Vuelta a Espana: Stage 17

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-17/results)

In taking the stage win atop Peña Cabarga this afternoon Team Sky's Chris Froome very nearly decided the fate of this year's Vuelta a España, forcing Juan José Cobo (Geox-TMC) to defend his red jersey in a stunning battle mano-a-mano on the tough slopes of the day's final climb.

The Brit won the day and undoubtedly the hearts of many fans with his stunning attack within the final two kilometres but the Spaniard held onto his overall advantage, narrowly finishing second to Froome on the stage, with Rabobank rider Bauke Mollema taking third, 21 seconds behind the duo. Daniel Martin finished fourth, three seconds behind Mollema.

While only 565m in altitude, the finishing climb of stage 17 provided a launch pad for plenty of attacks and some intriguing racing, as man after man tried his luck with forays off the front of the peloton, only to be dragged back. Froome bided his time and kicked hard when it mattered, turning himself inside out in the final 1,500 metres to take the spoils.

Despite not snatching the jersey off Cobo's shoulders, the Kenyan-born rider was pleased with his efforts. "That was indescribable," said Froome after the finish. "It was one of the hardest days on the bicycle of my life."

"It was the last mountain top finish and both Bradley and myself came into the stage trying to do as much as we could. But as you could see, Cobo was so strong and he holds the jersey by 13 seconds."

While Wiggins went into the Vuelta as Team Sky's leader, Froome's finishing move was an obvious sign that he's currently the stronger of the squad's two men who sit high on general classification and he explained the rationale of team leadership after the stage: "Some days Bradley is stronger [than me] and other days I'm stronger; the team has been fantastic – it's been a real team effort.

"The worst is now over – we still have to go out and make the most of it but the hardest is over," he added.

Sting in the tail

The Vuelta's 17th stage didn't appear too complicated or difficult on paper but at 211km and with climbing most of the day, it would prove to be taxing for most, even those who finished the day high on the standings.

Consequently, the peloton kept matters in check for over half of the parcours, despite an aggressive start to proceedings. A 20-man group containing the likes of Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing), Oliver Kaisen (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Guillaume Bonnaford (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Evgeni Petrov (Astana) and Johannes Frohlinger (Skil-Shimano) got away with 116km raced.

With 80km until the finish, the group had 2:50, which was cut to 1:17 at the summit of the day's first climb, the third category Portillo de Bustos, where Christophe Le Mevel picked up the intermediate points.

On the slopes of the day's second climb, the Portillo de Lunada, Kaisen tried his luck with an attack but was reeled in by his breakaway companions with 57km remaining in the stage. Five kilometres later that leading group was caught by Marzio Bruseghin (Movistar), Mathias Frank (BMC Racing) and king of the mountains David Moncoutié (Cofidis) to form a potent combination at the head of the race.

While the leaders played around with mountains points, the peloton was getting stuck into the task of making progress ahead of the day's finishing climb. At the base of the descent the break's number was up, the cue for Andrey Kashechkin (Astana) and Pablo Lastras (Movistar) to counter-attack, albeit in a short-lived endeavour.

Let the attacks begin!

Despite some one-off attacks it wasn't until five kilometres remaining that the quality moves started in earnest as stage nine winner Dan Martin (Garmin-Cervélo) jumped clear, followed by Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Chris Anker Sorensen (Saxo Bank-Sungard) and Bruseghin in pursuit.

Four kilometres from home, Martin had eight seconds over Bruseghin but that would only last for another 600 metres, as the Italian caught his Irish rival and pushed the pace even higher. With three clicks until the finish they were joined in their advance and held 14 seconds over the peloton, with Sorensen somewhere in the middle.

Unwavering in his pursuit of the leading duo, Sorensen caught Martin and Bruseghin just as Omega Pharma-Lotto's Jurgen Van Den Broeck launched the attack he'd been threatening to unleash for some time. The Belgian pinned his ears back and within 500 metres had caught and passed the front three, his sights set on the finish.

The final 1.5km averaged 13 percent and boasted a maximum gradient of 19 percent and it hurt Van Den Broeck – he was caught ahead of the flamme rouge, with Nieve keeping pace ahead of Cobo, Wiggins and Froome.

Undeterred, he attacked again, putting Wiggins in difficulty while Froome went with the Belgian's move and impressively countered in an attempt to take the overall lead; belting out the final metres of the stage, his face wracked in agony, Team Sky's second in charge signaled his status as the squad's main man during the final week of racing.

He carried on his run to the line as attention turned to Cobo, whose red jersey was at stake. He was briefly distanced and looked to be losing time to Froome, but he defended valiantly to battle back to the Sky rider's wheel and very nearly took the stage win. Froome dug deep and dove into the last corner to take the stage with Cobo only just falling short. Both riders were completely spent and sitting on the ground in agony after the finish.

Behind the exhausted duo at the front, Bruseghin, Igor Anton and his Euskaltel-Euskadi teammate Mikel Nieve, Van Den Broeck and Denis Menchov (Geox-TMC) rolled in over the next 30 seconds. Wiggins would finish 39 seconds behind but remains in third overall and now looks destined to take his first Grand Tour podium, although it could have been so much more.

1	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	4:52:38
2	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:00:01
3	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:00:21
4	Daniel Martin (Irl) Team Garmin-Cervelo	0:00:24
5	Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:00:27
6	Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
7	Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Movistar Team	0:00:29
8	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:00:31
9	Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC
10	Beñat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team	0:00:35

GC Overall

1	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	69:31:41
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:13
3	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:01:41
4	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:02:05
5	Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC	0:03:48
6	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:04:13
7	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:04:31
8	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:04:45
9	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:05:20
10	Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:05:33

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