Spanish rider Xavier Florencio (Bouygues) is the surprise winner of the 26th Clasica San Sebastian, beating Stefano Garzelli (Liquigas) and Andrey Kashechkin (Astana) in a 50 rider bunch sprint. Although ProTour leader Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) looked to be the favourite for a bunch kick, he could only manage eighth as Florencio seized the advantage with 200m to go and took the shortest route to the finish.
The race was almost decided between the three heavy hitters: Iban Mayo (Euskaltel), Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and Carlos Sastre (CSC), who had escaped on the Alto de Jaizkibel with 35 km to go. They couldn't gain more than 24 seconds as Caisse d'Epargne in particular led the chase behind. The three were finally hauled back with just under 5 km to go, and a bunch sprint ensued.
Prior to that, there was only one rider who managed to make an early breakaway: Yon Bru (Kaiku), who escaped after around 50 km and was brought back with 50 km to go, having had a maximum lead of 15'10.
