Roberto Heras Vuelta a España



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How good is Roberto Heras, i reckon he is the only current rider who could beat Lance in the TDF, its apitty he's on the same team :)<br /><br />
<br />http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2002/vuelta02/?id=results/15<br />At last, the moment of truth had arrived, as the favorites' group reached the lower slopes of the Angliru, with only Osa up the road. Osa's gap reached 1'08&quot;, but it was soon enough evident that he would not be able to fend off the group behind. Kelme once again showed its strength and set the pace, with Toni Tauler largely in command. Behind him, however, team leader Sevilla was drifting steadily backwards in the group, and did not look confident for the climb. In fact, Sevilla was put in his first real spot of difficulty as teammate and second placed Aitor Gonzalez began to force the pace, much to the annoyance of Sevilla who was not happy at the end of the stage.<br /><br /><br />This was the move that the other favorites had waited for, as Heras and Beloki moved to the front of the group, along with Francesco Casagrande, who briefly took over the pace-setting from Gonzalez. Within moments, however, US Postal's Heras accelerated with 6km to left to climb, including some of the steepest portions of the climb. Only Gonzalez could muster the strength to try to follow, and he himself was put in difficulty in no time. <br /><br />Heras in control<br />Photo: © Lavuelta.com <br />At that moment, Heras had spread his wings and never looked back, leaving the others to suffer behind him in the pouring rain. Steadily opening a gap which by the finish exceeded a minute and a half, the 2000 Vuelta winner maintained a fluid pedal stroke and never faltered, while behind the battle for second place on the stage- and more important time gains in the GC- played out between Beloki, Casagrande, and Euskaltel's Iban Mayo. <br /><br /><br />Heras crested the summit and negotiated the narrow dips and false flats into the finish, clenching his fist in a modest gesture which belied his dominant performance of the day. Beloki showed sparks of his form from the first week of racing, finishing second and climbing back into 4th place overall. Casagrande produced his best ride yet to take third place. Behind, Kelme's Sevilla and Gonzalez each did what they could to remain within the top three overall, with Gonzalez moving ahead of the former gold jersey. <br />
 
[quote author=knivesout link=board=17;threadid=2461;start=0#21288 date=1033263985]<br />its a shame gonzalez will win it on the time trial.<br />[/quote]<br />yep he ripped everyones legs off ;D