Tue, Sep 09, 2014 page18

• Niemiec secures stage, Contador retains red jersey

  • AFP, LAGOS DE COVADONGA, Spain
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  Poland’s Przemyslaw Niemiec won the 15th stage of the Vuelta a Espana on Sunday as Alejandro Valverde cut fellow Spaniard Alberto Contador’s overall lead.

  Niemiec was part of an early breakaway group and held on for his first Grand Tour stage victory in a time of 4 hours, 11 minutes, 9 seconds over the 152.2km ride from Oviedo to Lagos de Covadonga.

  Valverde finished second, five seconds ahead of fourth-placed Contador, but cut the two-time Vuelta winner’s lead by 11 seconds thanks to the bonuses on offer for the top three in every stage to move within 31 seconds of the lead.

  

  Spanish cyclists Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha, second left, Alejandro Valverde of Movistar, second right, and Alberto Contador of Tinkoff-Saxo, right, compete in the 15th stage of the Vuelta a Espana between Oviedo and Lagos de Covadonga, Spain, on Sunday.

  Photo: EPA

  Britain’s Chris Froome lost seven seconds on Contador and is now tied with Joaquim Rodriguez in third, 1 minute, 20 seconds back.

  “It is an incredibly happy day for me,” Lampre-Merida rider Niemiec said. “In the morning meeting we had thought about resting for tomorrow’s stage, but once I was in the breakaway I saw we had quite an advantage and everyone was working together to get to the end.”

  Indeed, the five-strong breakaway group had taken advantage of the relatively flat first 100km to open up an advantage of more than 10 minutes at one stage.

  

  Poland’s Przemyslaw Niemiec of Lampre-Merida rides toward the finish line to win the 15th stage of the Vuelta a Espana in Lagos de Covadonga, Spain, on Sunday.

  Photo: AFP

  However, after a category two climb up the Puerto del Torno they began to split on the grueling 12.2km hors category climb toward the finish.

  Niemiec was accompanied by Australian Cameron Meyer of Orica-GreenEdge for much of the climb, before breaking clear and he had just enough to finish five seconds ahead of Movistar’s Valverde and third-placed Rodriguez of Katusha.

  The Spanish trio of Contador, Valverde and Rodriguez repeatedly attacked to try to distance Froome on the final climb, but Tinkoff-Saxo’s Contador lamented not making more of a dent in the Team Sky man’s bid for a first Vuelta victory.

  “It was perhaps a bit of shame to not open up the distance more on Froome, because with a rider of that quality you always have to try and have as much of a gap as possible,” Contador said. “I think Froome is the strongest rival I have come across in my whole career. Maybe in this tour he is finding it a bit harder, but given the quality he has you always have to have the maximum respect and never count him out.”

  “At the same time I had to be aware of the attacks from Rodriguez and Valverde, and in the end I am happy it is another day down and one less to go,” he said.

  Valverde was also pleased to have reclaimed some of the 22 seconds he lost on Saturday’s 14th stage.

  “Today, I wanted to be a bit more conservative and save something for the last push, which went well,” the Movistar rider said.

  With just six stages remaining before the champion is crowned in Santiago de Compostela on Sunday, there was one of just three remaining mountain finishes in yesterday’s 160.5km ride from San Martin del Rey Aurelio to La Farrapona.
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