ST-ETIENNE, France, 9 June 2004 — Spanish rider Jose Enrique Gutierrez took the overall lead in the Dauphine Libere Criterium here yesterday after winning the second stage, a 181km ride from Bron and deliver for the managing director of his team’s sponsors who had warned he would be at the finish and did not want to be disappointed.
Gutierrez, who will be 30 on June 18, came home seven seconds to the good of the peloton with his teammate Cyril Gussel of France in second and Australian Styuart O’Grady in third while overnight leader Iban Mayo finished in the same time but trails his compatriot by eight seconds.
Six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong finished 28th in the stage and is 10sec adrift of the Spaniard.
“It was very hot,” said Armstrong, who is building up for his bid to win a record seventh Tour in July.
“But I passed a good day, without any problems. I felt strong and I was happy to finish among the peloton,” added the 32-year-old.
Gutierrez, a former Spanish time-trial champion, made the decisive move on the final climb of the stage the second category Croix de Chaubouret some 16km from the finish and delivered his team Phonak’s 10th victory of the season.
He crossed the line with his arms swinging as if he was rocking his two month old son Iban to sleep and then admitted it would be fanciful to dream of winning the whole event. “I am not as strong as Armstrong or Mayo but I just decided to go for it as I felt the others were at their limits.
“I also heard that Tyler Hamilton (his team leader) was struggling so it freed me to make a break,” he said.
Hamilton for his part said he had felt the effects of not racing for more than a month as he finished 42nd in the stage, though little damage was done in terms of time as he managed to get back to the peloton on the descent.
“The first stage of over 200km on Monday wrecked my body and I need five or six days hard racing to really get back in the groove.
“I didn’t want to really push it as there is the Tour de France to come,” added the 33-year-old, who finished fourth in last year’s Tour despite fracturing his collarbone.
