By Gregor Brown Spaniard David De La Fuente surprised the favourites to win the GP Miguel Indurain...
Five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain hangs out on the podium with the top three at his own race (Image credit: Susanne Goetze)
By Gregor Brown
Spaniard David De La Fuente surprised the favourites to win the GP Miguel Indurain Saturday in Spain's Basque country. The Fuji-Servetto rider surged ahead in the final kilometre, up the climb of El Puy. Russian Alexandr Kolobnev (Saxo Bank), German Champion Fabian Wegmann (Milram) and Austrian Champion Christian Pfannberger (Katusha) finished in second through fourth.
"This win was a great one, a surprising one. These kind of up-and-down races suit me really well, and I have always dreamt of winning this one," said De La Fuente.
The win was his first since the Deutschland Tour's stage two and came one week after his second place in GP Llodio. It was Fuji's second win of the year.
Caisse d'Epargne worked throughout the 191.4-kilometre race to deliver its leader Alejandro Valverde to victory, but he missed out in the final kilometre.
"It is a pity I was not able to win today after my team did a great job," said Valverde.
Wegmann, last year's winner, was pleased with his third place, even if he did not defend his win from the previous year. "I crashed about 80 kilometers before the finish, and slightly injured my hips and both underarms," said Wegmann.
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"Christian Knees, Peter Velits and Linus Gerdemann then brought me back up to the front and we went on to control the race well. In the last climb about 400 meters before the finish, a TV motorcycle crashed and that brought out of my rhythm. As a team, we rode really well again. It is only a matter of time before we bring in a victory."
