Vuelta a Espana: Stage 13

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-13/results)

Michael Albasini of HTC-Highroad powered his way to victory in Ponferrada, dominating the sprint of an escape group on the thirteenth stage of the Vuelta a Espana. Eros Capecchi (Liquigas) was the only one of the 20-man group able to keep up with him, with Dani Moreno of Katusha coming in third.

"It's a big sensation, I'm so happy to win the stage," Albasini said. "I did the right move, I got in the right group. I suffered a lot over the mountain, but once I got over the last climb I knew it was possible."

It was his third win of the season, having previously won a stage of the Bayern Rundfahrt (where he wore the leader's jersey for one day), and the GP Kanton Argau. The Swiss rider also took the mountain jersey at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco.

What started out as a 23-man group never had more than about a 3:20 lead over the peloton, but it was enough as the field went over five ranked climbs, including Vuelta debutante Puerto de Ancares. The field crossed the finish line 1:32 behind the winner, and Bradley Wiggins easily defended his leader's jersey.

Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) moved up from fourth to second place by taking a six second time bonus for first place in the first intermediate sprint. The 2010 champion is now only four seconds behind Wiggins.

The first of three serious mountain stages saw a change in the lead of the mountain rankings. David Moncoutie of Cofidis trailed Matteo Montaguti (AG2R) by only one point coming into the stage, and he was determined to reclaim the jersey he has won the last three years. Losing out to Montaguti at the first two climbs, the Frenchman joined the day's break to pick up major points at the remaining three climbs, with his rival being shut out.

Moncoutie now leads Montaguti by 12 points in the climber's competition.

Five climbs on the day

The stage got off to a fast and furious start. A large group got away early, with mountain classification rivals Montaguti and Moncoutie in it. Montaguti defended his lead by winning the first climb of the day, the Alto O'Pico Da Pena, ahead of Moncoutie.

The group was joined by such big names as race leader Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas). Nibali took advantage of the situation to jump for the points and time bonuses at the first intermediate sprint of the stage. The six seconds moved him up to virtual second place.

The top names dropped out and the rest of the group made it to the second climb. The category the Alto de O Lago didn't offer many mountain points, but Montaguti and Moncoutie were in a neck-and-neck race for the climbing title. Benat Intxausti of Movistar took the top points, with Montaguti second and Moncoutie third.

David Le Lay of AG2R got away on the 15km descent, jumping about 47km into the stage. He was soon joined by a large group, so that the break consisted of: Jan Bakelandts and Olivier Kaisen (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Marc De Maar and Kevin Seeldraeyers (Quickstep), Dominik Nerz and Eros Capecchi (Liquigas), Amets Txurruka, Igor Anton, Mikel Nieve and Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel), Adrian Palomares Villaplana (Andalucia-Caja Granada), Yohan Bagot and Moncoutie (Cofidis), Filipe Oliviera Nelson (RadioShack), Daniel Moreno and Alberto Losada (Katusha), Chris Sørensen (Saxo Bank-SunGard), Michael Albasini (HTC-Highroad), Carlos Sastre, David Blanco and David De La Fuente (Geox), David Le Lay and Nicolas Roche (AG2R), Oliver Zaugg (Leopard Trek), Evgeny Petrov (Astana), David Lopez and Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Movistar).

Moncoutie had made the jump to the group, while Montaguti missed out on it. The Frenchman took advantage of that to be second over the top of the category one Alto de Folgue de Algas, behind Le Lay.

The group carried a lead of about 2:40 into the start of the major climb of the day. The Ancares, 11.8 km long and 7.7%, was making its long-awaited debut in the Vuelta. The gruelling climb took its toll on the group, and Anton was the first to lose contact.

The crowds and clouds were thick at the top of the climb. Once again Moncoutie was only second at the top, this time behind Moreno.

Despite the ominous clouds, there was sunshine on the descent. A potentially dangerous group with Nibali, Kessiakoff and Mollema tried to get away from the chasing peloton, but was roped back in. The fearsome climb, with its equally dreaded descent, did not play the decisive role for which some had hoped.

There was one final climb, the category three Puerto de Lumeras after 116 kilometers. Moncoutie finally was able to take this one, topping it out ahead of Sørensen and De Maar.

The peloton, noticeably smaller than before, kept moving slowly towards the equally diminishing lead group, with the gap bouncing around the two minute mark.

With 15km to go, it was becoming clear that the group would make it through to the end. The riders in the chasing group of favourites adjusted their strategy to one of limiting their time losses, and making sure their rivals didn't slip out to gain a few seconds advantage.

With three in the group, Euskaltel had the advantage and led the group, keeping the pace up. The peloton rode furiously and got closer and closer but was unable to totally close the gap.

Albasini and Madrazo jumped with about 3km to go, and were joined by Moncoutie. De Maar didn't join them but flew past. Meanwhile, Bakelandts tried to go but a traffic island brought him down.

The group came together again and crossed under the 1km flag. Albasini opened the sprint and easily powered his way to the finish line ahead of Capecchi, with Moreno a bit back in third. The field came in 1:32 later.

Result
1	Michael Albasini (Swi) HTC-Highroad	4:19:39
2	Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
3	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team
4	David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Geox-TMC
5	Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
6	Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Leopard Trek
7	Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Movistar Team
8	David Blanco Rodriguez (Spa) Geox-TMC
9	Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
10	Marc De Maar (AHo) Quickstep Cycling Team

GC Overall

Result
1	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	51:14:59
2	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:00:04
3	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:07
4	Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Pro Team Astana	0:00:09
5	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:00:19
6	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:00:36
7	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:01:04
8	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	0:01:27
9	Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team	0:01:52
10	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack	0:01:53

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

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 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