THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Benitez wins stage, Mancebo holds lead at Chihuahua
Javier Benitez is certainly not lacking for confidence. For the second time in five days at Mexico’s Vuelta Chihuahua, the Spaniard started his victory celebration long before crossing the finish line. But just like the end of stage 1 on Monday, the Benfica rider was fastest finisher at the close of stage 5’s 152.8km ride from Creel to Cuauhtémoc.
Benitez stopped the clock in 3:36:52, with German Steffen Radochla (Elk Haus-Simplon) and Mexico’s Juan Magallanes (Tecos-Trek) completing the podium. The top 3 was identical to stage 1’s podium.
In the hunt for the overall crown, Spaniard Francesco Mancebo (Fercase-Rota dos Moveis) added eight seconds to his advantage over Colombian Gregario Ladino after the bunch split during the furious run to the finish. Mancebo, the 2007 Chihuahua champ, now leads the Tecos-Trek rider by 34 seconds. Stage 4 time trial winner Iker Camaño (Scott-American Beef) is third at 1:51, with American Tom Peterson (Garmin-Chipotle) fourth at 2:02.
Stage 5, Creel to Cuauhtémoc, 152.8km
● Winner: Javier Benitez (Benfica) scored his second stage win in five days. The Spaniard was also fastest finisher in stage 1.
● Leader: Spaniard Francisco Mancebo (Fercase-Rota dos Moveis) stretched his advantage over Gregario Ladino (Tecos-Trek) to 36 seconds after the Colombian was caught out in a split during the sprint. Iker Camaño (Scott-American Beef) is third, at 1:51.
● Under-23: American Tom Peterson (Garmin-Chipotle) maintained his white jersey lead.
● KoM: American Patrick McCarty (Garmin-Chipotle) maintained his top KoM placing.
● Points: Mexico’s Juan Magallanes (Tecos-Trek) took over the top spot after finishing third on the stage.
● Team: Tecos-Trek leads Scott-American Beef by just five seconds.
● Peloton: 108 started, but only 104 finished. Among the DNFs were Canadian Team RACE Pro’s Keir Plaice and Buck Miller.
● Next: Stage 6, a 126.3km ride from Cuauhtémoc back to the state capitol of Chihuahua where the race started Monday. A cat. 1 climb about 40km from the end will likely break things up, but the long flat run to the finish should favor sprinters that can get over the top and chase back on.
“The race still isn’t won,” said Mancebo, alluding to stage 6, which last year served up a cross-wind split in the bunch that propelled him to a come-from-behind overall victory. “Tomorrow we have to be very attentive.”
Canada’s Team RACE Pro was led by Mark Walters, who was fourth in the stage 1 bunch sprint, but mustered only 17th this time around.
“Our plan was to work with who was feeling better between me and Frank,” said Walters referring to teammate Francois Parisien, who started the day in the points jersey but lost it to Magallanes after finishing well out of the points on Friday. “I flatted with 10k to go, so we shifted to Frank. But he got boxed in while I was able to stay in a little better position. But then there was rush up the right side and I got boxed in and then just ran out of gas.”
Unlike the points, the under-23 and KoM jerseys did not change hands, with Garmin-Chipotle teammates Peterson and Pat McCarty both earning another trip to the awards podium. McCarty could barely muster a smile for the cameras, though. The Austin, Texas resident has been battling a stomach bug and was completely shelled after the stage.
“I had a pretty bad fever last night and had about a banana and two cokes worth of calories yesterday,” he said. “I was lucky today was a pretty straightforward day.”
Indeed, while there was plenty of action early in the stage that included a trio of rated climbs during a scenic rolling ride out of the mountains and into the plains, the final third of the race was contested on a dead straight, four-lane highway. That led to the inevitable bunch sprint, and another emphatic win for Benitez.
Racing in the largest of Mexico’s 31 states continues Saturday with stage 6’s 126.3km ride from Cuauhtémoc back to the state capitol of Chihuahua where the race started back on Monday. A Cat. 1 climb about 40km from the end will likely break things up, but the long flat run to the finish should favor sprinters that can get over the top and chase back on.
