Konyshev takes 18th stage in four-man break; Zulle retains overall lead with four stages remaining
By Andrew Hood

Spanish racers continued to come up empty in their national tour, with Russia's Dimitri Konyshev winning Wednesday's 18th stage of the Tour of Spain after bolting away from a four-man break.

Konyshev (AKI) broke with Italy's Gianni Bugno (MG), Denmark's Bo Hamburger (TVM), and Italy's Paolo Valoti (Cantina Tollo) early in the stage and stayed out front for more than 100 kilometers in the 219-kilometer (135-mile) race that took the peloton out of the Spanish Pyrenees and back onto the high, windswept central plateau of Spain.

With the tired peloton not giving chase following two tough climbing stages and two more Thursday and Friday, the break went away unchallenged and held a five-minute lead across the finish in sunny Zaragoza.

Konyshev sprinted away in the final 200 meters to win, while the mercurial Bugno waved off the chance for victory in disgust. As Bugno coasted toward the finish, TVM's Hamburger shot past to take second, leaving Bugno with third.

At the finish, an angry Bugno fell off his bike after a TV cameraman got in his way. Bugno sat on the ground, recalling the final kilometer of the sprint.

"Valoti went out and I had to work to catch him. Then Hamburger went out and again, I had to work to catch him. When Konyshev went, I didn't have anything left," said Bugno, who is racing in his first Vuelta.

"Konyshev is a very smart sprinter and he profited from all my work," he added. The 32-year-old Italian said he's racing in the Vuelta to prepare for October's world championships, which he won in 1991 and 1992.

"I didn't race in the Olympics because I didn't race in the Tour de France and I wasn't in good enough condition," said Bugno, who won a stage each in this year's Tour de Suisse and Giro d'Italia, a race he won in dramatic fashion in 1990.

"I feel much stronger than I did at the start of the Vuelta," he added. "Today was a very hard stage because of all the wind."

The 30-year-old Konyshev takes his first victory in this year's Vuelta after being in the hunt for several earlier stages. The Russian is well back in the overall standings and said earlier this week he only hoped to win a stage to salvage a disappointing Vuelta.

Meanwhile, Spanish journalists and race sponsors are lamenting the lack of Iberian success in the 51st Vuelta a España. No Spanish racers have won a stage nor are any challenging for the overall lead.

With five-time Tour de France champion Miguel Indurain out of the race and world road champion Abraham Olano skipping the Vuelta altogether, the top Spanish racer in the overall standings is Melchor Mauri in ninth place, more than 10 minutes back.

ONCE team manager Manolo Saiz was chastised by Banesto officials following Sunday's climbing stage at Alto de la Demanda when overall leader Alex Zulle bolted past Banesto's Jose Maria Jimenez on the final climb to win the stage. Saiz was incensed at charges that ONCE was hogging stage wins.

"What are we supposed to do, give them the stage win?" Saiz asked. "We're professionals and we're going to win when we have the chance."

ONCE's Zulle retained his 1:10 lead Wednesday over teammate and defending champion Laurent Jalabert. Throughout the stage Zulle rode surrounded by ONCE teammates who helped their ailing leader through the easy, mostly flat stage.

Zulle averted disaster in Tuesday's climbing stage at Ampriu when the Swiss ONCE captain struggled up a beyond-category climb. He said he was suffering from an asthma-like ailment in the high, dry air and could barely walk to the ONCE team bus following his eighth-place finish in the stage.

During the final two kilometers Tuesday, third-place Laurent Dufaux (Festina-Lotus) attacked and Jalabert left Zulle languishing behind alone on the steeps. Mapei's Tony Rominger came up and helped Zulle over the final climb to catch Jalabert and Dufaux at the finish.

Dufaux denied reports in Spanish newspapers Wednesday that he was conspiring against Frenchman Jalabert with fellow Swiss riders Zulle and Rominger.

"I never said this and I read it today in the newspapers," Dufaux said. "I was going for the stage win. Jalabert told (stage-winner Oliviero) Rincon to attack and I went after him. I know I can't catch Zulle."

Jalabert, however, is insistent that he isn't going to attack on Zulle's lead and that the ONCE team is solid behind the younger rider, a sentiment echoed at Wednesday's start by team manager Saiz.

"Zulle had problems breathing, but nothing more. Jalabert saw that he wasn't in danger and went to control the front with Dufaux," Saiz said. "There's nothing else to explain. On this team, the racers know what they have to do."

Indeed, Zulle's strength has been the buzz in the race since he took the lead at last week's time trial. His form has been inconsistent; he rode strong in the Demanda stage, but faltered in the steeps of the Pyrenees.

Two tough climbing stages remain before Saturday's final time trial, but neither Thursday's or Friday's stages end with climbs. Both days feature two Category 1 climbs, but they come in the middle of the stage and the finishes are flat.

American Bobby Julich (Motorola) remains in 10th place overall, while Biagio Conte (Scrigno)--a two-stage winner and the overall leader for the first two days of the Vuelta--abandoned the race today.

The 120 remaining members of the peloton took a flight Wednesday evening to Madrid to prepare for Thursday's stage.

The 22-stage Vuelta continues Thursday with 217 kilometers (134 miles) from Getafe, a suburb near Madrid, to Avila. The stage features two Category 1 climbs and a Category 2 climb, but finishes with a descent into Avila.

Stage 18 results

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