Alberto Contador continued his march toward claiming his third major Tour within 14 months despite crashing during the Tour of Spain’s 15th stage on Monday.
The 202km stage between Cudillero and Ponferrada was won by fellow Spaniard David Garcia.
Garcia broke free of a group of 17 riders that had escaped from the main peloton including most of the gold jersey contenders to claim victory, finishing the stage in 5hr 2min and 27sec.
PHOTO: EPA
He was followed by Belgium’s Nick Nuyens of Cofidis at 17 sec and Spain’s Juan Miguel Garate of Quick Step who came in third also at 17 sec.
“Its a great pleasure to win. Its the coronation of my sports career,” Garcia said.
Contador, who won last year’s Tour de France and this year’s Giro d’Italia, retained the race leader’s gold jersey despite suffering a crash that required medical attention.
“I’m bruised but it is only superficial. The worst part will be at night because of my shoulder. I will have to sleep on my right side,” he said.
Contador is looking to make history by becoming first rider to win all three major Tours since Bernard Hinault three decades ago.
The 25-year-old and the main peloton strolled over the finish line over 14 minutes in arrears of the frontrunners.
Spanish rider Carlos Sastre of CSC Saxo Bank, the reigning Tour de France champion, finished in 34th place, 14min 23sec behind the leader.
“At a personal level I did not have probelms today but it was an excessively hard stage,” he said.
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