What he couldn’t do on the hills, Samuel Sanchez did it the time trial: the Euskaltel-Euskadi rider finished first in the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco Stage Six time trial by enough of a margin to win the General Classification as well.
“This is not just a victory for me, but also one for the team,” Sanchez told velonation.com. “Euskaltel Euskadi is a small team but we have a lot of passion.”
Sanchez came into the event nine seconds behind Katusha’s Joaquin Rodriguez, who had beaten Sanchez on the steep climbs of Stages Three and Four.
The race was run under horrible conditions, rainy and chilly, making the narrow, technical 18.9-km course even more difficult. The hills, particularly the one in the final two kilometers, slowed the specialized time trialers. The course was perfect for Sanchez and Rodriguez, and of the two it was Sanchez who came with more.
Rodriguez was considered the favorite in the hilly time trial, But Sanchez turned in an exceptional performance; six seconds ahead of Rabobank’s Bauke Mollema, seven seconds ahead of Omega’s TT specialist Tony Martin, and 21 seconds ahead of Rodriguez, who finished sixth on the stage.
“I’m very happy with my performance,” Rodriguez told velonation. “I’m not a specialist of races against the clock but I think I’m improving and this result proves it it. That’s obviously good news for big stage races.
“Unfortunately, Sanchez today was really great: he knows these routes very well, he’s more used to time trials than I am, he did a great performance. Anyways, I had good feelings: I didn’t do my best in downhills, also because the road was slippery and it was not worth the risk.”
“The time trial was dangerous for everyone,” Sanchez told velonation.com. “Whether or not you pull the brakes is a question for each rider.”
| Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco Stage Six | |||
| Rider | Team | Time | |
| 1 | Samuel Sanchez | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:28:48 |
| 2 | Bauke Mollema | Rabobank | 0:00:06 |
| 3 | Tony Martin | Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 0:00:07 |
| 4 | Marco Pinotti | BMC | 0:00:15 |
| 5 | Damiano Cunego | Lampre-ISD | 0:00:16 |
| 6 | Joaquim Rodriguez | Katusha | 0:00:21 |
| 7 | Stef Clement | Rabobank | 0:00:22 |
| 8 | Travis Meyer | GreenEdge | 0:00:24 |
| 9 | Moreno Moser | Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:00:28 |
| 10 | Jean-Christophe Peraud | AG2R | 0:00:31 |
| Final General Classification | |||
| Rider | Team | Time | |
| 1 | Samuel Sanchez | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 20:58:15 |
| 2 | Joaquim Rodriguez | Katusha | 0:00:12 |
| 3 | Bauke Mollema | Rabobank | 0:00:42 |
| 4 | Damiano Cunego | Lampre-ISD | 0:00:47 |
| 5 | Tony Martin | Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 0:00:54 |
| 6 | Lars Petter Nordhaug | Sky | 0:01:03 |
| 7 | Jean-Christophe Peraud | AG2R | 0:01:07 |
| 8 | Michele Scarponi | Lampre-ISD | 0:01:19 |
| 9 | Christopher Horner | RadioShack-Nissan | 0:01:27 |
| 10 | Simon Spilak | Katusha | 0:01:29 |
