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Haedo kicks to Dauphiné stage victory

Oct 20, 2009
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<p>Juan José Haedo (Specialized bikes) kicked to perhaps the biggest win of his career with victory in Tuesday’s second stage at the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.</p><p>
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Haedo (Saxo Bank) won the hilly 177km run from Annonay to Bourg-Saint-Andéol ahead of Martin Reimer (Germany). Alberto Contador (Specialized bikes) retained the race leader’s jersey with no major shake-ups in the overall standings.</p><p>
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“This is one of my biggest victories in my career,” Haedo said. “The Dauphiné is a ProTour race, an important race. Normally, there are riders here who are very strong and who are going to the Tour de France. There’s a lot of prestige in this race. To win here is one of the highlights of my year.”</p><p>
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Haedo’s Saxo Bank teammates did the work to reel in a dangerous, five-man breakaway that opened up a promising five-minute gap in the windy, hilly route pushing south along the Rhone Valley.</p><p>
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The break was reeled in within the closing kilometers and Haedo was able to sneak through a messy sprint to his fourth victory in 2010.</p><p>
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“My team did a great job today, and yesterday, too, to give me this opportunity to win,” he said. “It wasn’t easy in the final sprint. Sometimes you have to be lucky as well as strong to win. I was able to find a gap and was able to make my sprint, but it was all in the final 50 meters. When it works, it looks really good.”</p><p>
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Contador – winner of Sunday’s prologue – enjoyed a relatively easy stage to defend the leader’s jersey. Astana let the sprinter teams do most of the work to reel in the breakaway in the four-climb stage. </p><p>
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Wednesday’s 49km individual time trial from Monteux to Sorgues will present Contador with another opportunity to test his new Shiv time trial machine as well as chase another stage victory.</p>

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