Team Astana report on Stage Four of the Volta a Catalunya:
Stage Four ended in the uphill finish to Vallnord Sector Pal in Andorra with Spanish rider Julian Sanchez (Contentpolis-AMPO) able to sneak away to victory on the 89th Volta a Catalunya’s queen stage. Garmin’s Daniel Martin rode after him as did race leader Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) but the Irish rider couldn’t make the catch and finished six seconds back. It was Valverde in 3rd two seconds later and the Spanish race leader retained the yellow jersey by 15 seconds.
An eight person break had included Sanchez who managed to begin the climb with a 1.30 time advantage while the peloton picked off his former companions one-by-one. It was a good victory for Sanchez, but Martin and Team Astana’s Haimar Zubeldia sit in the best positions to challenge Valverde for the overall. But with sprinting stages left to ride, the strong Caisse d’Epargne team will protect Valverde’s 15 seconds to the end, a situation they have found themselves in many, many times.
Zubeldia took 4th on the stage and holds third on GC and teammate Alexandr Dyachenko was right in the mix too with a 7th place finish. He is also seventh overall and the team leads in the Teams classification as well.
Top Ten Results on Stage 4
1 Julian Sanchez (Spa) Contentpolis-AMPO 4.46.29 (34.808 km/h)
2 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin – Slipstream 0.06
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0.08
4 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Astana 0.12
5 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0.21
6 Jos? Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa) Cervelo Test Team
7 Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana 0.25
8 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Saxo Bank 0.31
9 Xavier Tondo (Spa) Andalucia-Cajasur 0.37
10 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1.06
General Classification after Stage 4
1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 13.49.38
2 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin – Slipstream 0.15
3 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Astana 0.22
4 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 0.34
5 Jos? Angel Gomez Marchante (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0.38
6 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Saxo Bank 0.45
7 Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana 0.49
8 Xavier Tondo (Spa) Andalucia-Cajasur 0.56
9 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi 1.42
10 David De La Fuente (Spa) Fuji-Servetto 1.52
Source: Astana Cycling Team
