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Stages:
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21 |
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Kms:
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2.894 |
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Riders:
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180 |
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Teams:
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20 |
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Kms/hour:
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40,95
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Retired:
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56 |
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A relevant investment
Seventy hours, twenty-six minutes and fourteen seconds was the time used by Roberto Heras to reach the top of the podium in Vuelta 2000 that Sunday, the seventeenth of September. 2.894 kilometes altogether which were covered at an average speed of 41,080 kilometres per hour. Two minutes and thirty-three seconds later arrived Angel Casero and four minutes and fifty-five seconds Pavel Tonkov, the third rider to occupy the podium at La Castellana.One hundred and twenty-four of the best riders in the world arrived in the capital of the country going through streets bustling with activity; fifty-five riders who started the race in Malaga, the twenty-sixth of August, were not able to reach the very last finish in Madrid.
What Vuelta 200 was pursuing was to provide the protagonists, the riders, a route in which every expert could have a physical space and a concrete day in order to show their best qualities.Therefore, the younger ones started out in their professional careers and convinced everyone that they were a reliable bet. The brilliant Miguel Indurain said that Vuelta 2000 had made the riders feel the spitrit of the race taking a very active part in it and Perico Delgado pointed out that every stage provided a new battle. Between battle and battle, Vuelta 2000 arrived in the capital of Spain with a new king, Roberto Heras, and a great amount of good things.
Just for two seconds, Abraham Olano could not become the first leader of Vuelta 2000 in Malaga, Hruska arrived four minutes later and 15 were the seconds Víctor Hugo Peña would have needed to become the first leader. Alex Zuelle covered the 13,3 kilometres of that first individual timetrial in 17:08. A champion started very soon to add luster to the race and to show that the differencies were going to be very short and that no one was going to give anything for free. Therefore and to confirm that Vuleta 2000 was going to be great, Oscar Freire would be flattered in Córdoba when he achieved the victory on the second stage of that Vuelta 2000.
Every day and complying with the rules every director provides, the race gave off a remarkable fighting spirit. At Xorret de Catí, during the fifth stage, the presence of Roberto Heras was felt after Eladio Jiménez who was the final winner and Alex Zuelle defended his Gold Jersey. The attacks were continuous and the fight as intense as sporting. In Tarragona, Zuelle lost two minutes and Abraham Olano confirmed himself as one of the most regular riders within the Peloton and that there are no secrets in timetrials for him.
The Gold Jersey passed on to the hands of Manolo Saiz´s disciple, but the General Overall Standings seemed very attractive with Angel Casero in the second position followed by Ullrich, Santos González, Igor González de Galdeano, Heras, Tonkov and the younger ones, who were beginning to receive the reward of a well-done work.
At La Molina, the mountainous stages and a new and important chapter in Vuelta 2000 started. At the Catalan ski resort, Félix Rafael Cárdenas reminded us that the Colombian riders changed completely in the mountains and Santos González made his great jump displacing Olano, Casero and Ullrich. Next day, in Ordino Arcalis, Julián Gorospe´s disciples, from Euskatel Team, would start to make a name for themselves among the great riders. Roberto Laiseka imposed his own rules in a day in which he was being followed by important men such as Sastre, Blanco, Heras, Beltrán, Escartín, Rubiera, Sevilla, Tonkov and Virenque. That day, a rider from Valencia, Angel Casero, seemed very proud of himself when he put the Gold Jersey, his golden dream. Dressed in gold, Casero rode along the streets of Zaragoza and Santander and was about to achieve another of his golden dreams at Los Lagos, where he passed on his leadership to Roberto Heras, who had already announced that Vuelta 2000 was going to be his, if his strength did not abandon him at the steep Angliru, in Riosa. And his strength did not fail the rider from Béjar.
Although at the top of El Angliru, Roberto Simoni warned us that he could be the future winner of Il Giro, the other Roberto, Heras, launched an important attack and began to win Vuelta 2000. His almost four minutes of advantage over Casero and five over Tonkov were a very good incentive to keep on fighting for his dream.
Heras and Kelme-Costa Blanca ended with a brilliant week and rounded off the race at Alto de Abantos, above San Lorenzo de El Escorial. That day, Roberto Heras established himself as the best rider in Vuelta 2000 and Angel Casero and Pavel Tonkov celebrated their success. There were only 38 kilometres ahead which would be fought during the timetrial along the streets of Madrid, crowded with people. Santos González was not satisfied with his fifth position and not only was he the fastest rider but he also forced Tonkov to fight really hard to keep his privileged position.
In that way, with Heras, Casero and Tonkov on the podium, a hundred and twenty-four heroes at La Castellana and a great joy, the 55 edition of Vuelta Ciclista a España ended. An edition in which there was fight, sporting spirit and performances were spectacular.
