Efiimkin manages a one-handed salute as he takes the stage and the lead

Photo: Graham Watson

Good thing Vladimir Efimkin's twin brother, Alexander, isn't at the Vuelta a España. Just moments after surprising the favorites on the Vuelta's hardest climb to surge into the overall leader's jersey, the 25-year-old Caisse d'Epargne rider was beating the drum of Alexander, who rides on rival Barloworld. "My brother is the one who you will be hearing about in the coming years," said Efimkin, who soloed to victory in Tuesday's epic climb to Lagos de Covadonga. "He trains harder than me, he's a better climber than me. He'll be able to win big races in the future." The here and now seems to be very much all about Vladimir, who put an international touch on what looked to be a very Spanish Vuelta by beating the local favorites on the tour's emblematic climb Tuesday and surged into the race leader's jersey for his efforts. The 25-year-old Russian was the last man standing of a massive 35-rider breakaway that peeled off the front early in Tuesday’s epic 185.1km climbing stage, ending high in the fog-shrouded Lagos de Covadonga.

“I rode the climb at my own rhythm. I knew the others were getting closer, but I never lost my nerve and I was feeling good,” said Efimkin, who became the third Russian to win at Covadonga. “When I rode under the one-kilometer banner, I knew I was going to win.”

Efimkin attacked the remnants of the massive breakout as the course hit the base of the knee-busting 12km climb to the Covadonga summit, the most famous ascent in the Vuelta, and soloed home to an impressive victory in his first appearance in the Spanish national tour.

With the likes of Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and Carlos Sastre (CSC) making brutal accelerations out of the main group of contenders on ramps as steep as 13 percent, Efimkin never panicked as his lead dwindled from nearly three minutes in the final decisive kilometers.

Because there are no finish-line time bonuses at the Vuelta, most of the main contenders came into the fourth stage all on the same time. The differences at the line in Covadonga are how the GC shakes out.

Efimkin takes a lead of 1:06 to five riders – Menchov, Sastre, Maxime Monfort (Cofidis), Stijn Devolder (Discovery Channel) and Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval-Prodir) – and 1:28 to Tour de France runner-up Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto).

Does Efimkin believe he could somehow hang on and win the Vuelta? He’s done it before — at least, in other races. He won a stage in a long breakaway at the 2005 Tour of Portugal in his first season as a pro and then fended off the chasers to claim the overall victory.

With Caisse d’Epargne’s team leaders Oscar Pereiro and Vladimir Karpets struggling somewhat at 14th at 1:57 back and 21st at 2:57 back, respectively, Efimkin should have freedom to make his own race as long as his legs hold out.

Vande Velde in the break

Photo: Graham Watson

“I hope to be able to stay with the big riders in the upcoming climbing stages. They’re big stars and I am just starting my career, but why not?” he said. “We have to speak about it with the sport directors. They are the experts and this is my first time at the Vuelta. I’ve only ridden one Giro. I confide in them.

“At Tirreno-Adriatico, I broke my collarbone and I was operated on two times. I didn’t return until the Euskal Bizikleta (in June), but I won a stage and I was the leader at the Tour de Suisse. I lost there, but now I am much better prepared and I have more confidence in my abilities than at the Swiss tour.”

Bernucci out, breakaway pulls clear
Everyone woke up Tuesday to discover that Lorenzo Bernucci, 27, an Italian rider on T-Mobile, turned up positive for the banned appetite suppressant Sibutramine on August 15 during the Tour of Germany. He did not start and was immediately sacked by his team.

Overnight leader Oscar Freire (Rabobank) wasn’t expecting to keep his jersey at the end of the three-climb, 185.1km march into Spain’s rugged Picos de Europa.

It was a chaotic and frenetic start with the sharp climb over the Cat. 2 Alto de la Fraya de los Lobos in the opening 17.2km to liven things up. Riders attacked like crazy on the climb, down the descent and over the rollers that came on the lumpy road that wound down to the churning Atlantic Coast at Gijón.

At 45km, a massive breakaway pulled clear that featured all three Americans remaining in the race: Christian Vande Velde (CSC), Jason McCartney (Discovery Channel) and Chris Horner (Predictor-Lotto).

In the pack were: Chris Sorensen, Alexandre Kolobnev and Vande Velde (CSC), Michael Delage (Fdjeux), Efimkin, Joan Horrach, Xabier Zandio, Jose García Acosta and David Garcia (Caisse d’Epargne), Jurgen Van Goolen, Stijn Devolder and McCartney (Discovery Channel), Horner and Mario Aerts (Predictor-Lotto), Francisco Terciado Sacedo (Relax-GAM), Franco Pellizotti, Alessandro Vanotti and Leonardo Bertagnolli (Liquigas), Carlos Barredo, Juan Manuel Garate and Addy Engels (QuickStep-Innergetic), Mauricio Ardila and Theo Elkink (Rabobank), Sylvain Chavanel, Maxime Monfort and Bingin Fernandez (Cofidis), Stephane Goubert, Rene Mandri and Ludovic Turpin (Ag2r), Angel Gomez Gomez (Saunier Duval-Prodir), David Loosli (Lampre-Fondital), Giuseppe Guerini (T-Mobile), Alan Perez and Dionisio Galparsaro (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Eusquiel Mosquera (Karpin-Galicia), José Sánchez (Andalucia-Cajasur) and Ruben Lobato (Saunier Duval-Prodir).

With such a dangerous group up the road, the peloton had to collaborate to prevent the race from completely getting out of control.

Sastre puts the hammer down

Photo: Graham Watson

Predictor-Lotto, Saunier Duval-Prodir and Caisse d’Epargne all collaborated to keep the breakaway at about six minutes. Team CSC took a few digs to bring the gap down to 4:34 over the day’s second climb at the Cat. 3 Alto de la Llama at 131km.

Up Covadonga
Discovery Channel, CSC and Predictor-Lotto led the bunch to the Covadonga. At 12.6km with a vertical climb of 1,100m an average grade of 7 percent, the Covadonga is one of the most challenging in all of Spain.

Quickly out the back on the lower ramps of 13 percent were Haimar Zubeldia (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Cunego), both with good excuses after each suffered nasty crashes in the opening stages.

Iñigo Cuesta and Volodymir Gustov (CSC) led the pace up the lower section of the grueling climb, trimming the lead group quickly down to about 30 survivors. Another early victim was Janez Brajkovic (Discovery Channel), the Slovenian phenom who lit up the first week of last year’s Vuelta.

One by one the remnants of the day’s breakaway were reeled in, with Efimkin holding a lead of about two minutes with 9km to go as the lead group was trimmed to 17 riders.

Sastre put down a brutal acceleration with about 8.5km to go to fracture the lead group. Menchov, Pereiro, Evans, Marchante and Luis Pérez (Andalucia-Cajasur) dug deep to stay with the Spanish veteran.

The attacks put the hurt on Gomez Marchante, Pereiro and Evans

Photo: Graham Watson

Vande Velde, who had been away in the day’s main breakaway, dropped back to Sastre and helped pace his captain. The only riders who could hang on were Menchov and Piepoli. Evans later bridged up as Pereiro, Beltrán and Marchante were working together at about 30 seconds back.

Just as Evans caught on, Menchov dropped the hammer with about 6km to go to put the Aussie back into the red zone. Sastre marked the move with Piepoli hanging on and Evans just a few meters back.

Another CSC rider from the early break, Chris Sorensen, then latched on to the Sastre group and helped set pace as Efimkin held a 1:44 lead with 5km to go.

The climbers disappeared into the fog and clouds at the Covadonga summit with Efimkin holding a 1:38 lead to Sorensen, Sastre, Piepoli, Evans and Menchov with 4km to go. Pereiro, Pellizotti, Beltran and Marchante came through another 48 seconds in arrears.

Efimkin had the win in the bag when he soloed into the fog with 2km to go while Menchov put down another acceleration in the lead chase to put Evans back in trouble.

How it shakes out
Riders away in the early break were able to join the Sastre-Menchov group on the upper reaches of the climb where the roads aren’t nearly as steep.

The main benefactor in that gamble was Discovery Channel’s Devolder, who finished third in the stage and slotted into fifth overall in a strong tactical move that greatly helps his GC chances.

Sastre and 2005 winner Menchov looked strongest on the climb, with the Russian remarkably fresh in the pedals after a disappointing Tour that saw him abandon in the final week.

Devolder

Photo: Graham Watson

Evans was able to measure his efforts to keep his hopes alive. Despite being dropped when both Sastre and Menchov attacked, he patiently reeled in the sorties to finish within reach of the leader at only 22 seconds behind the Sastre group.

José Angel Marchante (Saunier Duval-Prodir), with 16th at 2:23 back, and Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), 17th at 2:29 back, both were hoping for better rides.

“I expected a little more today, but the first climb of the Vuelta is always hard for me,” Sánchez said. “It was very explosive today and I wasn’t able to stay with the best. I didn’t want to go over my limit. All is not lost. This Vuelta is just starting, and I think things will become more settled by the time we finish the Pyrenees.”

Pereiro – who came into the Vuelta with hopes for the overall – couldn’t quite match the explosive pace and came through 14th at 1:57 back. The pressure will be off the 2006 Tour runner-up with teammate Efimkin in the leader’s jersey.

“I had good sensations coming into the Vuelta, but I wasn’t able to follow the accelerations of Sastre. This type of steep climb doesn’t necessarily favor my characteristics,” Pereiro said. “It’s great for the team to have Efimkin in the jersey. I felt better on the upper part of the climb and was able to recover some ground. This Vuelta is just starting. There’s a lot still ahead of us.”

The Vuelta continues Wednesday with the 157.4km fifth stage from Cangas de Onís to Reinosa. The tough route features three difficult Cat. 2 climbs in quick succession between 50-100km. The day’s main hurdle is the long 16km Cat. 1 climb up the Puerto de la Palombera, topping out at 136km. From there, it’s a 21km flat run into Reinosa.

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62nd Vuelta a España, Stage 4, Langreo to Lagos de Covadonga, 184.1km
Winner: Vladimir Efimkin (Rus), Caisse d’Epargne 4h39:56, 39.674kph
Leader: Efimkin at 1:06 to five riders
Climber’s jersey: Serafín Martínez Acevedo (Karpin-Galicia)
Points jersey: Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
Combined: Efimkin
Team: Caisse d’Epargne
Peloton: 186 riders remain – Lorenzo Bernucci (T-Mobile) didn’t start

ResultsStage 4
1. Vladimir Efimkin (Rus), Caisse d’Epargne, 182km in 4:39:56
2. Leonardo Piepoli (I), Saunier Duval, at 1:06
3. Stijn Devolder (B), Discovery Channel, at 1:06
4. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, at 1:06
5. Maxime Monfort (B), Cofidis, at 1:06
6. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, at 1:06
7. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, at 1:28
8. Sylvain Chavanel (F), Cofidis, at 1:33
9. Ezequiel Mosquera (Sp), Karpin Galicia, at 1:36
10. Leonardo Bertagnolli, (I), Liquigas, at 1:49

1. Vladimir Efimkin (Rus), Caisse d’Epargne, 16:02:50
2. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank,at 1:06
3. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, same time
4. Maxime Monfort (B), Cofidis, s.t.
5. Stijn Devolder (B), Discovery Channel, s.t.
6. Leonardo Piepoli (I), Saunier Duval,s.t.
7. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, at 1:28
8. Sylvain Chavanel (F), Cofidis, at 1:33
9. Ezequiel Mosquera (Sp), Karpin Galicia, at 1:36
10. Leonardo Bertagnolli, (I), Liquigas, at 1:49