PozzaTTTo

The first stage of the 2008 Vuelta was a 7.7 km team time trial. The only question going in seemed to be how much Astana would win by. With Contador, Kloden, Leipheimer, they are to the Vuelta what CSC was to the Tour. After all the dust settled, however, the boys in Kazak-style blue and gold sat in a disappointing 8th place. Liquigas took a rather surprising, but nevertheless dominant, win. They must have looked like a blue and green blur as they stormed the course in 8:21 to win by 8 seconds over the equally surprising Euskaltel squad. Results and reports at CN and Pez.

Filippo Pozzato was at the head of the Liquigas train when they crossed the line, so he pulls on the first gold jersey of the race. More impressive than that, however, is the fact that he's sporting a sweet 'stache. Check it out:


In the 2008 FGBC Vuelta Pool, we have had a familiar face return to the limelight. Arlene wins the first stage and holds the early lead. But there's also an unfamiliar face at the top of the heap too. Perrenial bottom-feeder Swatty, going once again with a heavily accented Italian squad, benefits from the fact that Liquigas is loaded with Italians. The extra 25 points for Pozzato's gold jersey didn't hurt either. He sits in second place with 182 points. Vic is in third, just one point back.

The scoring was just like the TTT in the Giro. Every rider gets points based on his teams finish, so long as he finishes with the team. In case you forgot, as I did, the points were as follows:

38
31
25
23
20
19
18
16
15
14
13
11
10
9
8
6
5
4
3

Stage 1 Results:

Arlene 195
David 182
Vic 181
Dallas 157
Brad 153
Ian 134
Hal 134
Matt 134
Chris 131
Jonny B 106
Paddy 88


Overall Standings:

Arlene 195
David 182
Vic 181
Dallas 157
Brad 153
Ian 134
Hal 134
Matt 134
Chris 131
Jonny B 106
Paddy 88


And finally, the roster of teams of the 2008 FGBC Vuelta Pool is as follows:

Chris

Igor Anton - 10
Robert Gesink - 10
Vasil Kiryienka - 8
JJ Haedo - 8
Heinrich Haussler - 4
Leonardo Duque - 4
Eziquiel Mosquerra - 4
David Arroyo - 1
Oliver Zaugg - 1



Matt

Alberto Contador - 25
Stefan Schumacher - 16
Karsten Kroon - 2
Patrice Halgand - 1
Assan Bazayev - 1
Inigo Landaluze - 1
Egoi Martinez - 1
Benjamin Noval - 1
Jose Luis Rubiera - 1


David

Damiano Cunego - 16
Danilo Napolitano - 12
Filippo Pozzato - 12
Leonardo Duque - 4
Rinaldo Nocentini - 2
Alessandro Vanotti - 1
Matteo Tosatto - 1
Andrea Tonti - 1
Paolo Tiralongo - 1


Ian

Yaroslav Popovych - 10
Aleksandr Kolobnev - 10
JJ Haedo - 8
Juan Antonio Flecha - 8
Mikel Astarloza
Sandy Casar - 4
Manuel Quinziato - 2
Sebastien Hinault - 1
Sebastien Joly - 1


Brad

Alberto Contador – 25
Paolo Bettini – 14
Tomas Vaitkus – 4
Carlos Barredo – 2
Jose Luis Arrietta – 1
David Arroyo – 1
Inigo Landaluze -1
Alberto Losada – 1
Benjamin Noval – 1


Paddy

Andreas Kloden - 18
Levi Leipheimer - 18
Sylvain Chavanel - 6
Karsten Kroon - 2
Inigo Cuesta - 2
Assan Bazayev - 1
Fabio Sabatini - 1
Benjamin Noval - 1
Sebastien Hinault - 1


Dallas

Andreas Kloden - 18
Yaroslav Popovych - 10
John Gadret - 6
Marzio Bruseghin - 6
Sandy Casar - 4
Karsten Kroon - 2
Inigo Cuesta - 2
Enrico Franzoi - 1
David Arroyo - 1


Arlene

Carlos Sastre - 22
Igor Anton - 10
Koldo Fernandez - 6
Sylvain Chavanel - 6
Carlos Barredo - 2
Sergio Paulinho - 1
Luis Pasamontes - 1
Xabier Zandio - 1
Oliver Zaugg - 1


Hal

Andreas Kloden - 18
Erik Zabel - 14
JJ Haedo - 8
Rinaldo Nocentini - 2
Manuel Quinziato - 2
Staf Scheirlinckx - 2
Roy Sentjens - 2
Valerio Agnoli - 1
Mauricio Ardila Cano - 1


Vic

Tom Boonen - 18
Alejandro Valverde - 18
Juan Antonio Flecha - 8
Andrea Tonti - 1
Xabier Zandio - 1
Paulo Tiralongo - 1
Ivan Rovny - 1
Sebastion Schwager - 1
Jurgen Van Goolen - 1


Jonny B

Tom Boonen -18
Yaroslav Popovych - 10
Mikhail Ignatiev - 8
John Gadret - 6
Leonardo Duque - 4
Patrice Halgand - 1
David Moncoutie - 1
Matteo Tosatto- 1
Theo Eltink - 1