Danielle Bennati ends stage 16 of Vuelta a Espana 2011
at third position – Cycling Update
Heinrich Haussler and Daniele Bennati were disappointed after meeting the twisted round about towards the end of stage 16 and were left confused as they could not decide to take a left or a right at the roundabout. Their chance of securing the stage win
vanished as Juan Jose Haedo took the stage win.
Daniele Bennati of Garmin Cervelo and Heinrich Haussler of Leopard Trek were close to victory with only few metres to go when both the riders were caught up in the confusion as Haussler said, “It’s ridiculous, what the h**l are we? Robots?” He further added.
“That's crazy. The whole Vuelta has been crazy. Why can't we have a normal finish?”
Haussler stated that he never expected a roundabout towards the end of the stage and it was impossible to decide the right direction especially while riding as fast as 70 km/h.
The end of the stage 16 also destroyed Danielle Bennati’s hopes of winning a stage before the World Championships as he stated that he was careful and positive to win the stage and did not make any mistake. He rode at the first position throughout the 200
kilometre stage but still has to pay the price towards the end of the stage. He further added that, “I really wanted to win and felt I could have done, I was perfectly placed. I wanted it for me, for my Leopard Trek teammates and for my teammates in the Italian
national team. I wanted to prove that I’m on form.”
Stage 16 was the ideal and the only hope for the sprinters to display their skills before the final stage at Madrid as the remaining stages in the Vuelta are hilly and will favour the climbers over sprinters.
Juan Jose Haedo managed to keep his head cool as he finished the stage in 4:41:56 with Alessandro Petacchi second and Daniele Bennati managed to finish the race at third position. Heinrich Haussler who was amongst the stage leaders finished until the final
roundabout towards the end of the stage 16 at the Vuelta a Espana 2011.
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