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 18

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-18/results)

Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre) won the sprint of a two-man group to take the eighteenth stage of the Vuelta a Espana in Noja, easily out-sprinting Quickstep's Kristoff Vandewalle. The two had broken out of a large escape group to fight for the win. Skil-Shimano's Alexandre Geniez took third.

It was the third win of the season for the 27-year-old Gavazzi, who also won stages at the Tour of the Basque Country and the Tour of Portugal.

"I dedicate this victory to my team-mate Alessandro Spezialetti who had to quit the Vuelta because of a broken collarbone. We're friends and we've had fun together until he crashed," Gavazzi said.

He and Vandewalle nullified a dangerous attack by RadioShack's Sergio Paulinho in the final few kilometers, and with Vandewalle leading most of the final kilometer, it was Gavazzi who had the advantage in the sprint to the line.

"Paulinho went away strongly but luckily, he was alone and the finale was difficult for a lone rider because of the head wind. With 2km to go, when I saw Vandewalle attacking, I followed as the other guys were looking at each other.

"Maybe I'm lucky in this part of the world. I've won here in Cantabria and nearby in the Basque Country, possibly because the courses are adapted to my characteristics. For sure, I like to race in this area."

Vandewalle was disappointed not to win, but encouraged by his ride in today's finale. "I haven't been lucky today but I think that I rode well when Paulinho was brought back. Unfortunately, Gavazzi, who was the fastest rider of our front group, came across.

"Straight away, I understood that I couldn't win but I still tried. To finish second means nothing. Only the winners are remembered. But today's result puts a smile back on my face. I've had a very hard Vuelta so far. I suffered the heat. I've had stomach bugs. It feels good to ride at the front again."

The peloton had given up trying a serious chase early on, and enjoyed the view of the coast in the closing kilometers. Simon Geschke of Skil-Shimano led them across the finish line 7:42 after Gavazzi.

Juan Jose Cobo (Geox-TMC) didn't have to fear for his jersey or his 13 second lead over Sky's Christopher Froome. Apart form the stage win, the real battles of the day were for the points and mountains jerseys.

"The breakaway went early. It helped me enjoy my day with the red jersey on home soil," Cobo said. "Today it was just a question of being vigilant and lucky. There was no danger. Everything went well. We’ve controlled the first part of the stage with two riders from Geox-TMC at the front of the bunch. With the help of other teams whose spots on GC were threatened, we've reached the finish the way we wanted."

Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) rebounded from his injuries and crash from two days ago to reclaim the points jersey. The Spaniard had dropped to third place in the ranking, but made sure that he was in the day's escape group. 'Purito' won both of the intermediate sprints and finished eighth, giving him enough of a boost to move back into green.

"After the bad day I had at La Covatilla and the two crashes I had before the stage finishes at Talavera and Haro, the remaining goal I have is to win the points classification," Rodriguez said. "I wasn't able to go for the stage win today but I went in the breakaway for the green jersey. It would be so nice to go on the final podium in Madrid!"

David Moncoutie held on to his polka dot mountain jersey thanks to his Cofidis teammate Nico Sijmens, who was in the escape group along with Matteo Montaguti (AG2R), second in the ranking. The Italian did all he could to claim the jersey, but Sijmens managed to foil his plans by finishing ahead of him at four of the day's five climbs.

"It was the worse case scenario but thanks to Nico Sijmens who did a great job marking Montaguti," Moncoutie said. "I've kept the polka dot jersey with an advantage of seven points. It's going to be tight until Saturday. In the second or third category climbs, Montaguti might be faster than me but I'm probably superior in the first category climbs. The crucial stage is on Saturday but if I have to force myself at the beginning of tomorrow's stage, I'll go for it. Ag2r-La Mondiale and Cofidis are fighting hard for the polka dot jersey. I want to win it badly!"

Battles for the jerseys

It took all of 10 kilometers for today's break group to form and get away. Joaquin Rodriguez, who has suffered since a crash two days ago, seemed to want to prove he wasn't done for yet and joined 16 others in flight.

Matteo Montaguti (AG2R), Martin Kohler (BMC), Nico Sijmens (Cofidis), Juan Jose Oroz (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre-ISD), Francis De Greef (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Robert Kiverlovski and Josep Jufre (Astana), Davide Malacarne and Kristof Vandewalle (Quickstep), Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank), Volodymir Gustov (Saxo Bank), Alexandre Geniez and Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano), Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervelo) and Sergio Paulinho (RadioShack) made up the group.

After a strenuous few days in the mountains and with so many teams represented up front, the peloton seemed delighted to let this group do what it wanted. The gap got up to 10:50 and then stayed within the nine-to-ten minute range.

Rodriguez showed himself eager to gain back as much time and pride as he could. The Spaniard was wearing the green points jersey when he crashed on the 16th stage, and despite his time losses had dropped to only third in that ranking, 11 points behind Rabobank's Bauke Mollema. He helped himself by winning both of the day's intermediate sprints.

There were a total of five ranked climbs on the day's stage, and they were the reason that Montaguti was in the escape. He had dropped to third in the mountain ranking, one point behind race leader Juan Jose Cobo (Geox) and 22 points behind David Moncoutie of Cofidis.

The Italian won the first climb, the category 3 Puerto de Bragula, gaining three points, but was only second at the second climb, the Alto del Caracol (category 2), for another three points and at the category 1 Puerto de Alisas. The latter two were won by Sijmens, who sprinted for the points to protect the lead of his Cofidis teammate.

The day's only category 1 climb, which came with about 50km to go, and the fight for the mountain points was enough to start breaking up the lead group. Behind them, individual riders tried to break from the peloton, including Nicolas Roche (AG2R) and Wouter Pouls (Vacansoleil), riders who could potentially pose a threat to the red jersey if they were allowed to get too far away. But they were caught again.

After that climb, a ten-man lead group formed: Montaguti, Sijmens, Oroz, Rodriguez, Gavazzi, De Greef, Kiserlovski, Vandewalle, Gustov and Paulinho. They casually stretched the lead out to over 12 minutes.

Sijmens also took the mountain points on the category 3 Puerto de la Cruz Ursano, with Montaguti having given up hope and not sprinting for the summit, although he still finished second.

A disorganized group

With 30km to go, Paulinho took off out of the lead group. The Portugese rider just kept on going and built up his gap. Sijmens didn't have to worry about snapping up the points at the final climb, the Puerto de Fuente las Varas (category 3) as Paulinho took the top points, followed by, who else, Sijmens and Montaguti.

Paulinho had a lead of up to 50 seconds and looked clearly on his way to a solo win, but with 12km to go, it had dropped to 35 seconds. The chasers were eager to get their chance at the stage win, and turned up the speed on the chase. The disorganized group came closer and closer and if they hand managed to work together and co-ordinate their efforts, they could easily have caught him with eight or nine kilometers to go.

But with each riding for himself, they couldn't get things together – much to Kiserlovski's disgust, who was thinking he was doing far too much of the lead work. Whether it was the sheer power of their number, or whether Paulinho was slowing down, they came closer and closer.

Paulinho doggedly hung on, helped by the fact that the group continued to work against itself with constant attacks. Despite themselves, they caught the RadioShack rider with 2.5km to go.

That was the cue for Vandewalle to attack, soon followed by Gavazzi, who hung on to the Belgian's wheel. They went under the one kilometer marker seven seconds ahead of the nearest chaser, and Vandewalle led out the sprint and looked nervously over his shoulder. His fears were justified, as the Italian moved around him to easily take the sprint.

The remainder of the escape group dribbled over he finish line for the next four minutes. Behind them, the field was finally coming closer. A Leopard Trek rider tried to get away, but was caught again. Geschke won the sprint of honour of the large group.

Result
1	Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre - ISD	4:24:42
2	Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team
3	Alexandre Geniez (Fra) Skil - Shimano	0:00:10
4	Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne
5	Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
6	Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Saxo Bank Sungard
7	Juan José Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
8	Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team
9	Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Pro Team Astana
10	Francis De Greef (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:00:15

GC Overall

Result
1	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	74:04:05
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 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 16

http://www.cyclingnews.com/vuelta-a-espana/stage-16/results
Juan José Haedo (Saxo Bank-Sungard) took victory on stage 16 of the Vuelta a España in bizarre circumstances ahead of Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD) and Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek). while Juan José Cobo (Geox-TMC) retained the red jersey.

As Bennati's Leopard Trek squad strung out the peloton in the closing kilometres, it looked as though a long, hot day in the saddle was going to end as scripted with a straightforward bunch sprint in the streets of Haro. Although a plethora of sprinters have already left the race, Petacchi, Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervélo) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) were among the riders lined up behind Bennati and his lead-out man Robert Wagner approaching the final bend, and the stage seemed set for a grandstand finish.

Instead, it turned out to be something of a damp squib; when Wagner swung off the front on a roundabout with 300 metres to go, he took a wrong turning, veering off to the right instead of following the race route on the left.

"Unfortunately due to tiredness and the chaotic nature of a finish, Robbie [Robert Wagner] followed the motorbike right around the roundabout instead of heading left towards the finish," Leopard Trek directeur sportif Luca Guercilena explained. "Daniele had to brake too much. He wasn't able to go straight to the line."

While Bennati hesitated momentarily before choosing the right path, the well-placed Sagan started to follow Wagner but then locked up the brakes as he recognized his mistake and fell out of contention. Sensing the confusion, Haedo cleverly launched his sprint early, and emerged from the roundabout with a healthy advantage over Bennati and Petacchi.

The Argentinian even had time to sit up and savour his first Grand Tour triumph in the final 50 metres, and Petacchi's impressive final effort ultimately proved to be in vain. A disappointed Bennati recovered to come home in third, just ahead of Vicente Reynes (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Leigh Howard (HTC-Highroad).

"It crowns my career so far, absolutely! I’ve won stages at other important races like the Critérium du Dauphiné, Tirreno-Adriatico or the Tour of Catalunya, but this one is the most beautiful of them all," Haedo said afterwards. "This success is a gift for the sixteen days of suffering I've experienced. I’ve done the right thing staying in the race…"

While there was considerable consternation among the sprinting fraternity about the confused final kilometre, Saxo Bank directeur sportif Brad McGee was adamant that Haedo would have won regardless of Wagner's wrong turn.

"He was ready, was in the perfect position in the finale and he was better tactically and physically in the technically demanding sprint where some riders took the wrong turn in the last roundabout," McGee said. "But it would have made no difference. JJ (Haedo) was simply better than everyone today and we hope he can repeat this win on Sunday in Madrid."

Froome's move checked by Cobo

The finish-line intrigue was not confined just to the sprinters, as Juan José Cobo and Team Sky brought their battle for overall supremacy from the vertiginous slopes of the Angliru to the plains of La Rioja.

Barely 10km from the finish, Jesus Rosendo (Andalucia-Caja Granada), the final survivor of the day's breakaway, was engulfed by the peloton on the cusp of the second intermediate sprint. With seconds at a premium in the fight for the red jersey, Froome sensed his opportunity and moved towards the front of the bunch.

Although he was thwarted in his hunt for the full six bonus seconds by the quick thinking of Cobo's teammate David De La Fuente, Froome did manage to pick up the two seconds on offer for third place behind Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervélo).

By the time the stage was done, however, Froome's hypothetical advantage would be wiped out. The Briton and his teammate Bradley Wiggins were caught behind when the peloton split on the high-speed run-in to the finishing line, and Froome handed back his short-lived two second gain to Cobo before it even registered with the time keepers.

While the gap was minimal, there is no underestimating the impact that Cobo's tenth-place finish will have on his morale. With the race poised on a knife edge and with a series of tight stages to come in the Basque Country, every gain, temporal or psychological, is to be treasured in a tense final week to the Vuelta.

Rodriguez crash

For a stage that culminated in such dramatic fashion, its beginnings were altogether more banal. Barely a kilometre after the flag was dropped, Julien Fouchard (Cofidis) jumped clear with Andalucia-Caja Granada pair Jesus Rosendo and Antonio Cabello, and a weary-legged peloton duly left them to it.

The trio built up a lead of 8:30 after just 40km, but when the sprinters' teams stirred from their slumber shortly after the midway point, their gap began to fall softly. With 30km to go, Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek) thundered to the front of the bunch, in what is set to be his final appearance of this year's Vuelta – the Swiss rider announced before the stage that he will leave the race this evening to fine-tune his preparation for the world championships.

Perhaps sensing that Cancellara had a plane to catch, Rosendo opted to leave his breakaway companions behind and try his luck alone shortly afterwards. Although he put up solid resistance to the chasing pack, he knew that his time off the front was limited, and he was duly snaffled up on the run-in to the final intermediate sprint.

As the pace picked up in the main field, a crash removed a number of riders from contention, with the worst affected riders being Rafal Majka (Saxo Bank-Sungard) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha). Although Rodriguez was able to ride gingerly to the finish in the company of a loyal platoon of Katusha teammates, the Spaniard had conceded 5:30 by the finish, and said that he would decide on his continued participation on Wednesday morning.

Rodriguez, so dominant in the opening week of the race, has endured a rather more difficult spell since. The home favourite before the Vuelta, Rodriguez's crash was overshadowed on the day by the dramatic incident in the final kilometre, while in overall terms, Spanish hopes were already pinned to Juan José Cobo.

	Result
1	Juan José Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank Sungard	4:41:56
2	Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
3	Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard Trek
4	Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto
5	Leigh Howard (Aus) HTC-Highroad	0:00:02
6	Koen De Kort (Ned) Skil - Shimano
7	Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
8	Nikolas Maes (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team
9	Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Procycling
10	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC

GC Overall

Result
1	Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC	64:39:14
2	Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:22
3	Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:51
4	Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team	0:01:41
5	Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek	0:02:40
6	Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC	0:03:06
7	Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek	0:03:08
8	Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:03:49
9	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:04:03
10	Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:04:18

Wouter Weylandt's Little Girl...

It's always sad for a child to be born without a father around, especially one that was taken far too young...

Weylandt family welcomes baby girl

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/weylandt-family-welcomes-baby-girl)

The girlfriend of the late Wouter Weylandt, An-Sophie De Graeve, has given birth to their baby daughter Alizée on Thursday evening. Both mother and child are in good health.

"The birth went very well. Alizée came to this world at 7.05pm, she measures 51 centimetres and weighs 3.6kg," the family announced to the Belgian press on Friday morning.

Wouter Weylandt passed away on May 9 this year at the Giro d'Italia. The Belgian Leopard Trek rider crashed on the descent of the Passo del Bocco and sustained fatal injuries. He was 26 years old.

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