Cycling Live

Vuelta a Espana - Calahorra-Zaragoza

Live Comments

  1. 17:25 - Thanks for joining me today for all the action on stage seven. Keep checking eurosport.yahoo.com for all the latest reports and news. See you tomorrow for the 52km time trial.

  2. 17:13 - It didn't look like any of the big names had avoided the crash, but the six leaders took their foot off the gas and allowed the chasers to get back into it. As a result, the veteran Zabel got his first major Tour victory in quite a while.

  3. 17:11 - Riders are still making their way towards the finish line after that big crash caused turmoil for the majority of the peloton.

  4. 0 - It's Zabel on the inside!! The German came from nowhere to win!! Davis took second and Bettini third.

  5. 0.5km - Gilbert of FdJ is there... biggest name... but there's Zabel... AND BETTINI!

  6. 1km - Just six riders in the leading group, but it looks like they are holding off the gas...

  7. 1.5km - CRASH!! The whole of the peloton apart from the first ten riders or so have done down!! The winner is going to be an unknown!!

  8. 2km - T-Mobile on the front now. The back of the peloton has exploded. Bettini and Davis are in the mix. Freire has disappeared. Quickstep are present...

  9. 3km - Eurosport's David Harmon has gone for an outsider today: Koldo Fernandez of Euskaltel.

  10. 4km - Milram and QuickStep are there. Bettini's amongst them. Freire is there, but teammate-less. There are a couple of T-Mob riders there, including Andre Korff. It all looks a bit nervous...

  11. 5km - Roger Yates, the father of former British cycling great Sean, writes in from Sweden: "I have always found the Vuelta to be rather an anti-climatic event although my eldest son did win a stage back in 1988. Smaller crowds, boring flat stages, lacking in atmosphere rather like a dull thud. Maybe it's the timing, or maybe I've just had enough after the "Tour de France." The same son as an amateur in France did hold a rider by the ankles out of a third floor window until the said person promised to behave himself. Have a great time. Roger Yates."

  12. 7km - Milram are leading the peloton with their whole train on the front as the two leaders Garcia and Rosendo are caught and left for cold.

  13. 8km - Meanwhile, there's a novel choice from Chris Svensson: "I hope it will be estonian Rene Mandri."

  14. 10km - Ten clicks to go and the duo have just 20 seconds.

  15. 13km - Lots of Freire fans out there, but Albert Van Zyl thinks the Boon King. Tornado Tom can do it.

  16. 16km - Forty five seconds is the gap now between the peloton and the leaders, Garcia and Rosendo.

  17. 18km - Milram and Lampre doing the work. Petacchi was the last rider to win here in Zaragoza back in 2004. Can he break his duck and do it again?

  18. 20km - We can see the splendid cathedral of Zaragoza on the horizon... not far to go now, and with the lead dropping to 1'10", the sprinters are getting primed. Who will it be today? Email me at lowefelix@hotmail.com!

  19. 26km - The two Spaniards are trying their best to stay out in front, but with the lead dropping below two minutes, you've got to think that it is only a matter of kilometres before they are gobbled up. My prediction is with 17 clicks to go.

  20. 29km - Replays from above show how that crash happened: it occurred a third way back, right in the middle of the peloton, and a touching of wheels had a domino effect that caused havoc. Horrible stuff. But it's why we watch cycling...

  21. 32km - The lead is two minutes now.

  22. 35km - Bert Roesems of Predictor-Lotto is the only rider still down. He eventually is helped onto his feet, but it looks like he will have to pull out. Whincing in pain, he's put on to a stretcher. His hip and shoulder look a bit battered.

  23. 36km - The only beneficiaries of that crash are the two leaders because the peloton have slowed the pace as a result.

  24. 38km - BIG CRASH IN THE PELOTON!! About 20 riders are down... Lots of Lampre riders are involved... and Cofidis riders... one guy is not moving. There's water from bidons everywhere... The ambulance is arriving...

  25. 40km - The lead is under three minutes now... Not the most interesting of segments of the race, this straight motorway schuss.

  26. 45km - Paolo Bettini goes off the back for some water, then zips on the outside back to the front. That was some nifty cycling from the world champion pocket Hercules.

  27. 50km - Here come the winds... on the horizon you can see a forest of wind turbines, so we're obviously in the right (or wrong) place. Magnus Backstedt peels off the peloton to speak to his team car. The Swedish champ gets some Liquigas (water) and has a chat.

  28. 55km - The peloton are pulling off the A road and joining a large motorway at a 90 degree angle. it is around about that the winds are expected to become more of a factor.

  29. 57km - The lead is just under five minutes now. Keep you comments coming in if you want to talk about anything of interest... It's nice to have had had no doping scandal so far in this year's Vuelta. That said, it is in Spain where they are very lax about the whole thing... Was your Tour de France tainted by the on-going doping problems, or did you think it made it more exciting? Let me know on lowefelix@hotmail.com

  30. 60km - Gap is now down to 4'50" as QuickStep join Milram and Lampre on the front.

  31. 68km - The peloton has really upped its pace. The two Spanish leaders have had it easy so far but now the challenge really begins...

  32. 16:03 - Alexander Braid writes in from down under: "Totally agree about your description of the flat stages. It would be nice to see more steep hills runs into the finish to give punchers an opportunity to steal a victory, or at least make the sprinters raise a sweat before the milram train gets into gear.. Thanks for the coverage, gets me through nightshift work in Australia. Go Cadel!!" Cadel Evans looked a bit out of puff in Lagos de Covadonga the other day... let's hope he re-finds his form in the Pyrenees.

  33. 73km - Top four over the third category climb of Lanzas Agudas: 1. 17 (ROSENDO PRADO, Jesús), 2. 163 (GARCIA DE MATEO RUBIO Raul), 3. 108 (MARTÍNEZ ACEVEDO, Serafín), 4. 174 (DE LA FUENTE RASILLA David). So, Serafin maintains his lead in the king of the mountains competition. The gap between second and third place has dropped to 6'55".

  34. 80km - Alberto Fernández of Saunier Duval has retired from the race after a couple of torrid days in the saddle.

  35. 85km - As usual, it's Lampre and Milram dragging along the peloton, thinking ahead about Bennati and Petacchi. The winds are not too bad at the moment, but big crosswinds are expected.

  36. 87km - Garcia gets a Coke from his Relax team car, swigs a bit, then offers it to the camera man. Who thankfully declines. It's very flat out there - justa few vineyards and olive groves...

  37. 88km - Garcia and Rosendo are combining well out there in the sun. They are chatting together and also both chatting to Rosendo's Andalucia - Cajasur team car. These Spanish continental pro teams are very close knit and they will be hoping to keep this lead of eight minutes for as long as they can.

  38. 90km - According to newspaper Nice-Matin, Australian pair Chris Sutton (Cofidis) and Stuart O'Grady (CSC) were involved in a fight last night whilst celebrating a birthday with some Antipodean compatriots. Sutton picked up a facial injury, although not much more is known. Can you remember any cycling fighting stories? Email them to me at lowefelix@hotmail.com!

  39. 92km - A reminder of the leading duo: Jesus Rosendo (Andalucia - Caja Sur) and Raul Garcia de Mateo (Relax). They have 8'15" over the bunch at the feeding zone.

  40. 94km - Having passed through Aragon, the two leaders are making their way to the feeding zone in Tarazona. They have a 7'55" lead over the peloton.

  41. 99km - While the Giro is characterised by the anticipation of the grand tour season, and the Tour de France is itself so imbued with history and tradition, the Vuelta is often seen as a season's end wind down ahead of the Worlds. Do you agree? Is it the less interesting of the three, or maybe - like Eurosport commentator David Harmon, you think it's actually the best. The roads are full of pot holes, the routes are more rugged... is it more of a real test for the riders, as opposed to a manicured jolly around the chateaux and mountain tops of bourgeois France? Email me at lowefelix@hotmail.com!

  42. 100km - I must admit, compared to the Tour de France flat stages, there does seem to be a marked lack of interest in the Vuelta. Critics of the race often say that there are too many long, flat stages early on in the Vuelta, which see local Spanish riders break, get caught towards the end, and then one of the top sprinters winning. What do you think? Is there less interest in the Vuelta that the Tour? Or is it just a different dynamic? Maybe you think the mountain stages are better than those of the Tour and Giro... Email me at lowefelix@hotmail.com to get the debate going.

  43. 101km - The lead is 8'22". An easy day in the saddle so far for the languid peloton.

  44. 102km - Did you know? That the Vuelta has finished in Zaragoza 45 times since Mariano Canardo won on the first instance in 1935. The last time the race came here, in 2004, the victor was none other than Alessandro Petacchi. The winless Milram mayor will hope that history repeats itself today after a hapless race hitherto.

  45. 105km - The lead has dropped to 8'45" but at the moment, those two breakaway riders are sitting quite pretty. We haven't has a successful break in a flat stage on this year's race thus far... could this be the day?

  46. 120km - Have your say! Fancy exchanging any Frankie Goes To Hollywood chat? Or maybe we could talk a bit about cycling. Email your thoughts to me... The eurosport server is down, but you can get through on lowefelix@hotmail.com

  47. 121km - At the intermediate sprint of Cervera del Rio Alhama, 55 km into the day's racing, Garcia took maximum points ahead of Rosendo. The peloton passed by a huge nine minutes in arrears.

  48. 155km - This is Raul Garcia's second break of this year's race. The first was in stage two, the first of Oscar Freire's victories. As for Jesus Rosendo, the Andalucian is making his Vuelta debut this year. In fact, he's one of only four riders making a first appearance in the race. The others are Dimitri Champion of Bouygues (who broke away in the first stage), Serafin Martinez of Karpin - Galicia (who did the same) and Johannes Froehlinger of Gerolsteiner.

  49. 156km - Caisse d'Epargne, the team of the gold jersey, are leading the chase, although the gap is now 5'20".

  50. 164km - The lead has ballooned to over three minutes now for the two men in front.

  51. 172km - Jesus Rosendo Prado of the Andalucia team joins Raul Garcia and the two Spaniards have opened up a 25 km gap. What are the odds that they're joined by two more riders, open up a 6 minute gap before getting caught 10 clicks from Zaragoza before Oscar Freire sprints to victory? Quite short, I expect.

  52. 173km - Maybe the Relax team should were this as their new colours: http://www.8ball.co.uk/productimages/14982-1.jpg.

  53. 174km - The question is: which one is Frankie? Click on the link below for more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp2/features/wallpaper/images/800/frankie_goes_to_hollywood.jpg

  54. 175km - Spanish team Relax certainly don't do as their name suggests. In fact, far from it, they attack all the time in a bid to get extra publicity for their sponsors. It reminds me of that Frankie Goes to Hollywood song, of the same name, with the lamentably suspect lyrics: "Relax don't do it / When you want to go to it / Relax don't do it / When you want to come / Relax don't do it / When you want to come / When you want to come."

  55. 176km - And they're off. Straight away there's an attack from Raul Garcia de Mateo, of the Relax team.

  56. 13:30 - Quick recap: Oscar Freire won yesterday's stage - his second in succession and his third overall in this year's race. The overall lead stays with Russian Vladimir Efimkin, who holds a 1'01" advantage over Denis Menchov and Carlos Sastre.

  57. 13:30 - It's hot again with the sun high in the sky and temperatures rising to 29 degrees.

  58. 13:30 - Today's stage is a 176-kilometre slog from Calahorra to Zaragoza, one of the Vuelta's most featured cities. It features one category three climb 80 km from the finish line, but the real test of the day will come from the ever present cross winds in the plains leading to the finish. Notorious for their blustery brutality, these winds could create more divisions in the peloton than yesterday.

  59. 13:15 - Welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's live coverage of the Vuelta a Espana stage seven. Live comments will appear here from 13:30 UK time.