Piepoli: "Victory was my objective"

Leonardo Piepoli finished Lagos de Covadonga second behind the 2007 Vuelta a España's new leader, Vladimir Efimkin (Caisse d'Epargne). The 36 year-old Italian sought to add another stage win in a Grand Tour to his year's tally, the last one being stage Giro d'Italia's stage to Santuario Nostra Signora Della Guardia. Unfortunately the little climber from Puglia was in a group of GC favourites that were concerned more with marking each other then pulling back the lone Russian.

"It is too bad about that long escape," Piepoli said with a tone of delusion after the stage to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Efimkin formed part of a 30-man escape group that dominated the day. "The victory was my objective, but I have another two occasions. I am not thinking of the classification, for this we have Marchante."

José Angel Gomez Marchante finished in a group one minute behind the Piepoli group that contained Menchov and Sastre.

"Saturday is the crono. It is better that I ride to save energy. I prefer a stage victory rather than a fifth place in the overall classification. At my age it would not change anything."