Review of standings: Casisse d’Epargne strengthens its team lead Caisse d’Epargne was the team leader of the Vuelta at the start of the fourth stage but the race still hasn’t allowed the first major time differences: “The stage came out very well for us. We have Efimkin as the leader and then Karpets and myself in good position. The team responded well and I expect we’ll make a good showing in the Zaragoza time test and the two Pyrenees stages,” Oscar Pereiro explained. It is true that Eusebio Unzue’s team has over a minute lead on Liquigas and more than three over CSC.
In the overall individual standings, Efimkin is the leader with a 1 minute 6 second lead over Menchov and Sastre. Efimkin again has made himself the leader in the combined category. On the other hand, the general points lead continue in the hands of Oscar Freire while Serafín Martínez holds on to the King of the Mountain jersey, although with only a five-point advantage of Efimkin and a few seconds more over another much-feared contender in this category: Leonardo Piepoli.
Vladimir Efimkin points to the talent… of his brother Alexander Russian racer Vladimir Efimkin, the new Vuelta leader, gave a rather curious press conference since he began to speak even before the first question was asked: “Before anything else, I want to say this victory is not only my victory, but also of my team and my family. I wouldn’t be here without them. In addition, I want to say I would like it very much if my team would sign my brother Alexander because he’s very talented. He's better than I am and is going to have more success in the future than I will myself”.
After that opening declaration of principles, the Russian racer was confident about his chances: “Win the Vuelta? I’m not ruling anything out. In the 2005 Tour of Portugal, it looked like I wasn’t going to win and I pulled it off. I have that experience under my belt and the best thing is to take it one day at a time. I’m not going to worry about anything more than to seeing how I feel each day and trying to give everything I have to hold on to the gold jersey, but yes, I would say right now that I’m not ruling it out”.
In regard to his performance so far in 2007, Efimkin says: “I fractured my collarbone in the Tirreno-Adriático and had to have two operations. I couldn’t come back until the Euskal Bizikleta, but I won a stage there and was the leader in Switzerland. Did I lose it? Yes, but now I’m much better prepared and more confident of my chances than I was at the Tour of Switzerland”.
Efimkin, a talent who made made his mark in the 2005 Tour of Portugal Vladimir Efimkin is the new leader of the Vuelta. But who really is the wearer of the gold jersey? Born 2 December 1981 in the Russian town of Kuipshev, Vladimir has a twin brother, Alexander Efimkin, who races for Barloworld and also knows what it feels like to win at the highest level of professional cycling.
Nevertheless, Vladimir Efimkin’s career has been the more distinguished of the two up to this point, especially since 2005, the season that confirmed his arrival on the international cycling scene. That year he won a stage of the Tour of Aragon and another at the Four Days of Dunkirk but he really made his mark in the Tour of Portugal.
In the third stage of the 2005 race, Efimkin made good on a long breakaway going to Fundao that didn't worry such big favourites as Candido Barbosa, but gave him enough of an advantage to hang on to the “yellow jersey” of the Tour of Portugal, a race he wound up winning at only 24 years old.
In 2006 he raced for Caisse d’Epargne and earned a victory at La Rioja and the Tour of Italy. This year he is again showing his talent by winning at the Euskal Bizikleta and surprising at Los Lagos de Covadonga to claim a lead that, given his past history, he will try to hang on to until the very end.
Vladimir Efimkin surprises on the summit of Lagos de Covadonga Russian racer Vladimir Efimkin conquered the summit of Los Lagos de Covadonga and is the new leader of the Vuelta. The Caisse d’Epargne cyclist was the only survivor of a mass breakaway of almost 40 cyclists, who began the uphill climb to the Asturian peak with a lead of just over two minutes and held on to cross the finish line with a 1.06 minute advantage over his closest pursuers.
This stage, the first opportunity for the climbers to show their skills, was marked by that 40-man breakaway which included major riders like Belgian Stijn Devolder (Discovery Channel). His presence forced Caisee d’Epargne to come from behind in a chase that was taken over by CSC in the final kilometres.
The teammates of Carlos Sastre were obviously preparing the race so that the Ávila-born rider could finish off the performance. His attack caught such cyclists as Gómez Marchante and later Pereiro short. Only Menchov and, to a lesser extent, Evans were able to follow Sastre, not to mention Piepooli who had his sights set on winning the stage. Nevertheless, Efimkin never flagged and took both the victory and the gold jersey.
Piepoli was second and Devolder, who was caught in the last few metres, finished third in a stage which allowed us to see the first notable differences in elapsed times: Evans is fine, but some 20 seconds back and Pereiro and Marchante both gave up almost a full minute. Sastre and Menchov, not to mention Efimkin, look the strongest.
Press summary: all eyes on Los Lagos The victory of world champion Paolo Bettini is pushed into second position in the majority of the general press headlines. The race’s most important climb dominates: Los Lagos de Covadonga.
The headline in El Pais reads: “The legend of La Huesera”. The article explains that “Covadonga is without doubt the most emblematic climb in the Vuelta”.
El Mundo carries the headline: “Bettini wins the third stage of the Vuelta”. Nevertheless, the accompanying article also focuses on the first mountain finish. Sastre confirms in an interview: “I expect attacks from all sides in Los Lagos”.
ABC provides an accurate summary of the third stage: “Bettini curbs Freire”. La Razon states: “Freire in Los Lagos – mission impossible”.
Lagos de Covadonga, first stage for the climbers The fourth stage of the Vuelta, which begins in Langreo and ends at the top of the Lagos de Covadonga, will be a first opportunity for the climbers. The pack must climb two mountains before tackling the foreboding summit in Asturias, a climb of almost 14 kilometres with an average incline of 7%.
The climb up to the Lagos de Covadonga takes the racers through legendary zones including the Canónigos viewpoint, La Huesera and the La Reina viewpoint, with sustained climbs over 14 and 15% inclines. The racers must also endure an 11% incline for a whole kilometre. This stage of the race will reveal a lot about the physical fitness of the cyclists including Menchov, Sastre, Evans, Pereiro and Gómez Marchante.
