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Leipheimer wins stage at Catalana
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Rabobank’s Levi Leipheimer brushed off the effects of a crash earlier in the week to win the fourth stage of Setmana Catalana atop the Port del Compte on Thursday.
Saunier Duval’s Joaquin Rodriguez, who finished alongside the American, took the overall lead after the 179.5km stage ride from Palau Solita I Plegamans which finished on the summit of the Category 1 Port del Compte.
The stage started with attacks after the first kilometer. By the third kilometer, Gonzalo Bayarri (Phonak) tried his luck and managed to build a small gap on the field. He was soon joined by nine others, including his teammate Oscar Sevilla and Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros). This dangerous group built a lead of nealy six minutes at one point.
Still, the main field - led by Illes Balears-Banesto and Saunier Duval, the team of race leader Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero - reeled in the lead group, pulling in most of them with 9km to go.
Just before being caught, however, Heras launched a final attack on the lower slopes of the Port de Comte.
Leipheimer, meanwhile, charged out of the main field with Rodriguez on his wheel. The two worked their way to the summit, catching and passing Heras a scant 200 meters from the line. Leipheimer held on to beat Rodriguez to take the win.
Rodriguez took over the leaders' jersey from Perdiguero, though the GC remains tight among the top 20 going into Friday's final stage, a 168km ride from Solsona to Parets de Valles.
