Check out the standings in the Vuelta a Espana, and you'll find three US cyclists competing — Tom Danielson (Discovery), Chris Horner and Freddie Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto) — not just Danielson and Horner like I reported Friday.
Thanks to Frank Steele at Tour de France blog 2006 for pointing out that error. The official Vuelta a Espana website still lists Mario Aerts and Christophe Brandt on the Davitamon roster, but they've been replaced by Rodriguez and Pieter Mertens.
I remember that Davitamon's torrid sprinter Robbie McEwen was bummed out early in the Tour de France when Rodriguez crashed out in the third stage; “Fast Freddie” was McEwen's lead-out guy. In fact, when McEwen won the sprint in Stage 4, he dedicated his win to his injured teammate.
Having Rodriguez back in the saddle at the Vuelta should make McEwen very happy.
After the opening 4 1/2-mile team time trial on Saturday, Spanish cyclist Carlos Sastre sits in first place. He crossed the line first among his teammates on Team CSC. The cyclists in Illes Balears (which includes Vuelta favorites Oscar Pereiro and Alejandro Valverde) finished 7 seconds behind.
Sunday's Stage 2 between Malaga and Cordoba has a couple of climbs, but a mass sprint is expected at the finish. Let's see if Rodriguez can lead out McEwen for a stage win.
More news at CyclingNews, VeloNews and Eurosport.
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