2012 Tour de France Stage 3, 7/03/12

July 3, Stage 3: Orchies - Boulogne-sur-Mer 197km

Sagan dances to second Tour de France stage win

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-3/results)

Peter Sagan danced his way to his second Tour de France win in stage 3 to Boulogne-sur-Mer. The Slovakian champion and green jersey holder unleashed his powerful acceleration in the final hundred meters, distancing Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky), who held on for second over Peter Velits of Omega Pharma-QuickStep. A fourth place finish was enough for RadioShack-Nissan's Fabian Cancellara to hold on to his overall lead.

The final climb saw a large group going up for the win in a difficult situation. Oscar Freire of Katusha was squeezed in the dash for the line by a Vacansoleil rider, and set off a crash. It was mostly contained on one side of the road, holding up a number of riders already out of contention for the stage, but all were given the same time as the main bunch. Held up was Denis Menchov (Katusha), Bradley Wiggins and his Sky Procycling teammate Chris Froome. The latter toppled into the barriers but emerged unscathed.

The day was marked by climbs and crashes in the last half of the day. Garmin-Sharp suffered the worst luck of the bunch, although Ryder Hesjedal overcame a late-race puncture to regain the front group and ultimately finish the stage in 12th, the rest of the team's climbers - Dan Martin, Christian Vande Velde and Tom Danielson, in addition to sprinter Tyler Farrar, were held up by a large crash in the final 20km and never regained the front of the race.

Team Sky lost one important helper in Kanstantsin Siutsou, who abandoned after a crash, as did Movistar's sprinter JJ Rojas.

Mørkøv strikes again

Once again, all 198 riders were at the start in Orchies, with the race having finally moved into France. It took only five kilometers for the day's group to form. Andriy Grivko (Astana), Giovanni Bernaudeau (Europcar), Ruben Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Sebastien Minard (AG2R) and Michael Mørkøv (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff) took off and quickly built up a gap of 5:40 by km 30. That was enough for the field, and it soon came down to under five minutes.

It was a return appearance for Mørkøv, who has been in the escape group for all three road stages. He took the mountain jersey in the first stage and gathered points one by one in the first two stage to hold on to it.

With some 107km to go, RadioShack got help with the chase. Sylvester Szmyd of Liquigas turned up at the head of the field, an obvious signal that Peter Sagan would be looking for his chance in the difficult last half of the stage.

The first half of the stage was nearly dead flat, and the field was happy enough to roll along, keeping the break group on a long rein, knowing that the fireworks would come soon enough.

The break group rolled right under the intermediate sprint banner as if it were not there, but things were different behind them.

GreenEdge led the charge for the intermediate sprint, and it was a wild sprint. Mark Cavendish looked like he was boxed in but as so often, managed to pull it out at the last minute. And he even turned back to have a word with Kenny Van Hummel of Vacansoleil, who had unnecessarily boxed him in.

As expected, Mørkøv took advantage of being in the lead group to grab the points at the first climb of the day.

Climbing and crashing

And as the field moved onto the narrow roads that would take them over the climbs, the crashes started. Giro d'Italia winner Ryder Hesjedal was involved in an early one. Only minutes later a more serious crash took out Kanstantsin Siutsou (Sky), who became the first rider to abandon the race.

With 37km to go and a gap of about 2:30, the break group kicked up the speed, and managed to drop one of their number, Bernaudeau. Mørkøv took the points on the second climb as well. The peloton picked up their speed as well, to cut the gap. Between the acceleration and the climbs, the sprinters, especially the wounded ones, started dropping off the back.

Not long there after another crash took down a number of riders, including Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge). JJ Rojas (Movistar) and Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha) appeared to be injured, Rojas abandoned with an suspected broken collarbone. The crash also split the field, with many riders having a long way to go to catch up again. Even Philippe Gilbert was apparently caught up in it.

Things were frantic form there on. The lead group tried its hardest to stay away, but BMC grabbed control of the chase group and brought the gap down dramatically. Riders were desperate to get up to the front, but Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) was busy with a stuck rear derailleur and waved down the neutral support car for repairs.

Grivko and Sanchez took the next climb alone in the lead, but with only 16km to go, there were still three more to come.

Gilbert, thought to be a favourite for this stage, was stuck back in one of the chase groups, as was Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), and both were struggling.

Yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) was still in the large first group, as were top race favourites Cadel Evans (BMC) and Bradley Wiggins (Sky). Peter Sagan must also have been there, as a Liquigas rider was often in the lead. And with 10.5km to go, raindrops started to appear.

At the 10km marker, Mørkøv and Grivko had only 28 seconds on the high-powered chase group, and still two more climbs to go. And at 7.3m to go, Mørkøv was caught, leaving the Astana rider alone with a minimal lead. He too was soon overtaken by the chase group.

With 5.5km to go, Sylvain Chavanel of Omega Pharma-QuickStep attacked out of the field. It was familiar terrain for the Frenchman and he popped over the last rise before a long descent, and gradually pulled away.

A roundabout with 2km to go gave Chavanel a problem, and in the peloton behind, Movistar's Alejandro Valverde also had difficulties with it: both had to brake hard and lost ground as the final climb to the finish approached.

Chavanel retained his lead going into the final kilometer, but the thundering horde gave him no chance. Although a crash halfway up broke up the field, the powerful sprinters at the front sailed past the Frenchman.

GreenEdge's Michael Albasini led the way up, but Sagan jumped by him and easily went on for the win, whilst behind him, Boasson Hagen and Velits struggled up the steep climb to fill out the podium.

Full Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	4:42:58
2	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling	0:00:01
3	Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep
4	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan
5	Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team
6	Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
7	Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
8	Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
9	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
10	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale

Other Favorite Picture of the Day:

RadioShack Nissan Team riding

2012 Tour de France Stage 1, 7/01/12

July 1, Stage 1: Liège - Seraing 198km

Sagan triumphs in Seraing

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-1/results)

Peter Sagan of Liquigas-Cannondale took his first Tour de France win in the first stage of his first Tour de France, outsprinting yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) for the victory. The trio had escaped from the field in the final 1.5km of the stage, under the impetus of a powerful surge from Cancellara, and charged their way up the closing climb in Seraing, Belgium.

There were no changes in the top five of the GC, but the pure time trialists fell out of the top ten. Cancellara easily retained his seven second lead over Sky's Bradley Wiggins with Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) holding third place overall, tied on time with Wiggins.

The stage was marked by a breakaway group which enjoyed approximately 190 kilometers of freedom, but the finale went to the top guns. Although a large group came to the end and was given the time of the winner, the usual sprinters were not involved.

Sagan had been a favourite to take the win on this tricky finish, and Boasson Hagen was no surprise either. But it was not so expected to see Cancellara fighting those two for the stage win, and he has now really shown that he is recovered from his shattered collarbone at the Tour of Flanders and has his self-confidence back.

"Of course people told me I was the favourite," said Sagan. "I knew that Chavanel would try something at the end. I wanted to attack at the hardest section. It was very, very good that Cancellara was there. I saw that he had strong legs. It was good to take it easy behind him."

From the gun

The full complement of 198 riders started on Sunday for the 198 kilometers from Liege to Seraing. And almost immediately after the sharp start, six riders attacked and proved to be the break of the day.

The RadioShack-Nissan-led field was happy to let Yohann Gène (Europcar), Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Maxime Bouet (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Anthony Delaplace (Saur-Sojasun) and Michael Mørkøv (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff) go. Their lead jumped around from 1:10 (after being stopped at a level crossing) to 4:50 but RadioShack-Nissan never let them get too far away, and their advantage settled around the three-minute mark.

Tony Martin's problems in the 2012 Tour de France continued. After the time trial world champion suffered a puncture in the prologue, he proceeded to crash early on in this stage, and seemed to have difficulty staying up with the field much of the day. Open wounds could be seen on the Omega Pharma-QuickStep German's elbow, and it was said he had injured his wrist as well.

The July weather in Belgian is no better than that during the Spring Classics, and the peloton went from overcast to rain to sun, and back again. Fortunately the dry weather prevailed during the nervous finale.

The day's only intermediate sprint came at 139km , and it was hotly contested by both the break group and the peloton. Gene took maximum points at the head of affairs, while in the field Matthew Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) claimed seventh place ahead of Mark Cavendish (Sky) and Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol).

The oldest of RadioShack's oldies, 40-year-old Jens Voigt, proved why he was named to ride his 15th Tour. He put in many kilometers at the head of the field and was especially vigilant on the front when the gap to the break had crept up again. The German veteran was instrumental in keeping their lead pegged at a comfortable level, ably assisted by Yaroslav Popovych

Along the way, Morkov and Urtasun fought it out for every mountain point. The Dane was the lucky winner, raising a "number one" finger as he took the penultimate climb, but the Basque rider was quick to congratulate him.

With 50km to go, RadioShack-Nissan turned on the speed again and, helped by a tailwind, brought the gap to under two minutes. The Luxembourg-based team was still, as they had all day, doing all the lead work alone.

The escapees hung on gamely to their lead, even as it dropped. With just about 30km to go, though, it finally fell beneath the one minute mark as behind them the other teams started bringing their captains into position. Finally, too, other teams were seen at the head of the field but the impetus in the field momentarily stalled as the gap to the break slowly crept back up again.

At just about the 23km mark four riders crashed, including Mick Rogers of Sky, two Movistar riders and Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank), who remained on the pavement a long time but eventually got up and continued. Shortly thereafter there was another large crash when a fan saw the need to stand in the road to make photos. The speed had been turned on for good by that time, and the lead group took only 28 seconds into the last 20km. The field, scenting the catch and possibly affected by the crashes, was much more hectic than the six escapees.

It was a rolling, curving lead in to the finale, with everyone going all out. BMC, with Marcus Burghardt, had now moved to the front of the field. The inevitable ultimately happened, and with 9km to go the six leaders were caught. Bouet held out longest, but he had no chance against the field now led by Lotto Belisol. The appearance of Andre Greipel at the head of things showed, though, that the Belgian team was not looking for a mass sprint.

The peloton was strung out as it started up the final climb, but it was still a large group. All the big names were at the front, as Orica-GreenEdge pulled them along. Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) jumped at the 2km marker, but Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) caught him on the steepest part of the climb. Cancellara pulled the rest of the field up to the two.

And then Cancellara took off with 1.5km to go! Sagan attached himself to the yellow jersey's rear wheel and the two pulled away. Cancellara was unable to drop Sagan and the lead duo were joined by Boasson Hagen with just over 500m to go, and the three went into the closing – and very high-powered – sprint.

As the field came closer and closer Cancellara opened the sprint at the 150 meter marker. Sagan moved easily around the yellow jersey holder and proudly took the win, sitting straight up and appearing to do a victory dance on his bike.

Full Results

1	Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale	4:58:19
2	Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan
3	Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling
4	Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
5	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
6	Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team
7	Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
8	Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Sharp
9	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Sharp
10	Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep

La Flèche Wallonne, 2012

Rodriguez wins La Flèche Wallonne

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/la-fleche-wallonne/results)

Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) stormed up the Mur de Huy to claim the victory at the 76th La Flèche Wallonne, overcoming wet and windy conditions to prevail in the middle race of the three Ardennes Classics.

Rodriguez, who had finished second in the previous two years, was part of a large chasing group that engulfed breakaway leaders Lars Petter Nordhaug (Team Sky) and Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda) on the final gruelling climb, and the Spaniard held off the challenge of Michael Albasini (GreenEdge) and defending champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC) for what was in the end a commanding victory.

Rodriguez was overcome with emotion after crossing the winning line, having erased the pain of 2010 and 2011 by finally getting his hands on the prize. He becomes the third Spaniard to win the race in the last ten years, following wins by Igor Astarloa (2003) and Alejandro Valverde (2006).

“It’s the best and most incredible victory of my whole career,” Rodriguez said. “Today is definitely one of the best days of my life. I’ve always been in love with these Classic races, and a victory in these competitions has always been one of my main goals: finally, after many good results, I managed to win.

"Obviously I have to thank my teammates: all of them did a great job from the beginning to the end. It’s true that Mur de Huy was a more suitable final part to my characteristics than Cauberg, but I have to admit it was really hard: it looked like an easy victory, but I did a strong effort in order to defeat my rivals.

"Now I can get ready for Liege-Bastogne-Liege with high motivations. I don’t think this victory will change anything, I’m not the only forerunner, there are many strong riders with chances to win. Everything changed from the Amstel Gold Race to Fleche Wallonne and everything can change on Sunday too. So we have to pay a lot of attention and work at our best if we want to take this legendary double”.

It never looked like the fanatical home fans were going to celebrating a local winner, though the supporters in the Ardennes will have been encouraged by Gilbert’s performance. He has failed to fully live up to expectations in the colours of his new team so far this season, but a sixth place in the Amstel Gold Race last Sunday followed by his podium finish here suggests that he is slowly edging towards his best form.

"I've come from a long way down, so I am satisfied to be back at this level," Gilbert said. "Being on the podium is nice, but most important is a victory. Today, Rodriguez was the deserving winner."

Wild weather in Wallonie

Wind and rain greeted the riders at the start of the 194km race in Charleroi, further dampening the spirits of the supporters who were disappointed by the withdrawals of 2010 winner Cadel Evans (BMC), Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Thomas Voeckler (Europcar). But with the race underway the Belgians’ indomitable passion for professional road cycling took over, the atmosphere building with each passing kilometre.

An early breakaway saw Daniele Ratto (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Mads Christiensen (Saxo Bank) take 12 seconds out of the field, before a crash split the chasing peloton into two groups. The first group of chasers, led by Katusha, caught up and it was left to Dirk Bellemakers (Landbouwkrediet) to make the next significant move, 55km into the race.

Bellemakers was soon joined by Anthony Roux (FDJ-Big Mat) and the two men worked tirelessly to build up a yawning gap of 2:25 from Sjef De Wilde (Accent.Jobs-Willems Verandas) as they passed over the Mur de Huy for the first time in worsening rain. The first main chasing pack, led by Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan), were roughly a further minute behind as the riders hurtled towards the halfway point.

With De Wilde unable to maintain his solo chase, the gap between the two leaders and the initial pack stretched to just under eight minutes at its peak, before Katusha and Lotto-Belisol traded turns on the front end to begin reducing the deficit. Sander Armee’s brave bid to bridge the gap on his own eventually ended in a stalemate, with the Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator rider unable to get any nearer that 2:40 down as Bellemakers and Roux closed in on the final crucial 50km.

With 40km to go Andy Schleck launched an attack from the main chasing pack, as the riders approached the Mur for the second time. The deficit between the leaders and the chasing pack was halved on the Mur second time round, offering further evidence of that its final ascent in the finale would probably prove decisive. With 30km left the pack caught the breakaway and the final phase of the race was set to play itself out.

Just as Robinson Chalapud (Colombia-Coldportes) suffered a horrific-looking crash, landing face-down on the tarmac, Tom Slagter (Rabobank) and Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) broke clear, building up a 14-second advantage. The closer the riders got to the final climb of the Mur, the heavier the rain came down, and as Frank Schleck suffered a puncture at a critical stage, Hesjedal and Nordhaug made their move, attacking with 7.5km to go.

It took the chasing pack what seemed like an eternity to close them down, but eventually the final 1km climb up the Mur – a gradient of 20-25% in places – drained the strength from the legs of the breakaway duo as the walls caved in around them. Rodriguez pounced, taking 15 metres out of the chasing pack in a show of rare power. His decisive burst left him clear and gave him time to acknowledge the crowd as he crossed the line for a well deserved victory that has been a long time coming.

Full Results

1	Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	4:45:41
2	Michael Albasini (Swi) GreenEdge Cycling Team	0:00:04
3	Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
4	Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
5	Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Astana Pro Team	0:00:07
6	Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Barracuda	0:00:09
7	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
8	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
9	Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
10	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team	0:00:11

I think his priorities are backwards...

Wait....what?!?!?!

New baby won't clash with Mollema's Tour plans
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/new-baby-wont-clash-with-mollemas-tour-plans)

Bauke Mollema has revealed that his girlfriend is expecting their first child in August of this year, but the Rabobank rider is still very much planning to ride in the Tour de France. The 25-year-old Dutchman, famed for his climbing prowess, has stated that the impending arrival will not jeopardise his position at the start line.

Mollema served notice last year that he can be a major force in Grand Tours after winning the points classification and finishing fourth overall at the Vuelta a Espana. He is seen as a key part in Rabobank's assault on this year's Tour de France.

"For the Tour, there is nothing wrong. That is still the main goal of my season," Mollema told telegraaf.nl.

Rabobank's sporting director Erik Breukink stated on his Twitter account that Mollema would not be distracted by the birth: "Missing the birth of your child is not the end of the world. That's part of life as a professional cyclist," he said.

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 21

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-21/results)

Peter Sagan's Vuelta a España debut got even better as the Liquigas-Cannondale rider made it three stage wins in this year's edition by beating Italian sprinters Alessandro Petacchi and Daniele Bennati in the final stage through Madrid this afternoon.

The 21-year-old Slovakian sprung from nowhere in the finale and cheekily swept under the drag race between Petacchi and Bennati to take another stage win in his first grand tour and indicate that he'll be a man to watch at the UCI Road World Championships later this month in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"It's been a great day. I was riding at the front and I took the wheel of Bennati but I got boxed in a bit, so I had to stop my effort and had to re-start from behind. It was hard, but I was still fresh because my team protected me from the wind during the whole stage.

"I was only focused on winning today. It was a technical course, exactly what I like and I was feeling very well," Sagan said.

While he took three stage victories, Sagan said he was frustrated at the botched sprint on stage 16 when a wrong turn at a roundabout ruined his chance to gain points toward the green jersey. He ended up fourth in that classification, just 22 points off Bauke Mollema's winning margin.

"I'm satisfied anyway. This experience of three weeks will help me for the future," Sagan said, downplaying his hopes for winning the world championship in Copenhagen at the end of the month.

"I prefer not to think of the coming world championship. It's difficult to plan. Luck is needed. Team work is an important factor and we'll have a team of three Slovakians. I believe the Velits brothers will be on my side. I'm not bothered about the future. I'm happy with how I go. At the beginning of this season, I didn't think that I could win all these races."

'The Bison' charges into Madrid

The man upon which all eyes focused as the peloton swept into Madrid was Juan José Cobo however, the unexpected leader and champion elect of the Vuelta a España enjoying the limelight with a little fanfare and plenty of satisfaction.

That's because it's been a long and arduous journey for Cobo, the man who was considered one of Spain's best prospects for stage race victory just three years ago when he finished second to Leonardo Piepoli on the Hautacam stage of the Tour de France while riding for the now-defunct Saunier Duval squad (he was later awarded the stage when Piepoli tested positive for CERA).

Since then he's been embroiled in controversy surrounding that team, fallen into obscurity and even considered retirement several months ago; on Sunday afternoon that was the last thing on his mind.

"I've passed through some bad moments the past few months, but now I see things differently. You realise that hard work and sacrifice are worth it – this win makes up for the suffering that I've gone through on the bike," Cobo said, admitting that he's suffered from depression for a year and a half.

He came into the race with no pressure, there presumably to help Carlos Sastre and Denis Menchov, and he admitted that he wasn't doing well in the first week of the race. "I've suffered a lot up the Sierra Nevada. I didn't have the legs. I didn't have the race rhythm and I was lucky the head wind neutralized the race uphill."

"On that day, I was far from imagining that I'd be the eventual winner of the Vuelta. After that, it's been with no worries."

After terrific performances in stage 14 and 15 to La Farrapona. Lagos de Somiedo and Anglirú, respectively, Cobo defended the red jersey with gusto until the final day, which took riders into the heart of Madrid. He celebrated with that leader's jersey, where 12 months earlier Vincenzo Nibali had stood, the latest champion of the Vuelta a España.

"I knew that I was in a good shape since the Tour of Burgos at the beginning of August and I've had two weeks after that to improve my condition," Cobo said. "But I came to the Vuelta to help Carlos Sastre and Denis Menchov and three weeks later, I'm here to talk about winning the Tour of Spain, it's unbelievable!

Following his win on the Anglirú, Cobo told reporters "The objective was to take time on Wiggins and things turned out better than expected. We will defend to the death, but when you're in the lead, things are easier."

And so it was, his Geox-TMC teammates often riding at the front of the race to shut down any potential threats to Cobo's lead and the 30-year-old himself did everything he could – successfully – to prevent Team Sky's Chris Froome usurping his advantage on the stage to Peña Cabarga.

By race's end, his margin of victory was just 13 seconds over Chris Froome, with the Brit's Team Sky stablemate Bradley Wiggins in third, 1:39 behind Cobo. Bauke Mollema recorded his best grand tour result with fourth and Cobo's teammate Denis Menchov took fifth.

Double podium presence for Sky

Despite several attempts to gain back his missing 13 seconds in the past few days, Froome and his teammate Wiggins remained in second and third, respectively, giving Great Britain and Team Sky an excellent Grand Tour performance.

Wiggins came in as the team's top contender, but it was Froome who was able to challenge Cobo. Ultimately he fell shy, but Froome captured the hearts of two nations - Kenya, where he grew up, and Great Britain, where he holds his racing license.

"Three weeks ago, I couldn't envisage such a result and I believe it's the beginning of great stuff," Froome said. "For the first time I got the opportunity to ride a Grand Tour in the best conditions and I took my chance.

Wiggins, who crashed out of the Tour de France and eyed the Vuelta as his chance for redemption, couldn't hide his disappointment.

"The Vuelta isn't the Tour, you have to win the Vuelta," Wiggins said. "I put pressure on myself during three weeks. I saw myself as the winner. I truly believed that I was going to win, that's why I'm not satisfied.

"I'm speaking negatively but there's some positive as well. Nine weeks ago, I broke my collarbone and I would have laughed if anyone told me that I was going to finish third of the Vuelta after that. I've also learned more on how to ride a Grand Tour. At the end of 2010, some people thought that I had come fourth at the 2009 Tour de France by coincidence, now I've made those people understand that it was not the case."

Making their way to Madrid

At only 94km, the final stage of this year's Vuelta was a procession, to say the least, and after a tough three weeks the Spanish capital was a sight for sore eyes within the peloton.

Having made the ceremonial entrance into the city it was time to get on with some racing, and subsequently various groups tried their luck getting away from the bunch until a selection of just three was made with about 58km remaining.

The trio consisted of Joan Horrach (Katusha), Damiano Caruso (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Jose Alberto Benitez (Andalucia Caja Granada), although a solid group of pursuers had assembled behind, with a thundering peloton – led by the vigilant men of Geox-TMC – keeping a close eye on the leaders.

Facing the final 50km of this year's race, the break had itself 32 seconds over the peloton and it looked unlikely that the plucky trio was ever going to get much more than that. Ten clicks later and that proved to be the case as the gap sat at 51 seconds, the main field keeping the escapees on a short leash.

With 26km left in the 63rd Vuelta a España, the break led by 50 seconds, a sprint finish never in doubt as the likes of Lampre-ISD, Leopard Trek and Saxo Bank-Sungard ensured that the gap wouldn't stretch too far and they could set up their fast men for a dash to the line.

And with just 11km remaining it was Horrach who held out the last piece of resistance, having left Caruso and Benitez behind the local lad was content to carry on until the peloton deemed his time out front over and set up the final sprint to the line.

That time would come some nine kilometres from home, the pace lifting dramatically thanks to the work of Lampre-ISD and Leopard Trek, the squads of Italian sprinters Alessandro Petacchi and Daniele Bennati toiling to try and take one last win from the Vuelta.

Aiding in their cause was Saxo Bank-Sungard, with Juan José Haedo waiting in the wings for another crack at glory; it wasn't much match for Stuart O'Grady and Leopard Trek's effort, which was gargantuan in the final three kilometres.

As the sprint opened Sagan still hadn't shown his figure and as Petacchi and Bennati went to the left, the Slovakian sprung into the middle of the road, accelerating impressively to grab another win, much to the disappointment of the experienced Italian duo.

Little noticed in the mix just behind was Mollema, who was helped to ninth on the stage by his Rabobank teammates and therefore took the green points jersey from Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha.

David Moncoutie (Cofidis) strolled in two minutes after the stage winner, his polka dot climber's jersey wrapped up the day before.

With now three Grand Tour champions in its midst, the Geox-TMC squad earned the title of best team, with race winner Cobo also netting the win in the combination classification. The performance of the Spanish underdogs will go a long way toward helping the team climb up the UCI's overall rankings for the 2012 WorldTour selection.

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 19

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-19/results)

The Vuelta a España's return to the Basque Country for the first time in 33 years could hardly have been better scripted as local hero Igor Anton (Euskaltel-Euskadi) took victory on stage 19 to rapturous acclaim in Bilbao.

In the battle for overall honours, Juan José Cobo (Geox-TMC) had to resist two forceful accelerations from Chris Froome (Sky) on the final climb of the Alto El Vivero, but proved more than up to the task, and he retains his 13-second overall lead as the race enters its final weekend.

The stage belonged to Anton, however, and to Basque cycling as a whole. Hailing from nearby Galdakao, which featured on the finishing circuit, Anton was not even born when protests from Basque separatists disrupted the race during its last visit to the area in 1978, and his win crowned a day that saw the Vuelta vigorously saluted on its re-entry into one of cycling's true heartlands.

Anton described his triumph as "a dream" and said that it was the greatest win of his career. "The first victory is always special, as was the one on the Zoncolan, but this is the best because it's special, it has feeling," he said.

Part of an early four-man break alongside teammate Gorka Verdugo, Marzio Bruseghin (Movistar) and Alexsandr Dyanchenko (Astana), Anton set out his stall by leading over the Puerto de Las Muñecas, which brought the race into the Basque Country with over 100km to go. The decisive arena proved to be the short, sharp ascent of El Vivero, however, which was tackled twice as part of a 32km-long finishing circuit around Bilbao.

"Just being in the break today in front of these fans and my family would have been worth the effort, even if I hadn't won," Anton said afterwards. "I felt goose bumps when we entered the Basque Country."

The first time up the climb suggested that Anton and Bruseghin were the strongmen of the break, and so it came to pass, as first Dyachenko and then Verdugo were dropped on the final lap of the circuit. Conscious of Bruseghin's ability as a rouleur, Anton knew that he had to try to make the difference uphill, and after setting a high tempo at the bottom, he kicked definitively as the road pitched up to 11 percent with a shade under 2km to the summit.

Exhorted by the passionate Basque following that thronged the climb, Anton edged clear on the steepest section, with the crowds that blocked his view of the road parting at the last minute to let him through. The problematic lines between politics and sport have been blurred by events at the Giro di Padania this week, but while the Basque flag, the distinctive ikurrina, was naturally prominent at the roadsides on Friday, it was flown as a symbol of identity rather than as one of division, as the Vuelta was roundly welcomed back into the Basque Country after its 33-year absence.

By the summit, Anton had 31 seconds in hand over Bruseghin, and familiar with the 14km from there back down into Bilbao, Anton even tacked on another 10 seconds to his lead by the finish to seal the win and compensate for his lacklustre Vuelta showing to date.

"It was a difficult Vuelta for me from the beginning, and really at La Covatilla, I had to give up on the general classification," Anton said. "I was in a hole, physically and psychologically, but maybe I've learned from this Vuelta than the last one."

Froome takes the race to Cobo

While Anton was delighting the Basque fans up ahead, Team Sky and Chris Froome were looking to find a way to wrest the red jersey away from Juan José Cobo. Every second counts in this tightest of Vueltas, with just 13 seconds separating Froome from Cobo at the beginning of the stage, and it was no surprise to see Sky keep the race together ahead of the first intermediate sprint.

Unfortunately for Froome, Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) has his mind set on carrying the green jersey to Madrid, and he picked up the six seconds on offer in Laredo. David De La Fuente (Geox-TMC) patrolled affairs for Cobo by taking second place, while Bauke Mollema (Rabobank), slipped in for third.

Shortly afterwards, at the 29km mark, Sky allowed the day's breakaway to slip clear, and the quartet built up a maximum lead of six minutes over the peloton. As temperatures reached 35 degrees (Celsius) in mid-afternoon, there was an understandable lack of urgency in the bunch's pursuit of the escapees, but Sky returned to their task of trying to break Cobo as the race reached Bilbao for the first time with 64km to go.

On the first ascent of El Vivero, the British squad delegated Thomas Lofkvist to set the tempo at the front end of the peloton, and the Swede took to his task with gusto. Tapping out a fierce rhythm with Wiggins and Froome lined up in his slipstream - and with Cobo sitting directly behind them - Lofkvist tore the bunch to shreds and whittled it down to fewer than 30 riders by the summit.

At that point, the red jersey group was just 1:43 behind the leaders, and Lofkvist continued his work on the front on the run-in to the second climb of El Vivero with just over 18km to race. Once on the ascent, Joaquim Rodriguez made a speculative effort, followed by Chris Anker Sørensen, while Wiggins took over at the front of the red jersey group.

The Englishman's pace was initially steady rather than searing, and Cobo sat comfortably on Froome's wheel. Approaching the summit, however, Wiggins began to raise his tempo slightly to prepare the ground for Froome, and the Kenyan-born rider's attack finally arrived with a shade over a kilometre to climb. Cobo was alert to the move, and the duo instantly distanced the rest of the group. As the road pitched up steeply for the final time, Froome followed up with a second acceleration, but again he was unable to shake of the implacable Cobo.

The duo crossed the summit just ahead of Mikel Nieve (Euskaltel-Euskadi), but they all sat up on the descent and were quickly engulfed by the main group. While Anton and Bruseghin were already certain to ride off with first and second place, there was still an eight-second bonus for third place on offer, and Cobo sensibly stuck like a limpet to Froome's rear wheel all the way down into Bilbao.

As it turned out, Dominik Nerz (Liquigas-Cannondale) clipped off the front to take third, just ahead of local rider Haimar Zubeldia (RadioShack), but Cobo was vigilant right to the end, coming home a place behind Froome in 17th, 1:33 down on Anton.

Just two days lie between Cobo and one of the most unexpected Grand Tour victories in recent memory, but with only 13-second buffer and another undulating day in the Basque Country to come tomorrow, Madrid must still seem a lifetime away.

Result
1	Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	3:53:34
2	Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Movistar Team	0:00:41
3	Dominik Nerz (Ger) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:01:30
4	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack
5	Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Saxo Bank Sungard	0:01:31
6	David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:01:33
7	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek
8	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
9	Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
10	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team

GC Overall

Result
1	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	77:59:12
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	0:02:03
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 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 15

http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-15/results

Juan José Cobo (Geox-TMC) turned the Vuelta a España on its head Sunday afternoon, with victory atop the Angliru after a race-defining stage that saw Bradley Wiggins lose the overall lead and the Spaniard inherit the red jersey.

It was reward for a gutsy performance that the Geox-TMC rider has threatened to deliver during the mountain stages of this Vuelta; while he hasn’t shown much of the same blistering form at any point this season, Cobo pulled out the best when it mattered the most – on the mythical Angliru.

Wiggins cracked in the final three kilometres of the final climb and now sits in third overall, 46 seconds behind Cobo, with his Team Sky teammate Chris Froome in second, 20 seconds behind the general classification leader.

Cobo beat surprise packet Wout Pouls of Vacansoleil-DCM by 48 seconds, with two-time Vuelta champion and Geox-TMC teammate Denis Menchov taking third.

“I’m very tired – everybody is at this point [in the race] but nobody could get around me today, which was good,” said Cobo after the finish.

And after several years in the relative wilderness, Cobo has blasted back in the consciousness of the cycling public, something to which he alluded after the finish. “I can enjoy this victory because this job is my passion,” he said. “I thought about leaving the sport but this is very important to me.”

While Cobo was celebrating his climb up the leaderboard, defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Liguigas-Cannondale) was continuing his slip down it, the Italian now sitting in eighth overall, 3:27 behind the red jersey and facing a soul-searching rest day tomorrow.

Another man who will tomorrow be wondering where it went wrong is Wiggins, the Briton finishing 1:20 behind after finding the final brutal slopes of the Angliru too hard following his heroics during this second week of the Vuelta. Whilst he is still on the podium overall, he has a lot of work to do if he’s to make up the lost ground to Cobo in the final six days.

All eyes on the Angliru

Boasting a finish on the famous Angliru climb, the queen stage of this year’s Vuelta promised to be the defining day of the event; organisers applied the same formula to the parcours as yesterday’s test – a second half heavy in climbing that would definitely strain the big guns on the general classification.

With Wiggins starting the day seven seconds in front of teammate Chris Froome and 45 seconds ahead of Rabobank’s Bauke Mollema, the mission for Team Sky was simple: minimize the Brit’s losses and if possible try to bolster his overall lead.

That tactic went to plan as three men got away early in the stage – Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Cervélo), Dimitry Champion (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Skil Shimano’s Simon Geschke had themselves an advantage over the field of six minutes, with 80km remaining.

Game over… Game on!

As the peloton crested the Alto de Tenebredo – with 57km until the finish – the break still had itself 5:10; 17km later that had dropped to just 2:10 however, as the tough climbing began in earnest and the escapees’ time out front was limited.

Next on the menu was the first category Alto del Cordal, the perfect site for Geschke to drop his two breakaway companions, who were soon absorbed by a peloton that was being whipped up by the likes of Liquigas-Cannondale.

Active in yesterday’s stage, Movistar’s Marzio Bruseghin was at it again today and soon caught the lone German out front; with the summit of the Cordal approaching the Italian was joined by stage winners David Moncoutie and Dan Martin plus Carlos Sastre to form a small group at the front of the race.

As the main field approached the Angliru it was time for 2008 Tour de France champion Sastre to make a mark on this year’s Vuelta and he set off solo, boasting a lead of 16 seconds with eight grueling kilometres remaining. Behind him Nibali was starting to falter, falling back before the hardest sections of the climb had even begun.

Getting into the Les Cabañes section, with its maximum gradient of 22 per cent, Sastre was joined by Euskaltel-Euskadi’s Igor Anton, who hasn’t enjoyed a good Vuelta and was hoping to make amends on the race’s biggest day. Aware of the danger present ahead, the peloton wasn’t giving the duo much leeway but before long Anton had gone solo in pursuit of the stage win.

Enter the Cobo

On the maximum slopes it was game over for Martin, Bruseghin and Sastre, the cue for Cobo to jump across to lone leader Anton and leave him flailing with six kilometres remaining, getting into the same rhythm that saw him take second on yesterday’s stage and sit in the top 10 overall.

Positioned perfectly in the group behind Cobo, Wiggins had Froome for company, with Menchov, Katusha’s Joaquin Rodriguez and Pouls sitting on for the ride, the Team Sky men riding themselves closer to overall victory as the kilometres dragged by.

Despite the torturous gradient, Cobo continued his scything run to the finish and had 40 seconds over Wiggins’ group, which had shed Rodriguez in pursuit of the lone Spaniard. Hitting the Cueña les Cabres section – with a maximum gradient of 23.5 per cent and three kilometres until the finish – the Geox-TMC man was riding towards the overall leadership.

Struggling to stay in the hunt was Mollema, Martin, Fuglsang and Nibali whilst ahead chaos seemed to prevail amongst the crowds, motorcycles and mist. Digging deep into his reserves as a potential grand tour winner, Wiggins managed to keep Cobo to 43 seconds with less than two kilometres remaining… Or so it seemed.

While he was passing under the flamme rouge, his rhythm undisturbed despite the gradient, Cobo enjoyed a gap of 1:10 over Wiggins as it became apparent the British rider was losing his fight to maintain his overall advantage.

Zipping up his jersey in preparation for the finish line celebrations, Cobo had time to enjoy a win that seemed unlikely over the past two seasons; one of the men to suffer from the fallout surrounding Saunier Duval’s demise, he could announce his return to the top of the sport with a stunning solo effort on one of the cycling world’s most fearsome climbs.

1	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	4:01:56
2	Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:00:48
3	Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC
4	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling
5	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:01:21
6	Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
7	Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	0:01:35
8	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek
9	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
10	Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team

GC Overall

1	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	59:57:16
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:20
3	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:46
4	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:01:36
5	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:02:37
6	Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC	0:03:01
7	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:03:06
8	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:03:27
9	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:03:58
10	Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:04:13

Vuelta a Espana: Stage 14

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-14/results)

Rein Taaramae’s (Cofidis) mantra may well be, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again’, which paid dividends for the talented Estonian on Saturday afternoon as he won the Vuelta’s 14th stage on another summit finish in La Farrapona Lagos de Somiedo.

The 24-year-old Cofidis rider has been very active in this year’s Vuelta and finally took the reward for his efforts after what was an intense 173km in the saddle. He took his place in the breakaway early in the stage and managed to hold on to take his first Grand Tour stage win, something many pundits have been predicting for several years.

Showing dogged determination throughout the entire stage, he beat Geox-TMC duo Juan Jose Cobo and David De La Fuente, who finished second and third respectively.

It was a good day for overall leader Bradley Wiggins, the Brit finishing 45 seconds behind Taaramae and most importantly putting time into his rivals on general classification – he now leads Sky teammate Chris Froome by seven seconds, with Rabobank’s Bauke Mollema in third at 36 seconds.

Froome pointed to Wiggins as he crossed the line one place behind in sixth, an indication of the unity amongst Team Sky’s two best climbers and a sign of the pair’s confidence heading into the Vuelta’s final week – could today and tomorrow define who will be this year’s champion?

One man losing his grip on a chance at the title is defending champion Vincenzo Nibali, who now sits 1:25 behind Wiggins on the general classification and slipped from second to seventh overall on today's stage. The Liquigas-Cannondale leader finished more than a minute behind his main rival and suffered the consequences, giving himself plenty of work to do in the final week of racing if he’s to take another crown.

A weighty half needs a solid breakaway

The second half of today’s stage featured plenty of climbing, with the category two Puerto de la Ventana, the first category Puerto de San Lorenzo and a mountaintop finish at La Farrapona, Lagos de Somiedo in store for riders.

With limited opportunities in the sprints at this year’s Vuelta, HTC-Highroad youngster Leigh Howard decided to make the day’s move, taking off about a half a km into the stage. He was soon joined by the others, and after giving chase for nearly 30 km, the peloton finally decided to let them go.

He was joined by De La Fuente and Taaramae, Guilluame Bonnafond and Lloyd Mondory (AG2R-La Mondiale), Rabobank’s Luis Leon Sanchez, Jonas Aaen Jörgensen of Saxo Bank-Sungard, Sep Vanmarcke (Garmin-Cervélo), Alberto Benitez (Andalucia-Caja Granada), BMC Racing’s Karsten Kroon, Cofidis man Yohan Bagot, Jorge Azanza and Inaki Isasi of Euskaltel-Euskadi, Katusha couple Aliaksandr Kuschynski and Eduard Vorganov, Francesco Bellotti (Liquigas-Cannondale), and Daniele Righi (Lampre-ISD).

Nearing the top of the day’s first climb and with 77km remaining, the big break had 7:38, which would prove to be its maximum advantage as 27km later that mark had been cut to 4:55.

On the descent of the Ventana, Vanmarcke and Kroon found themselves being hoisted out of the forest, the pair crashing and forcing the Dutch veteran to abandon the race. Soon after the man who started the day’s break exited it, dropped on the way up the San Lorenzo; the Australian shut up shop and made his way back to the pack.

It all heats up…

With 40km to go and only 2:50 separating break from peloton, it was time for Katusha’s Alberto Losado to make a move of his own, dragging Sylvain Chavanel and several other riders with him; the bunch shut down the dangerous group that threatened to form but a kilometre later there was another attack that saw Movistar duo Beñat Intxausti and Marzio Bruseghin fly the safety of the peloton in pursuit of the leaders.

Just as this pair was gaining seconds on the field, the ever-aggressive Taaramae made what would be the race-winning move and was on his way off the front of the leading group, taking De La Fuente with him to form an attacking duo that quickly created a sizeable gap.

While these front groups continued to toil, Katusha’s Dani Moreno was another to flee the peloton with 35km remaining, followed by teammate Joaquin Rodriguez; meanwhile Leopard Trek strongman Fabian Cancellara continued to set tempo for Jakob Fuglsang and Maxime Monfort, who both sat in the top 10 of general classification and overall leader Wiggins maintained a comfortable rhythm next to them.

A kilometre after attacking, Moreno was soon within 25 seconds of Intxausti and Bruseghin, with the remnants of the break a further 2:20 up the road and rapidly splitting under the pressure of the mountain and the movement of Taaramae and De La Fuente ahead of it.

This latter duo crested the San Lorenzo together, 2:21 ahead of Moreno as the peloton topped the climb a further 13 seconds afterwards. On the descent the Spaniard caught the duo from Movistar to form a chasing trio that soon made contact with Moreno’s teammate Vorganov.

This new quartet set about building on the slender lead it enjoyed over the main field and slicing the two minutes that separated them from Taaramae, De La Fuente and what little was left of the break with the final 20km and the climb to Lagos de Somiedo approaching.

Heading to the finale

Soon Moreno and co had caught the remnants of the break – Righi, Mondory, and Bonnafond (sans Taaramae and De La Fuente) and set to work on the climb proper with the peloton still keeping the gap between itself and the Katusha rider to less than a minute. And with 15km left in the stage it continued to do that, as the leading duo still had over 60 seconds on the pursuers.

The peloton, led by Liquigas-Cannondale, Rabobank and Leopard Trek, tapped out its rapid rhythm while Movistar’s Italian stager Bruseghin carried out the workhorse duties – appropriate given that the 37-year-old famously owns a farm with donkeys.

As the leading duo crossed the 10km remaining banner, the gap stood at 57 seconds and a kilometre later that had only been cut by three seconds, with the peloton continuing its vigilance and keeping Moreno’s lead under a minute.

The Estonian-Iberian alliance at the front of affairs had 59 seconds, as Moreno’s men passed the banner indicating six kilometres remaining and were soon after caught by the peloton, providing the spark for Euskaltel-Euskadi’s Amets Txurruka to light the powder keg and explode from the main field.

The threat of Moreno negated, the peloton eased off the gas and with five kilometres remaining had allowed the leading duo a lead of 1:12, while Txurruka’s toil had only put him 10 seconds up on the main field. A kilometre later and it was time for Moreno to go again, taking Cobo with him and quickly overrunning the Euskaltel-Euskadi rider.

Behind them it was panic stations for Rodriguez and Nibali, the two overall contenders dropped from the group containing Wiggins and his faithful lieutenant Froome, plus Omega Pharma-Lotto’s Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Vacansoleil-DCM man Wout Poels and Denis Menchov (Geox-TMC).

And with Menchov’s teammate Cobo going alone it was time for Taaramae to do the same at the front of the race, dropping De La Fuente (who soon joined his pursuing companion) and heading for home with two kilometres left to ride.

Despite Cobo’s best efforts, he and De La Fuente remained 21 seconds off the Estonian with 1,000 metres remaining as Wiggins, Froome, Van Den Broeck and co continued their march away from the defending champion that could well have helped crown a new Vuelta king.

The man wearing the crown of the day was Taaramae however, kissing his jersey and raising his arm in the air to celebrate what was a well-deserved and popular win, crossing the line 25 seconds ahead of Cobo, with De La Fuente a further four seconds back on what was a good day for the Spanish squad.

1	Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne	4:39:01
2	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:00:25
3	David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:00:29
4	Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:00:40
5	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:45
6	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling
7	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
8	Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC
9	Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi	0:00:55
10	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:01:00

GC Overall

1	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	55:54:45
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:07
3	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:00:36
4	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:00:55
5	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:58
6	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:01:23
7	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:01:25
8	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:01:37
9	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:02:16
10	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:02:24