Flat as a tack, the flattest of the flat, as flat as flat can be. Any of these descriptions applies to the majority of last night’s stage 10 of the Vuelta a España, the profile of which had the parabolic arc of a pancake.
The only lump on the map, a category three climb at Alto de San Cosme, came soon after riders rolled over the start line and was quickly forgotten.
At 190km in length, the journey between Ponteareas and Sanxenxo was as unintimidating as stages come during Grand Tour season.
Situated between the Vuelta’s first rest day and its only individual time trial, aspiring breakaway riders could be forgiven for dreaming big. Some riders would be closely monitoring their efforts in preparation for tomorrow’s 39.4km race against the clock. Others would be treating the stage as a rest day on wheels.
But stealing victory away from the sprinters was always going to be a challenge, particularly given the exceptional form of Argos-Shimano’s John Degenkolb.
Sprinter Allan Davis (Orica-GreenEDGE) was the great Australian hope, but he could do nothing to stop Degenkolb’s spectacular run from continuing.
The German pocketed handy points over both the day’s intermediate sprint points on his way to securing his fourth stage win at this year’s race.
Degenkolb proved his staying abilities after jumping early on the approach to the finish and was rewarded with the outright lead in the green jersey competition.
Despite being neatly positioned in Degenkolb’s slipstream for much of the final few hundred metres, French national champion Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ-Big Mat) was unable to surge.
Earlier, at the outset, Javier Aramendia (Caja Rural) and Adrian Palomares (Andalucia) attacked and led the way over Alto de San Cosme.
The advantage of the two-man escape ballooned out to nearly seven minutes, before Degenkolb’s Argos-Shimano teammates cut the gap to three minutes with 67km remaining.
Orica-GreenEDGE did the rest, setting a mean pace in the interests of Davis and driving the peloton to the catch with 33km left to the finish.
Katusha offered some respite to the Aussie squad, who struggled to maintain such a high speed after being at the head of affairs for nearly 15 kilometres.
Defending champion Juan Jose Cobo’s (Movistar) Vuelta went from bad to worse, the Spaniard dropping off the back on the run into the line and losing further time.
Tomorrow it’s every man for himself in the 40km time-trial from Cambados to Pontevedra. Chris Froome (Sky Pro Cycling) will be hard to beat – his strong climbing ability will allow him to use the course’s sole category three mountain as a launching pad.
Alberto Contador will also relish the climb and his time-trialling is consistently underestimated. Another man to watch is world time-trial champion Tony Martin.
This is my first chance to reflect on what has been an outstanding Vuelta to date, complete with an array of legitimate overall contenders and do-or-die combativeness.
Race Director Javier Guillen should be congratulated for the race route he and his team of organisers have devised, which features seven mountain stages and three finishes on hors category climbs.
Those in charge of devising the (at best) dull and unimaginative route seen at this year’s Tour de France should take note.
Vuelta a Espana Stage 10 Results
1. DEGENKOLB John, ARGOS-SHIMANO, 04h 47′ 24″
2. BOUHANNI Nacer, FDJ-BIG MAT, 04h 47′ 24″ + 00′ 00″
3. BENNATI Daniele, RADIOSHACK-NISSAN, 04h 47′ 24″ + 00′ 00″
4. MEERSMAN Gianni, LOTTO BELISOL, 04h 47′ 24″ + 00′ 00″
5. CARDOSO Manuele, CAJA RURAL, 04h 47′ 24″ + 00′ 00″
6. MONDORY Lloyd, AG2R LA MONDIALE, 04h 47′ 24″ + 00′ 00″
7. LIGTHART Pim, VACANSOLEIS-DCM, 04h 47′ 24″ + 00′ 00″
8. VIGANO Davide, LAMPRE-ISD, 04h 47′ 24″ + 00′ 00″
9. SWIFT Ben, SKY PRO CYCLING, 04h 47′ 24″ + 00′ 00″
10. VIVIANI Elia, LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE, 04h 47′ 24″ + 00′ 00″
Vuelta a Espana Overall Standings
1. RODRIGUEZ Joaquim, KATUSHA, 39h 32′ 23″
2. FROOME Christopher, SKY PRO CYCLING + 00′ 53″
3. CONTADOR Alberto, SAXOBANK-TINKOFF BANK + 01′ 00″
4. VALVERDE Alejandro, MOVISTAR + 01′ 07″
5. GESINK Robert, RABOBANK + 02′ 01″
6. MORENO Daniel, KATUSHA + 02′ 08″
7. ROCHE Nicolas, AG2R LA MONDIALE + 02′ 34″
8. ANTON Igor, EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI + 03′ 07″
9. TEN DAM Laurens, RABOBANK + 03′ 18″
10. MOLLEMA Bauke, RABOBANK + 03′ 27
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