today I was determined to finish the job. I gave everything I had in me and
hoped for the best. My wish came true and I would really like to thank the whole team for getting me in a position, where
this is possible,” said Carlos Sastre.
The Vuelta concludes on Sunday with a flat straight-forward sprinters stage over 104 km into Madrid.
