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Sunday's EuroFile: Zabel towers over Frankfurt; García Quesada tops at Covatilla

Published: May. 1, 2005

Erik Zabel won for the first time this season after taking Sunday’s Rund um den Henninger Turm in Frankfurt for the third time of his career.

The 34-year-old German ace has been stuck a cold spell this season, unable to score a victory despite some close calls. The T-Mobile rider slipped away with a group of 20 riders with 35km to go in what proved to be the winning move of the 211km race.

Zabel broke free with a 300-meter sprint to the line and was timed in 5 hours, 10 minutes, 34 seconds in a ride through Frankfurt's streets to score his 149th career victory. Alejandro Borrajo (Panaria) came in second and Markus Zberg (Gerolsteiner) was third in the sprint finish.

“I knew winning this could be a record,” he said. “It's great for an old man like me.”

44th Rund um den Henninger Turm, Germany, 211km
1. Erik Zabel (Ger), T-Mobile  5h10:34
2. Alejandro Borrajo (Arg), Ceramica Panaria  
3. Markus Zberg (Swi), Gerolsteiner
4. Mirko Celestino (Ita), Domina Vacanze
5. David Kopp (Ger), Wiesenhof -- all same time
García Quesada rules on La Covatilla
Spanish rider Carlos García Quesada won his second stage in a row in Sunday’s climbing finish up the grinding climb at La Covatilla to sew up the overall title in the Vuelta a Castilla y León in northern Spain.

García Quesada pulled away from a group of leading climbers, many of whom were his Comunidad Valenciana teammates, to win by 36 seconds ahead of Jorge Ferrio (Spiuk) and 50 seconds ahead of Nelson Vitorino (LA Alumnios-Liberty) and Francisco Pérez (Milaneza).

A group broke away 30km into the stage, including Jorge Azanza (Kaiku), David Fernández and Javier Pérez (Andalucía), Julen Zubero (Orbea), Fernando Torres (Spiuk) and Serguei Klimov (Lokomotiv). They hit the base of the La Covatilla climb with an advantage of 3:35 on the main bunch.

That advantage quickly vanished as the main contenders moved to the fore. Ferrio was the first to shoot away from the peloton, with Pérez and García Quesada hot on his tail. García Quesada pulled away in the final hump to snag the stage and the overall victory.

Comunidad Valenciana dominated the five-day race, taking four of the top five positions in the overall standings.Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, Stage 5, Salamanca to La Covatilla, 176,.5km
1. Carlos García Quesada (Spa), Comunidad Valenciana  3h53:51
2. Jorge Ferrio (Spa), Spiuk +0:36
3. Nelson Vitorino (Por), L.A. Aluminios-Liberty Seguros +0:50
4. Francisco Perez (Spa), Milaneza-Maia -- same time
5. David Blanco (Spa), Comunidad Valenciana  +1:04Final overall standings
1. Carlos García Quesada (Spa), Comunidad Valenciana   17h03:31
2. Francisco Perez (Spa), Milaneza-Maia  +0:50
3. David Blanco (Spa), Comunidad Valenciana   +1:08
4. Eladio Jimenez (Spa), Comunidad Valenciana  +1:21
5. Javier Pascual Rodriguez (Spa), Comunidad Valenciana  +1:56

Belgian rules in French Cup
Philippe Gilbert, a rising Belgian star riding on the Française des Jeux team, won Sunday’s Trophée des Grimpeurs. The victory pushed him into the lead of the French Cup series and helped his chances of making the Tour de France.  The win marked his third victory of the season and the eighth for his team. Christophe Moreau (Credit Agricole) abandoned during the race.31st Trophée des Grimpeurs, France, 137km
Philippe Gilbert (Bel), Française des Jeux
2. Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra), R.A.G.T
3. Nicolas Inaudi (Fra), Cofidis
4. Koji Fukushima (Jpn), Bridgestone Anchor
5. Frédéric Finot (Fra), Française des Jeux -- all same time

Pezzo, Brentjens win mountain bike marathon
A pair of former Olympic champions won Sunday’s UCI Marathon World Cup in Riva del Garda in Italy.

Bart Brentjens and Paolo Pezzo, Olympic champions in 1996, took the honors in the second round of the new World Cup discipline.

The 36-year-old Brentjens won the 80km race with 2,900 meters of climbing in 3 hours, 26 minutes, 13 seconds, finishing ahead of 22-year-old Colombian Leonardo Paz. Third was Fredrik Kessiakof at 1:58 back while Dario Aquaroli was the top Italian in fifth. Massimo Debertolis, winner of the opening round, finished seventh at more than five minutes back, but retained his World Cup lead.

In the women’s head, Pezzo won 2:07 ahead of Esther Süss and 2:20 ahead of Italian Claudia Marsilio. Pezzo, 36, also won Olympic gold in 2000, pulled away from the main bunch of riders and completed the final 20km in a solo move.CSC win-streak ends in Denmark
Team CSC ended its six-year winning streak in the CSC Classic in Aarhus, Denmark. Riders from Team CSC, and its previous sponsors, have won the race every year since 1999.

This year, Team CSC didn’t have any riders in the decisive break and missed out on the chance for victory. Jacob Moe Rasmussen (GLS) won ahead of Michael Reihs (Designa Køkken). The best-placed Team CSC rider was Lars Bak in sixth place.

“It was definitely not a good result for us,” said Team CSC sport director Kim Andersen. “The riders followed our tactics, but in the end they didn't have the strength to make a difference. On paper, this wasn't the strongest peloton, but this actually makes it more difficult for us to control the race.”

Bennati wins in Italy
Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Caffita) won Sunday’s Giro di Tuscany in a sprint ahead of Mikhailov Khalilov. Marco Velo came through third in what was the first win of the year for the promising young Italian sprinter and the fifth of his career.