Conte wins Tour of Spain stage; lack of Indurain dampens fervor
By Andrew Hood

Italy's Biagio Conte (Scrigno) out-sprinted Portugal's Orlando Rodrigues (Banesto) to win Saturday in a subdued stage, with the Vuelta a España mourning the loss of Miguel Indurain, who pulled out of the Tour the previous day.

Conte and Rodrigues broke early in the 202-kilometer (125-mile) stage, while overall leader Alex Zulle easily maintained his 1:13 lead over ONCE teammate Laurent Jalabert.

"We wanted to win today for Miguel, but I was very tired on the final stretch," said Rodrigues, who's in his first year on the Banesto team. He said the Banesto squad was saddened by Indurain's move to pull out of the race in yesterday's tough climbing stage, but said the team will ride to the finish in Madrid September 29.

"We will continue to race in the Vuelta, but our focus now is to get a few stage wins before Madrid," Rodrigues said.

Indeed, that's just about all anyone can do. With the elimination of Indurain, the nearest rival is third-place Laurent Dufaux (Festina/Lotus), who's more than five minutes back from the ONCE stranglehold on the top standings.

A strong climber, Dufaux tried to make a move in the final three kilometers of Saturday's stage, but Zulle and Jalabert answered. Climbing with Mapei's Tony Rominger, Dufaux, Zulle and Jalabert finished together 1:59 behind Conte and Rodrigues.

Saturday's stage win is the second in this year's Vuelta for Conte, who won the opening stage in Vuelta and wore the overall leader's jersey for two days before losing it in a field sprint to Jalabert in Albacete.

"We worked hard to stay ahead of the leaders. For me, this is a great stage win because I usually win sprint victories," Conte said. "I know Rodrigues wanted to win, but he didn't challenge me in the final meters, so I easily won."

As the peloton started Saturday's stage under cloudy skies and cool temperatures, there was a pall over the crowd. Gone was the excitement of Indurain-mania and the buzz created by Indurain's first appearance in his national tour since 1991.

Without the beloved Indurain at the start line, the Vuelta lost some of its luster.

"The Vuelta without Indurain isn't as important," said Rominger, who won the Vuelta three years straight during 1992-94. "The truth is that Indurain's abandonment is a bad thing for the Vuelta ... Without Indurain, the Vuelta will only be a fight to see who wins between Zulle and Jalabert."

Nearly everyone, from racers to journalists to team coaches and fans, lamented Indurain's loss and said the Vuelta a España isn't the same race without the popular Spaniard. The news was given extensive TV and radio coverage throughout Spain.

After failing to get the lead in Tuesday's time trial, Indurain struggled through Thursday's climbing stage and pulled out Friday after falling back four minutes to Zulle in the only major stage race he's never won.

Enjoying a strong tailwind for the first time in two weeks, the peloton powered through Saturday's course a half-hour earlier than expected. ONCE controlled the front of the pack as the riders zipped along Spain's lush northern Atlantic Coast.

Conte and Rodrigues broke at the 45-kilometer mark, and never looked back. They worked together through a series of Category 2 and Category 3 climbs, building up an eight-minute lead over the peloton.

Rominger keeps the climber's jersey, while Jalabert retains his points jersey.

The 22-stage Vuelta continues Sunday with another tough climbing day, including a Category 1 climb early in the race as the route heads south back onto Spain's arid central plateau. The 220-kilometer (136-mile) stage ends with a Category 1 climb at Alto Cruz de la Demanda at 1,900 meters (6,270 feet).

Andrew Hood is in Spain covering the Vuelta for Outside Online.