TNT Sports
Heras seeks Sevilla's golden lining
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Published 13/09/2002 at 14:10 GMT+1
Roberto Heras struck an important blow in his bid for a second Tour of Spain victory in three years after his impressive solo stage win on Thursday. The diminutive Spaniard confirmed his climbing skills are a class above the rest, sending out a warning to race leader Oscar Sevilla.
Eurosport
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Roberto Heras struck an important blow in his bid for a second Tour of Spain victory in three years after his impressive solo stage win on Thursday. The diminutive Spaniard confirmed his climbing skills are a class above the rest, sending out a warning to race leader Oscar Sevilla.
Although fellow-climber and compatriot Sevilla, last year's runner up, grabbed the overall lead during stage six, Heras, the 2000 Vuelta champion, was clearly the strongest on the race's second consecutive mountain top finish.
Sevilla, runner up last year after losing the lead in the final time trial, suffered badly when Heras attacked but managed to recover and finish third during Thursday's stage.
"I started to run out of gas and to cap it all I had the wrong kind of gearing for such steep climbs," Sevilla explained later. "Fortunately, I gradually found myself feeling stronger again.
"I had no intention of taking the jersey so soon in the race, but you can never complain about this...Perhaps I will try and get a team mate to take over to try and avoid pressure. It's something I will have to discuss with (Kelme-Costa Blanca sporting director) Vicente Belda later on today."
Heras, who finished fourth overall last year after suffering illness and knee injuries earlier in the season, said: "It's the first time I have won a stage in the Vuelta in two years, and it's always good to win at home.
"I didn't feel so good yesterday on Sierra Nevada," said the US Postal leader, who lost 58 seconds to Sevilla on Wednesday's fifth stage. "However, this is a sign that I am on the way back up."
Thursday's stage marks Heras' first victory since the Tour of Catalonia in June.
Sevilla now leads the race by 14 seconds from Telekom rider Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan, with Heras in third place and 39 seconds adrift.
The Vuelta now appears to have two clear favourites: Sevilla and Heras. If Sevilla succeeds it will be his first major tour win, and compensate for a Tour de France in which he was forced to abandon.
As for Heras, ninth in this year's Tour de France after working hard in the Pyrenees for overall winner and team mate Lance Armstrong, victory in Madrid would mean US Postal could become the first squad to take two major tours in the same year since Banesto in 1993.
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