Joaquim Rodriguez of Spain strengthened his hold on overall race lead in the Vuelta a Espana with a last-minute surge for the line at Fuerte de Rapitan’s uphill finish to win Thursday’s sixth stage.
Timing his effort perfectly, Rodriguez finished five seconds clear of Britain’s Chris Froome, second in the overall standings, on the 4km climb to an old fort. Alejandro Valverde of Spain was third, 10 seconds back.
Pre-race favorite Alberto Contador, who returned from a doping ban earlier this month, had an off-day and dropped back in the final kilometer as Froome accelerated hard to finish 18 seconds off the pace.
Photo: Reuters
Following the Vuelta’s third summit finish in four days, Katusha rider Rodriguez has increased his lead over Tour de France runner-up Froome from 1 second to 10. Contador remains in third, but he slid to 36 seconds adrift.
“I barely had the strength to follow Froome, so I had to race intelligently,” said Rodriguez, who was congratulated by the Team Sky rider on his performance.
“A teammate [Spain’s Angel Vicioso] had checked out this climb beforehand and told me exactly what it was like, and I have to thank him, that information was spot on and really valuable,” Rodriguez told reporters. “I stuck on Chris’ wheel for most of the climb, I kept going at his pace, and then I just had the strength to nip round him at the finish.”
Photo: EPA
After the final rider of a day-long breakaway, Belgium’s Thomas de Gendt, was captured by the peloton in the streets of the finishing town of Jaca, Froome’s Team Sky made the running on most of the short, but painfully steep final climb.
First Columbia’s Sergio Henao and then Rigoberto Uran brutally upped the pace, with Froome’s last drive shaking off both Contador and Valverde, but not Rodriguez.
Fourth in the 2010 Vuelta a Espana and second in this year’s Giro d’ Italia, the Spaniard said he was not surprised at Froome’s impressive performance.
Photo: EPA
“Froome was arguably the strongest rider in the Tour and it’s clear he’s come here with the idea of winning,” Rodriguez said. “For a rider who supposedly wasn’t going to be at his best on a climb as steep as this, he’s done it very well.”
As for his chances, Froome said: “I’m doing very well, I feel strong and I’ve got a very similar team to the one I had in the Giro, which is very important, we know how to work well together.”
The Vuelta finishes on Sept. 9 in Madrid.
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