Vuelta a Espana: Stage 11

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-11/results)

The mountain finish on Estación de Montaña Manzaneda inspired yet more entertaining racing at the Vuelta a Espana and another new race leader, with Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) pulling on the ‘Roja’ leader’s jersey after David Moncoutié (Cofidis) won the stage alone.

Moncoutié showed his climbing skills and racing experience on the mountain finish to take his fourth Vuelta stage in four years. The Frenchman made sure he was part of the key breakaway of the day and then attacked alone on the 19km climb, finishing 1:18 ahead of Beñat Intxausti (Movistar) and Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank). Moncoutié also took the blue polka-dot climber’s jersey.

“I had studied the course well, and planned where to attack on the last climb,” he said. “I was thinking about this stage for a while, and after falling short at Sierra Nevada, another finish that I like, I’ve managed to do it.”

Chris Froome’s moment of glory at the Vuelta ended in the final kilometres of the long, exposed climb to the line, with Wiggins confirming he is the strongest at Team Sky and so ending any possible rivalry about team leadership.

Froome initially responded to several attacks but then slipped down the line of riders in the front group as Dan Martin (Garmin-Cervelo), Bauke Mollema (Rabobank) and then Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) launched attacks. Those moves forced Wiggins to respond and Froome lost 27 seconds at the line.

Rodriguez got a gap with a late surge but he only managed to gain seven seconds on his main rivals. Importantly for Wiggins, Jakob Fuglsang (Leopard Trek) was not in the front group – he finished in the same time as Froome, and so Wiggins took the overall race lead. Froome is now in second place overall at seven seconds, with Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) third at 11 seconds. Strangely for a summit finish, the gaps in the general classification tightened rather than opened.

Wiggins performance sees him become the tenth British rider to take the race lead at the Vuelta. He also wore the maglia rosa at the 2010 Giro d’Italia but this time, he has a real shot at overall victory.

A 19-rider breakaway shapes the stage

The long climb to the finish was always going to be decisive but that did not stop riders going on the attack, virtually from the gun. Carlos Barredo (Rabobank) was the first to jump away after just one kilometre. He was joined by others but Team Sky quickly closed it down and a later move led by Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step).

However after 30km, the break of the day, made up of 16 riders, went clear. Aitor Pérez (Lampre-ISD), Vincente Reynés (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Luis León Sánchez (Rabobank), David Bernabéu and Adrián Palomares (Andalucía-Caja Granada), Juan José Oroz (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Evgueni Petrov and Joan Horrach (Katusha), Beñat Intxausti (Movistar), Sergio Paulinho (RadioShack), Matteo Montaguti (Ag2r-La Mondiale), David Moncoutié (Cofidis), Michael Albasini (HTC), Stuart O'Grady (Leopard), Jonas Jørgensen (Saxo Bank-SunGard) and Manuel Quinziato (BMC) were all there. They were later joined by Mathias Frank (BMC), Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Fabio Duarte (Geox-TMC) to make a break of 19 riders.

Only Duarte and Sanchez were real threats to Chris Froome’s race lead and Team Sky rode tempo to keep them in check. Duarte became virtual race leader for a few minutes but the gap fell below seven minutes as the big final climb approached.

Moncoutié surged away to take the points on the third category Alto de Ermida ahead of Montaguti but that was only a taster of a climb before the 19km haul up to Estación de Montaña Manzaneda.

Before the climb really kicked in, Palomares attacked and opened a brief gap but the strongest climbers from the move jumped across before Paulinho and then Moncoutié took turns to attack. The veteran Frenchman had been looking for a stage victory and mountain points since the start of the Vuelta in Benidorm. Suddenly he had a chance for both and did not falter. He gradually opened a gap on the chasers, meaning that he had plenty of time to celebrate his victory atop the windswept mountain.

Wiggins is the eighth leader of this year’s Vuelta and can fortunately look forward to a quiet first day in red on Thursday. Stage 12 is 167km ride from Ponteareas to Pontevedra. The stage includes several short hills and three finishing circuits around Pontevedra but is expected to finish with a bunch sprint.

1	David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	4:38:00
2	Beñat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team	0:01:18
3	Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team
4	Mathias Frank (Swi) BMC Racing Team	0:01:36
5	Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team RadioShack	0:01:43
6	Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale	0:02:29
7	Amets Txurruka (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
8	Aitor Perez Arrieta (Spa) Lampre - ISD	0:02:55
9	Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	0:03:01
10	Vicente David Bernabeu Armengol (Spa) Andalucia Caja Granada	0:03:08

GC Overall

1	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	42:50:41
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:07
3	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:11
4	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:14
5	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:19
6	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:00:47
7	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:01:06
8	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:01:27
9	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack	0:01:53
10	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team RadioShack	0:02:00

Joaquím Rodríguez: Can he still win?

I think 3:23 is a lot to make up in a grand tour, but Rodriguez is going to certainly try:

Rodriguez vows to keep on fighting in Vuelta

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rodriguez-vows-to-keep-on-fighting-in-vuelta)

Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) had hoped to lose two and a half minutes in Monday's time trial at the Vuelta a Espana, but it turned out to be more than four minutes. His performance dropped him from second place, one second down on leader Bauke Mollema (Rabobank), to fourteenth place, 3:23 behind new leader Christopher Froome of Sky.

The Katusha rider is not giving up hopes of winning the Vuelta, though. “I will continue to fight in the mountains which lie ahead,” he told the EFE news agency,

“Please remove the time trial,” he said wryly. “The time trial is the only day of cycling I don't like.”

In last year's Vuelta, his lack of time trialing abilities proved equally disastrous. Leading the race by 33 seconds going in to the 46 km stage, he finished 105th, 6:12 minutes down. It dropped him to fifth place overall, and he was only able to work his way up one spot, finishing the race just off the podium.

"After that time trial, I would have left. I hurt all over and had no desire to continue fighting, but after this time trial I have the head to keep on fighting,” he declared.

Being passed on the course by Mollema, who had started two minutes after him, was not easy, but he controlled himself. “I knew if I raised my pace, it could be worse. My pace was good and I did not have to go crazy.”

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 10

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-10/results)

Chris Froome (Team Sky) pulled off the performance of a lifetime to take the overall lead in the Vuelta. The Kenyan-born climber finished second behind stage winner Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) in the 47km time trial around Salamanca to move 12 seconds clear of Jakob Fuglsang (Leopard Trek) in GC.

Froome's teammate Bradley Wiggins set the fastest time at the first check point at 13km but gradually lost time, finishing third on the stage. However, like Froome he moved up the overall classification to third overall as a number of big name climbers suffered on the course.

Overnight race leader Bauke Mollema (Rabobank) had a respectable ride but slipped down the GC and sits 1:07 down on Froome in seventh overall.

"I wasn't really expecting that," Froome said at the finish.

"I was just trying to stay in contention and be there along with Bradley Wiggins, the team leader. I just had a fantastic day and somehow I've ended up in the leader's jersey. It's a dream come true."

The dream became a reality though as he made his way to the podium to pick up the red jersey with the knowledge that he had outclassed the likes of Fabian Cancellara, Taylor Phinney and perhaps most importantly Bradley Wiggins.

In fact Froome's and Wiggins's rides couldn't have been more different. While Wiggins went out like a bullet, setting the fastest time at the first check, Froome set of far steadier. At the second time check at 30km, Wiggins had lost 20 seconds and the stage lead to Martin, with Froome only beginning to show his true strength.

The real indication of Froome's form only came when he reached the 1km to go mark, with commentators realising that he was on course to beat Cancellara's time and challenge Mollema for red. With Wiggins fading further over the final kilometres and losing his rhythm on the final climb to the finish, his 29 second loss to Froome was a major surprise.

Yet Sky will be buoyed by their performance that now leaves them with two men inside the top three on GC and major daylight between themselves and the likes of Michele Scarponi, Carlos Sastre, Joaquim Rodriguez and Igor Anton, who all saw their GC aspirations go up in smoke. Sky's management will nevertheless still be scratching their heads after Froome's ride. With no more time trial kilometres left in the race and they now have two serious GC cards to play for the podium. Deciding who sacrifices his chances for the other could be the defining choice for the team's bid to place a rider on a podium in a Grand Tour for the first time.

Martin's marker

The stage threw up more surprises than just Froome's excellence against the clock. Tony Martin who came into the stage as genuine contender, set down a major maker for the Worlds next month, dismantling Fabian Cancellara's dominance against the Spanish heat. That he beat Cancellara was not necessarily the talking point – he put 1:42 into him at the major time trial at the Tour – but with just weeks to go until Copenhagen, Cancellara is running out of time to find the form that has carried him to four rainbow jerseys against the clock.

It was Martin's possible future successor, Taylor Phinney (Team BMC), who shone brightest in the early stages of the day. In his first grand tour, the American is beginning to find his feet at the WorldTour level, and despite Cancellara and the Martin setting faster times in quick succession, Phinney's fifth place deserves praise.

Podium contenders shape up

While the time gaps between Martin and the rest seemed gaping, the results showed a general bunching of true GC contenders. Nibali, who now sits fourth, 31 seconds down, looks to be in pole position considering the mountainous terrain still to come. The fact that the Italian is the only rider within the top 12 to have won a Grand Tour will serve him well.

Jakob Fuglsang, who came to the Vuelta after a disappointing Tour de France, continues to impress here and but for a mechanical in the opening few hundred meters of today's ride he would be even closer to Froome on GC. Kessiakoff, Monfort, Mollema, Cobo Brajkovic and even Jurgen Van den Broeck and Denis Menchov will still claim to have realistic podium ambitions though.

But this Vuelta, which has seen several different race leaders, crashes, excitement and unpredictable racing, is far from over. Rodriguez, despite lying 3:23, could yet be the key. Licking his wounds outside the Katusha team bus after a demoralizing ride, he will be looking for revenge once the race begins to tilt upwards once again. The race win may be behind him but his explosive prowess could be the catalyst to blow this race wide open again.

Result
1	Tony Martin (Ger) HTC-Highroad	0:55:54
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:59
3	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:01:22
4	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Leopard Trek	0:01:27
5	Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:01:33
6	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:01:37
7	Tiago Machado (Por) Team RadioShack	0:01:54
8	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team RadioShack	0:01:56
9	Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:02:02
10	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:02:06

CG Overall

Result
1	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	38:09:13
2	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:12
3	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:20
4	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:31
5	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:34
6	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:00:59
7	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:01:07
8	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:01:47
9	Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team RadioShack	0:02:04
10	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack	0:02:13

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 9

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-9/results)

The first ‘real’ summit finish of this year’s Vuelta a España produced the desired effect and sparked fireworks as Garmin-Cervélo’s Daniel Martin took his first Grand Tour stage win at the end of a tough opening week.

The Irishman claimed the spoils for his toil over the final seven kilometres of the stage – when the finishing climb to La Covatilla hit its hardest slopes – beating Rabobank’s Bauke Mollema and Geox-TMC’s Juan Jose Cobo, who finished second and third respectively.

Overnight general classification leader Joaquin Rodriguez lost his red jersey after finishing 49 seconds behind the front group as Mollema gained the overall ascendancy by a single second over the Spaniard.

Defending champion Vincenzo Nibali now sits in third overall and featured in the finale as did Team Sky leader Bradley Wiggins, who now occupies 13th overall and goes into tomorrow’s 40km time trial well poised to make a massive jump on the general classification thanks to his sterling performance on today’s final climb and his prowess against the clock.

Martin sits one place above Wiggins, and the 25-year-old Irishman was ecstatic with his first Grand Tour stage win as he benefited from a gutsy and uncompromising performance in the finale to reap the rewards of persistence in the face of such a tough proposition.

Getting to the main course

After the day’s opening climb, the Puerto de la Cruz di Hierro, Omega Pharma-Lotto man Sebastian Lang instigated the move of the day – the German was joined by local boy Jose Vicente Toribio Alcolea of Andalucia Caja Granada and later Vacansoleil-DCM duo Pim Ligthart and Martijn Keizer to form the leading quartet with 45km traveled.

After 80km of racing the leaders had themselves an advantage in excess of nine minutes, with the peloton content to leave them plenty of leash. 14km later that had dropped to 7:50 and a further 25km down the road, the leading quartet had become a brace of duos, with Ligthart and Lang leaving Toribio and Keizer behind.

With 30km remaining, the gap between the ‘Two Ls’ and their chasers stood at 2:40, with the peloton – unsurprisingly led by the Katusha team of Rodriguez and Dani Moreno – over six minutes behind the leading duo. But as the climb to La Covatilla loomed, that main bunch would soon be split.

And just as those splits occurred, a blast from the past in the form of Andrey Kashechkin found his way to the front, the Astana man revisiting the scene of a success in 2007, when he finished third on the stage to La Covatilla – the last time the Vuelta visited the town.

Ready for the sparks to fly

As the peloton began the climb in earnest, the gap between it and the leading two had decreased to five minutes; with a little over 20km before the finish and neither man a particular mountain goat of note, they would surely be reeled in – it was merely a question of when.

Heading through the town of Bejar, the leaders had themselves four minutes, although it was game over for their chasers, Toribio and Keizer, who were swallowed up and spat out by a peloton blazing in its pursuit of the plucky characters holding court at the front of the race.

When the peloton hit Bejar that gap had been lowered to 3:29 as Katusha continued to lead the field with Moreno and Rodriguez in tow. With the Russian squad’s pursuit of the leaders, that mark continued to fall and dropped to 1:13 when the peloton passed under the 10km-to-go banner.

By that stage Lang had dropped his Dutch companion and continued on his march to the finish, the hardest slopes of the climb still to ride and the big teams – Katusha, Liquigas-Cannondale, Lampre-ISD and Team Sky – charging their batteries for a manic dash to the line. And they needed to; as the bunch passed eight kilometres remaining, the road noticeably tilted skywards and instantly claimed victims on the 12 percent gradient.

Lang himself became a victim a kilometre later when the man who had kicked off the day’s break became the last card to be drawn back into the pack, which was being controlled by Lampre’s fearless troops who continued to set a blistering pace.

It takes one to start the fight

Active in yesterday’s finale, Rein Taaramae was at it again within the final six kilometres, slicing past Jurgen Van Den Broeck and Michele Scarponi at the front of the bunch and chancing his hand at breaking up the group of overall favourites. But the Italian wasn’t going to let the plucky Estonian steal his thunder, and he countered, forcing the remaining big names to follow his lead.

One man not present was Igor Anton, the Euskaltel-Euskadi captain’s poor showing at this Vuelta continuing as he slipped further back. His life wasn’t made any easier when Kevin Seeldrayers (Quick Step) and Sergio Pardilla (Movistar) hit out hard and defending champion Vincenzo Nibali immediately chased with Van Den Broeck on his wheel.

When they were reeled in, Garmin-Cervélo’s Daniel Martin and his cousin Nicolas Roche (Ag2r-La Mondiale) were the next riders to go off the front, with the two working as a good family should and swapping off to try and stay clear.

While Roche dropped back to Scarponi and co, Martin continued his march alone with just four kilometres – but so much suffering – left until the finish. The Irishman was joined shortly afterwards by Vincenzo Nibali, and he worked with the Italian into a stiff headwind to keep the charging peloton behind at bay.

When seven is better than two…

With Christopher Froome dragging his Team Sky captain Bradley Wiggins back to the two leaders, Martin and Nibali’s time at the head of the race seemed limited and 2km from the line, the elite selection at the front that also boasted Van Den Broeck, Cobo and Mollema caught and began working with the hitherto leading duo.

Behind them, Rodriguez was slipping out of contention for the stage win and the overall lead, falling over 40 seconds in arrears while Wiggins forced the pace hard at the front of the race. With 250 metres to go, Martin opened the sprint to the line, kicking hard over the final crest and winning his first grand tour stage and reaping the rewards of his persistence at the front of affairs.

A whopping 49 seconds later Rodriguez rolled over the line, his red jersey just slipping away and with a flat time trial facing the Katusha captain, a place in the podium spots could be gone after tomorrow’s test against the clock. Another man to lose plenty of time was Scarponi, who eventually finished over a minute in arrears.

Result
1	Daniel Martin (Irl) Team Garmin-Cervelo	4:52:14
2	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
3	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:00:03
4	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:04
5	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:07
6	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:11
7	Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	0:00:12
8	Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC
9	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack
10	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana

GC Overall

Result
1	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	37:11:17
2	Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:01
3	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:09
4	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:18
5	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:00:27
6	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:35
7	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:37
8	Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team	0:00:42
9	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack
10	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:00:46

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 8

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-8/results)

He’s been in terrific form of late and on Saturday afternoon in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) demonstrated that his fitness is scintillating with another powerful surge on the steep slopes of the torturous final kilometre of stage 8 of the Vuelta a España.

With many tipping the Spaniard to shine on a finish that featured ramps of 27 percent, Katusha’s captain delivered, beating Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) and Rabobank’s Bauke Mollema to take his second stage win and the overall lead in this year’s Vuelta.

Having worn the red jersey for a stage after the first day, Jakob Fuglsang’s (Leopard Trek) fine fifth place finish saw him move back up in the standings to third overall, with Dani Moreno (Katusha) sitting in second behind his team leader.

The final agonising kilometres separated some of the overall favourites, with 16 seconds covering the top 10. A notable absentee from that group was defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale), who finished 32 seconds behind Rodriguez and now sits in fourth place overall. “I didn’t feel so good during the stage because of my crash yesterday but this is not an excuse,” Nibali said afterwards. “I hope that I’ll be able to reverse the situation at the time trial in Salamanca.”

Team Sky’s Bradley Wiggins came across the line 20 seconds down in 19th place and now lies 1:43 behind Rodriguez, albeit with Monday’s crucial 47km time trial still to come for the British contender.

Rodriguez’s recon pays off

Always a threat when the road pitches sharply upwards as it did in the final kilometre of the stage, Joaquim Rodriguez explained afterwards that he had taken time to reconnoitre Saturday’s finale before the Vuelta in order to maximise his chances.

“It was useful to know the course,” Rodriguez said. “I came to reconnoitre it in July with Dani Moreno who lives nearby and it has helped me to win. I knew where to impose my rhythm, where to sit on the bike on the false flats and where to accelerate again.”

As well as winning the stage, Rodriguez gained a handful of seconds on all of his rivals for the red jersey in Madrid, and that bounty was bolstered by the 20-second time bonus he picked up for winning the stage. Given his weakness against the watch, Rodriguez acknowledged that he had to make his gains count ahead of Monday’s time trial in Salamanca.

“I knew before the Vuelta that I have to gain a maximum of time bonuses and I target them on the uphill finishes because I’m aware that I’ll lose a lot of time on Monday to riders like Bradley Wiggins and Janez Brajkovic,” he said. “I’ll try to increase my advantage tomorrow. In the time trial, I’ll lose at least 2:30.”

All about the finish

After the mountainous appetisers earlier in the week, today’s stage delivered a brace of category two climbs – the San Bartolomé de Pinares and the Alto de Santa María – preceded by the first category Puerto de Mijares: a test of sorts for the overall contenders while the breakaway bandits were licking their lips.

Their biggest obstacle was the tough uphill finish, with ramps of up to 27 percent that represented another chance for the likes of Katusha duo Moreno and Rodriguez, both of whom have already stamped their mark on this year’s Vuelta with stage wins.

Approaching the top of the Puerto de Mijares after a rapid start, Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervélo) and Matteo Montaguti (AG2R-La Mondiale) were the lone leaders, having made their way off the front after 25km, while 1:10 behind them lay Friday’s most combative rider Julien Fourchard (Cofidis) and Adrian Palomares (Andalucia Caja Granada).

A further 4:05 back was Skil-Shimano’s Koen De Kort, with the peloton sitting 7:32 behind the leading duo. It wasn’t long before the Dutchman was reabsorbed by the bunch, however, as the two pairs at the front made a leading quartet after cresting the category one climb.

The peloton was content to give the leading quartet the time it wanted and with 28km remaining in the stage, the gap was still 1:58 – never enough to stay away until the finish but sufficient for another 17km of freedom, as Haussler was the last card to fall when Cofidis’ Rein Taaramae tried his luck heading into the final 10 clicks of the day.

Joined by Angel Madrazo (Movistar), teammate David Moncoutié, Jan Bakelants (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Wout Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM), the freshly-formed quintet then decided it wanted to disrupt Katusha’s party and went into the final five kilometres – including the finishing climb – ahead of the main field, which would soon be ripped to shreds on the stinging ascent.

With three kilometres remaining and the hardest gradient ahead, Taaramae was the sole survivor of the late-stage move but even his bravery had its limits and he was swallowed up by a peloton led by Lampre-ISD and Katusha’s diminutive pair of Moreno and Rodriguez.

The harder grades required the higher marks and Scarponi went off in search of them, hitting out on the 20 percent slopes near the top of the climb but Rodriguez followed suit and swiftly passed the Italian on the cobbled section. He was never to be passed as those behind him fought for the scraps on what is becoming a familiar scene at this edition of Spain’s national tour.

Notable performances came from Euskaltel-Euskadi captain Igor Anton, who overcame his recent troubles to finish sixth and Irish cousins Nicolas Roche (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Daniel Martin (Garmin-Cervélo), who took seventh and ninth respectively. Maxime Monfort’s strong showing also earned him a place in the overall top 10 while Denis Menchov showed his hand somewhat with eighth at the end of the 183 kilometres.

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 7

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-7/results)

Opportunities for the sprinters have been limited at this year’s Vuelta but Friday afternoon’s  finish  in Talavera de la Reina ended with thrills and spills as in-form German sprinter Marcel Kittel took out the seventh stage with a powerful kick.

Stage six winner Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) and experienced Spaniard Oscar Freire (Rabobank) took second and third respectively but Skil-Shimano were the only ones celebrating. Garmin-Cervélo sprinter Tyler Farrar and many other riders were left licking their wounds when they tumbled at speed, within sight of the line.

“It’s like a dream today,” said Kittel, who has enjoyed a stellar run over the past two months, with four stage victories in the Tour of Poland and another quartet in the Four Days of Dunkerque. He now has a Grand Tour win in that palmares and he paid tribute to his Skil-Shimano squad.

“We’re so proud of each other today,” continued Kittel. “We did really good teamwork and I’m so happy.”

Whilst Kittel was cashing in on his great form, the crash in the final metres spoiled the day for everyone else, bringing down not only fast men but general classification hopeful Michele Scarponi, who had to pick himself up off the pavement along with several others including Vacansoleil-DCM’s Michal Golas, who suffered some serious-looking facial and dental injuries.

The high drama came at the end of another rather unspectacular stage that saw Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) remain in the red leader’s jersey at day’s end despite the carnage in the final metres. The Frenchman still sits 15 seconds ahead of Katusha’s Dani Moreno, with the defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) looming large a further second behind in third overall.

Reining them in before Talavera de la Reina

The last time Talavera de la Reina hosted a stage finish of the Vuelta, two years ago, a break prevailed in the city as Anthony Roux braved the late storm and won ahead of a thundering peloton.

Today the winner came from the big bunch that belted into town, after the four-man breakaway was unable to repeat the heroics of two years ago. Cofidis pair Luis Angel Mate and Julien Fouchard, plus Antonio Cabello Baena (Andalucia Caja Granada) and Steve Houanard (AG2R La Mondiale) were the men making headway early in the stage to form the escape group.

The quartet touched eight minutes at one point and they still enjoyed a lead of 2:43 with 50km remaining. But a further 20km down the road that had dropped by a minute. The sprinters’ teams had matters in control and it was clear that they weren’t going to let this plucky group keep the spoils when pickings have been limited thus far in the Vuelta.

Soon after a minor crash with 27km remaining that delayed BMC Racing’s Greg Van Avermaet, it was Team Sky which opened the throttle and made life difficult for those caught in the accident and subsequently chasing the peloton.

The pace meant that the rear of the bunch had also split significantly, and following the savage acceleration, the break’s advantage was slashed to just 40 seconds. Soon after Mate tried to make his mark on the stage by heading off the front of the escapees’ group solo. It was in vain as Mate’s companions soon regained contact and countered the Spaniard, with Fouchard also trying his luck but becoming the final domino to fall with eight kilometres remaining.

Four kilometres later, with the finish not far away, it was time for HTC-Highroad to come to the front, battling Rabobank to position John Degenkolb and Leigh Howard at the head of the peloton as Team Sky’s riders positioned themselves to help another Australian, Chris Sutton, in his quest for another stage win. With the man who has tasted success in the finish city in 2007– Daniele Bennati – under their wing, Leopard-Trek’s riders pushed themselves into place with two kilometres from the finish but Kittel’s Skil-Shimano teammates took over from them in the final left-hand corner.

The Dutch squad’s train was impressive in the closing kilometre, with Kittel able to come out of his final teammate’s slipstream with just 200 metres remaining. Just as he hit the front, Farrar tangled with Golas and others, hit the ground hard, falling in front of his fellow sprinters and much of the peloton.

Upfront and out of danger, Kittel had the speed and power to hold off Sagan, Freire and Bennati for a deserved win despite the confusion behind him. His sprinting prowess confirmed that his recent run of success was no fluke and he could transfer that form to the Grand Tour stage.

1	Marcel Kittel (Ger) Skil - Shimano	4:47:59
2	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale
3	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team
4	Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek
5	Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
6	Juan José Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank Sungard
7	Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil - Shimano
8	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
9	Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Pro Team Astana
10	Leigh Howard (Aus) HTC-Highroad

CG Overall

1	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team	27:29:12
2	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:15
3	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:16
4	Joaquím Rodríguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:23
5	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:25
6	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:41
7	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:00:44
8	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:00:49
9	Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) Movistar Team
10	Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Movistar Team	0:00:52

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 6

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-6/results)

The Liquigas-Cannondale team used its superior descending skills to split the Vuelta a España peloton on the twisting road to Cordoba, allowing Peter Sagan to take the stage victory, while team leader Vincenzo Nibali gained a some precious seconds and moved up to third overall.

Nibali was initially angry that Sagan sprinted to victory, blocking him from taking any of the time bonuses. But Sagan’s acceleration stopped Pablo Lastras (Movistar) from snatching the stage win and so saved the Liquigas-Cannondale team from an embarrassing defeat, having four of the five leading riders.

“We did a great job as a team. It wasn’t our tactic (for the stage) but fortunately it came off,” Sagan said. “It would have been better if Vincenzo (Nibali) had won but it was better that a Liquigas-Cannondale rider won rather than Lastras.”

Race leader Sylvain Chavanel finished tenth on the stage, in a chase group at 17 seconds, while most of the other overall contenders were at 23 seconds. The stage had been expected to finish in a sprint but yet again a late climb and the twisting descent created another thrilling finale.

Chavanel actually extended his overall lead on Daniel Moreno (Katusha) to 15 seconds. Nibali is third at 16 seconds. Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) is fourth at 23 seconds, Jakob Fuglsang (Leopard Trek) is fifth at 25 seconds and Jurgen Van den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto) is eighth at 49 seconds. Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) is a more distant 20th at 1:26.

Those gaps are likely to stay unchanged after Friday’s 185km seventh stage from Almadén – Talavera de la Reina but the mountains are looming again. Saturday’s stage finish includes three late climbs and Sunday’s ninth stage finishes at the summit of the Sierra de Bejar La Covatilla.

A day in the olive groves

The riders faced another day under the Spanish sun for the stage to Cordoba. The roads twisted and turned through expanses of olive trees, offering little respite from the heat.

Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Team Sky) fought the pain to start the stage after his high-speed crash with a young spectator on Wednesday. However there were more spills early today, with Matti Breschel (Rabobank) going down hard in the neutralised section of the stage. He was forced to retire and headed to hospital for treatment.

Taylor Phinney (BMC) bounced back from his day of suffering in the gruppetto on Tuesday and was one of the first riders to go no the attack. However he was quickly pulled back and then a group of 20 riders went clear after 30km of fast racing. Chavanel was in the move as he tried to neutralise the move and the bunch also reacted, with Liquigas-Cannondale chasing for Nibali.

The average speed of racing for the first hour was over 50km/h but things finally settled down after 70km when Aleksejs Saramotins (Cofidis), Adrián Palomares (Andalucia-Caja Granada), Martin Kohler (BMC) and Yukihiro Doi (Skil-Shimano) got away. The peloton eased and their gap rose to a maximum of 8:00 after 105km. However Garmin-Cervelo and Leopard Trek took over the chase and the gap began to melt in the mid-day sun.

Saramotins took the intermediate sprint in Villafranca but Fabian Cancellara was on the front for Leopard Trek and led the pursuit of the break with huge turns of powerful speed. The Luxembourg team was riding for sprinter Daniele Bennati and GC contender Jakob Fuglsang.

Kohler attacked alone to take the final intermediate sprint in Cordoba in the race finish, with 30km to go but that only split the break and marked the end for the four. Kohler was the last to be swept up on the start of the final climb, as Stuart O’Grady (Leopard Trek) churned away on the front.

David Moncoutié (Cofidis) broke Leopard Trek’s grip on the peloton when he attacked in pursuit of the climbers points. He was first to the summit of the Alto de San Jeronimo but was soon joined by Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) and then David De la Fuente (Geox-TMC) and Kevin Seeldrayers (Quick Step). The race exploded behind them.

They opened a ten-second gap but then the Liquigas-Cannondale team flew down the twisting descent in pursuit. The men in green and white hit the front of the race and almost immediately caused a split at the front. Nibali, Sagan, Agnoli, Capecchi got a gap, with Lastras hanging with them. It was like watching a team pursuit race on the roads of the Vuelta.

Chavanel and Rodriguez tried to chase the attack as other overall contenders hesitated on the descent. But the Liquigas quartet gave it everything all the way to the line, with even Lastras doing his bit on the flat.

It should have been a day of triumph for the Italian team but they almost blew it in the sprint. Sagan saved them from embarrassment but that meant Nibali missed out on the 20-10-8 second time bonuses.

Who knows if that will cost him dearly later in the race. He won the 2010 Vuelta by just 43 seconds.



Result
1	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	4:38:22
2	Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team
3	Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
4	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
5	Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:03
6	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:17
7	Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team
8	Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Movistar Team
9	David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
10	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team

CG Overall

Result
1	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team	22:41:13
2	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:15
3	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:16
4	Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:23
5	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:25
6	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:41
7	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:00:44
8	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:00:49
9	Sergio Pardilla Belllón (Spa) Movistar Team
10	Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Movistar Team	0:00:52

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 5

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-5/results)

Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) used his pure climber’s power to conquer the steep and narrow finish in Valdepeñas de Jaén.

The tiny Spaniard followed teammate Daniel Moreno as solo attacker David Moncoutié (Cofidis) was swept up, and then gapped his overall rivals, with only Wouter Poels (Vacansoleil) able to match the Katusha duo.

Rodriguez kept his hands on the brake levers and danced to the finish line. Poels closed the gap with a brave effort but finished four seconds down, with Moreno at five seconds.

"I've achieved more than I expected with the gap I created over my adversaries in such a short distance," Rodriguez said.

"I don't think I have spent more energy than the others though. Everyone will be tired after such a stage. It's often said in cycling that the winners are less tired than the others because of their high morale.

"It's not a surprise for me to do this because I've said since the beginning of the Vuelta that I was here for the win. I'm satisfied with where I'm standing on GC. Most of the favourites are still in contention with no big time differences."

Bauke Mollema (Rabobank) brought home the leading chasers, with team soigneurs forced to grab their riders as they gasped for breath after an intense finishing effort. Most of the overall contenders were all at eight seconds but the likes of Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) finished 20 seconds down on Rodriguez. Dan Martin (Garmin-Cervelo) was further back at 29 seconds while his fellow Irishman and cousin Nicolas Roche (Ag2r) was better placed in eighth place, at eight seconds.

Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) managed to limit his losses and hold onto the red race leader's jersey. He now leads Moreno by just nine seconds, with Rodriguez third at 23 seconds.

"This stage was much harder than I imagined," Chavanel said. "I've been surprised, to say the truth. It was constantly fast but I hung on and I kept the red jersey. It makes me very happy. The Quick Step team controlled the race really well with sending Davide Malacarne in the breakaway and riding behind Michael Albasini (HTC-Highroad) who was alone away later on. Tom Boonen took part in the chase. That shows the respect that Quick Step has for this leader's jersey."

Chavanel knows his time in the red jersey is limited, but said he thinks he can keep the race lead until the time trial in Salamanca on Monday.

"The Vuelta is designed for climbers and I'm not one of them. That makes me proud to be the race leader. I'll take it day by day but I’d like to preserve the lead until the time trial on stage 10."

Remembering Tondo

The stage started atop the Sierra Nevada after the peloton slept at altitude in the Spanish ski resort. Before the start, a minute's silence was observed to remember Xavier Tondo who was killed in a domestic accident while training on Sierra Nevada.

After the dive down to the spectacular city of Granada, the racing started rapidly with a series of attacks in the hills north of the city, and an 18-rider break formed. However, the peloton and especially Rodriguez's Katusha team never let the race slip from their grasp.

The Alto de Valdepeñas climbed was covered for a first tine after 87km and sparked the first significant break of the day. Rein Taaramae (Cofidis) was first over the top and joined forces with Michael Albasini (HTC-Highroad) and Tom Slagter (Rabobank). They were joined by Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale), Angel Madrazo (Movistar), Johannes Fröhlinger (Skil-Shimano), Davide Malacarne (Quick Step) and Adrian Palomares (Andalucia Caja Granada).

Despite the 32C temperatures, the peloton again refused to let them go and the gap was pegged constantly at no more than 90 seconds.

Perhaps born out of frustration, Albasini decided to go for it alone. It was a desperate move but he managed to gain two minutes, possibly as the peloton realised that a lone rider had little chance of staying away. The Swiss rider plugged on as the rest of the break was gradually picked up.

Katusha in control

The second climb of the Alto de Valdepeñas was always going to be a key part of the race and Katusha did everything to control the action for Rodriguez. Vladimir Karpets worked a lot at high speed before the climb began to hurt. His effort quickly caused some casualties, including Andreas Klöden (RadioShack). Igor Anton (Euskaltel-Euskadi) was also struggling again but managed to stay with the lead group of 50 riders.
Alexsandr Dyachenko (Astana) jumped clear of the peloton with four kilometres to go the summit of the climb but he was quickly caught and passed by David Moncoutié (Cofidis) who powered on in a solo move.

The veteran Frenchman is not a great descender and lost vital seconds as 2010 Vuelta winner Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) briefly tested his rivals' nerves.

Moncoutié started the final climb – Southern Spain's equivalent of the Mur du Huy, with 25 seconds but faded quickly as the peloton saw up him the road. Moreno had promised to work for Rodriguez today after being given the freedom to ride for himself on Sierra Nevada, and he dragged the peloton up to and around Moncoutié. The finish was still almost a kilometre away but Rodriguez knew it was the right moment to take advantage of the confusion and so opened the turbo chargers in his climber's legs.

He gapped Moreno, who eased to mark Poels, and then made a long effort towards the line. He crossed the line with his arms in the air, celebrating Katusha's second consecutive stage victory and confirming he is a sure overall contender, as behind him, everyone else fought to limit their losses.

The Vuelta is still in its first week and these are the opening salvoes, but it already looks like it is going to be a close and aggressive battle for overall victory.

Thursday's 185.7km sixth stage is from Úbeda to Córdoba and also includes another late climb and fast descent to the finish. Both details are likely to produce another thrilling finale.

Result
1	Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	4:42:54
2	Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:00:04
3	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:05
4	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:00:07
5	Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
6	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack
7	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek
8	Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
9	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
10	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana

GC Overall:

Result
1	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team	18:02:34
2	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:09
3	Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:23
4	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:25
5	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:33
6	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:35
7	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:00:38
8	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:00:43
9	Sergio Pardilla Belllón (Spa) Movistar Team
10	Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Movistar Team	0:00:52

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 4

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-4/results)

Daniel Moreno (Katusha) took advantage of a degree of status quo between the Vuelta’s main favourites to claim victory at the race’s first summit finish on the Sierra Nevada. The Katusha rider came up towards the line on the wheel of Saxo Bank’s Chris Anker Sorensen. Then with 400 metres remaining, the Spaniard flashed by on the Dane’s left and had plenty of time to zip up his jersey and celebrate his first grand tour stage win.

The pair had come together just four kilometres from the summit. Sorensen had already jumped across from the main group to three riders who remained from the break of the day. Sorensen pushed on past them and worked hard but had no answer when Moreno jumped hard.

“I’m so happy with this beautiful win,” said Moreno. “I felt in great shape this morning. I knew I could produce a great performance because the course suited my characteristics. Before going after Sorensen, I talked with my team leader, Joaquim Rodríguez. He thought I had good chance of winning today because I’m faster than the Danish rider and told me to go for it.”

Moreno’s win lifted him up to second place overall, 43 seconds down on new race leader Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) but he was quick to downplay his own prospects.

“Despite my move up general classification, my job is still to help our leader to win the general classification,” said the 29-year-old from Madrid. “I think ‘Purito’ and me form a great partnership, I’m sure we can gain some more brilliant results in this Vuelta.”

After the red jersey of Pablo Lastras dropped away from the main group on the early slopes of the Sierra Nevada, Chavanel knew that if he could stick with or close to that group he would take over the lead.

Although he did fall back from the front group, which was eventually led home by Garmin’s Dan Martin 11 seconds behind Moreno, the French champion did enough to attain his objective for the day.

Antón cracks, Cavendish retires

While Moreno and Chavanel took the plaudits, the big loser on the day was Euskaltel’s Igor Antón. The Basque rider struggled all of the way up the final climb to the finish and in the end may not have been too disappointed to lose 1:36.

But Antón was far from the only rider to suffer on another blisteringly hot Vuelta day. Winner of the points title last year, Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) abandoned on the second of the day’s three climbs, while 2008 Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre saw his hopes of a high overall finish disappear as the race climbed to the 2112-metre summit.

Seven riders for the break of the day

After a number of attacks had been neutralised in the opening few kilometres, the break of the day formed at the 10km mark as the riders started up the slopes of the first-category climb of Alto de Filabres.

Seven riders got into it: Guillaume Bonnafond (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Matthew Busche (RadioShack), Yohan Bagot (Cofidis), Thomas Rohregger (Leopard-Trek), Eduard Vorganov (Katusha), José Vicente Toribio (Andalucía-Caja Granada) and Koen de Kort (Skil-Shimano).

By the time De Kort led the seven over the Filabres ahead of Vorganov and Rohregger, their advantage was seven minutes on the peloton. Lastras’ Movistar team tried to keep it under control but it did edge out to more than eight minutes with less than 60km remaining.

After the third-category Blancares climb, where Cavendish became the second rider to abandon the race after HTC team-mate Matt Goss on stage two, Rabobank began to push the pursuit of the seven breakaways with a little more purpose.

Sierra Nevada’s long and winding road

Soon after the escape reached the first slopes of the 23km ascent of the Sierra Nevada, riders began to drop away as the heat hurt as much as the gradient. Bagot was the first to go, followed by De Kort and Torobio, although the Spaniard did battle back up to the four leaders at one point, only to blow apart in visibly painful fashion once he got up to them.

Rabobank were still leading the peloton as it started up the final climb, by now less than four minutes down on the break. Their pace soon saw Lastras fall out of the back. RadioShack’s Andreas Klöden was another early casualty of the Dutch team’s pace. This front group thinned down to 50-odd riders, with Antón struggling right at the back.

Up front, Bonnafond and Rohregger were doing most of the pace-making, although with 10km remaining the four leaders had little more than a minute in hand on the peloton as defending champion Vincenzo Nibali’s Liquigas team went to the front. Their efforts saw Antón finally fall away from the back of the group containing the main contenders.

Perhaps sensing that some of his other rivals might be in difficulty as the race headed towards 2000 metres, a very comfortable-looking Nibali launched a brief foray with 7.5km left. The Italian got a decent gap before easing off as the chase began behind.

As Nibali was brought back, Sorensen made his move off the front of this group, and got across to the four leaders inside the 5km mark. The Dane pressed on through the tiring escapees, with Moreno by now chasing hard behind, perhaps with a view to setting up a late attack by his team leader, Joaquim Rodríguez.

But over the closing couple of kilometres the Katusha leader and his main rivals were content to sit in behind Sky’s Chris Froome as he set the pace for Bradley Wiggins, allowing Moreno and Sorensen the chance to battle over the day’s spoils and Chavanel the chance to lead the Vuelta for the first time in his illustrious career.

This was just an early skirmish for overall victory in the Vuelta, with Antón the big loser and Moreno and Chavanel the day’s victors.

Result
1	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	4:51:53
2	Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard	0:00:03
3	Daniel Martin (Irl) Team Garmin-Cervelo	0:00:11
4	Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team
5	Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre - ISD
6	Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
7	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
8	Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
9	Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
10	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team

Overall Standings:

Result
1	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team	13:19:09
2	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:43
3	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:49
4	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek
5	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:53
6	Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Blr) HTC-Highroad	0:00:58
7	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:59
8	Sergio Pardilla Belllón (Spa) Movistar Team	0:01:03
9	Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Movistar Team
10	Kevin Seeldraeyers (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team	0:01:04

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 3

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-3/results)

Movistar veteran Pablo Lastras took a well-judged solo win and with it the red jersey of race leader at the stage three finish in Totana. The 35-year-old Spaniard, who has won stages in all three Grand Tours during a career that goes back to 1998, finished 15 seconds clear of Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Mikel Irizar (RadioShack) and Ruslan Pydgornyy (Vacansoleil-DCM) after attacking them on the final climb of the day, 12km from the finish.

The Spaniard made his winning attack 500 metres from the top of the Alto de la Santa. His advantage was just a handful of seconds heading over the summit, but he gave it everything on the descent into Totana and pushed out his lead out to almost 30 seconds.

The chasing trio did start to cooperate and eat into Lastras’s advantage, reducing his lead to 10 seconds with 3km remaining. But, having done most of the chasing, Chavanel then eased up and the three riders started toying with each other, leaving Lastras to enjoy a celebratory final kilometre as he claimed his first Vuelta stage win since 2002.

Lastras dedicated the victory to his former teammate Xavier Tondo and Leopard Trek’s Wouter Weylandt, who both died earlier this season, as well as to Movistar’s Mauricio Soler, who is still recovering from serious injuries sustained at the Tour of Switzerland in June.

"I think that I won today because of the expertise that I've built up as a veteran rider, I think it was a good win. I really wanted to raise my arms at the finish today and I dedicate the win to Xavi Tondo and to my teammate Soler who is very ill, as well as to all the friends who have been lost this year," said Lastras, who also went on to thank the media "for making this sport great" and his team manager Eusebio Unzué "who gave me the confidence I needed".

Chavanel, who would have taken the race lead if he had finished ahead of Lastras, was pleased with his performance. "We collaborated really well until the last climb. At 600 metres from the top of Alto de la Santa, Lastras took off. I couldn't follow him because I was starting to get cramps," said the Frenchman.

"On the slight rise towards the finish I gave it everything I had to catch up to Lastras. However there wasn't much collaboration from Pydgornyy and Irizar. When we got to within nine seconds from Lastras with only 3 kilometres to go to the finish line we started sizing each other up and Lastras gained a few seconds' advantage. It wasn't up to me to do all the work to catch up.

"I wanted to win the stage and often in order to win you have to risk losing. I gave it everything I had, I couldn't have done more. Anyway, I'm happy with my form, I feel good and I'm going to try again. Congratulations to Pablo. He was the strongest today and he's a great rider."

Most of the race favourites finished safely in the bunch that was led in by Nicolas Roche 1:43 after Lastras had taken the stage. However, two-time winner Denis Menchov (Geox-TMC) failed to stay with the bunch’s pace on the final climb, coming in 3:06 down along with Rabobank’s Steven Kruijswijk, who had been marked as another rider to watch after his impressive performance at the Giro d’Italia.

The winning break takes shape

After a number of escape attempts had been thwarted in the opening five kilometres, Pydgornyy, Chavanel and Cofidis’s Nicolas Edet jumped away after 6km and were soon joined by Spaniards Lastras and Irizar. These five quickly got a good lead, which stretched to almost eight minutes with 68km covered as Liquigas-Cannondale and Leopard Trek set a steady pace on the front of bunch.

Edet asked for medical assistance having being stung on the forehead by an insect with 90km covered. Soon after the young Frenchman started to slip back from the break. Vacansoleil-DCM’s Pydgornyy claimed the sprint not long after this. The pace did increase in the bunch from this point on, although none of the teams were keen to take on too much work so early in the race and in such sapping conditions.

As Irizar led the four escapees over the 3rd-category Alto del Berro with 117km covered, back in the bunch a lot of riders were starting to struggle. HTC’s Mark Cavendish fell back, together with fellow sprinter Marcel Kittel (Skil-Shimano). Leopard Trek was doing most of the work, cutting the break’s lead back to 4:28 at the summit of the Berro, then trimming it down to 3:46 as the race passed through Totana for the first time with 22km remaining.

Sky prominent on final climb

The final 22km loop took the riders out of Totana and up and over the Alto de la Santa, a regular feature in the Tour of Murcia, before dropping back into the finish again. The four breakaway riders were content to cooperate all the way up the climb, until Lastras made his winning move towards the summit.

Back in the rapidly thinning bunch, Team Sky was clearly determined to keep team leader Bradley Wiggins out of trouble. Thomas Lövkvist set the pace for a good way up the climb, with Wiggins on his wheel.

However, suggestions that some of the leading contenders might attempt an attack on the climb with the aim of gaining a few seconds in Totana were unfounded. Geox-TMC’s David De La Fuente did make a dig that came to nothing. But the GC contenders were clearly happy to save themselves until the much bigger test that faces them on stage four, which brings the first summit finish at Sierra Nevada.

That stage will offer an early insight into the likely contenders for the Vuelta title and should bring an immediate end to Lastras’s hold on the red jersey.

Result
1	Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team	3:58:00
2	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team	0:00:15
3	Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Team RadioShack
4	Ruslan Podgornyy (Ukr) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
5	Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale	0:01:43
6	Matti Breschel (Den) Rabobank Cycling Team
7	Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
8	Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
9	Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Pro Team Astana
10	Jan Bakelants (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto

GC Overall
1	Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team	8:25:59
2	Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team	0:00:20
3	Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Team RadioShack	0:01:08
4	Ruslan Podgornyy (Ukr) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:01:24
5	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:01:55
6	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek
7	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:01:59
8	Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
9	Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
10	Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) HTC-Highroad	0:02:04