Vuelta Diary, Stage 11: Kessiakoff snares unlikely victory

Last night, stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana – the one and only individual time-trial at this year’s race – was ridden along a lumpy course that broke with recent tradition.

The extremely technical 39.4km route from Cambados to Pontevedra was in stark contrast to the flat, straight time-trial courses often associated with the Vuelta.

Featuring a 10km category three drag up the Alto de Monte Castrove, it was never going to be a day for the power men. Race leader Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) would have been thanking his lucky stars.

The Spaniard’s elite climbing ability enabled him to limit his losses to rivals more adept against the clock, namely Chris Froome (Sky Pro Cycling) and Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank).

On paper, Froome’s time-trialling prowess would typically have seen him favoured over Contador for the stage victory. But, with the Tour de France in his legs, some pre-stage speculation suggested the Brit is finally starting to tire after a long season. The day’s racing indicated this might well be the case.

But neither Froome nor Contador could beat Fredrik Kessiakoff, who produced the quickest ride of the day (52’36”). Don’t be fooled though, it wasn’t a complete bolt from the blue.

The Swede has hit a rich vein of form during the second part of this season, having held the polka dot jersey for several days during Le Tour.

Irrespective of his seventh place finish, Rodriguez had a brilliant day in the saddle, managing to protect his lead in the battle for red. Just. Boy, did it go down to the wire!

At the first intermediate time check (13.5km) Rodriguez was 39 seconds behind Contador, whose fast start also earned him an eight-second advantage over Froome.

Contador further opened up his lead over Froome on the climb, while Rodriguez hung on courageously to minimise what could have been significant damage to his hopes of overall victory.

Come stage end, Katusha’s main man had surrendered just 59 seconds to Contador, leaving him with one second to spare at the top of the general classification.

Earlier, Australian young gun Richie Porte (Sky Pro Cycling) set the pace with a time of 53’53”, holding on to grab sixth place. Eighth-placed Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEDGE) was the other Aussie in the top ten.

Needless to say, we have a riveting Vuelta on our hands, with two Spaniards duking it out at the top of the overall standings. This is professional cycling at its exciting best.

Tomorrow, it’s back to the flatlands for stage 12. That is, until the short, but sharp category three ascent to the finish line. Will the puncheurs come out to play?

Vuelta a Espana Stage 10 Results

1. KESSIAKOFF Fredrik, ASTANA, 52’36”

2. CONTADOR Alberto, SAXO BANK-TINKOFF BANK + 00′ 17″

3. FROOME Christopher, SKY PRO CYCLING + 00′ 39″

4. VALVERDE Alejandro, MOVISTAR + 01′ 08″

5. INTXAUSTI Benat, MOVISTAR + 01′ 09″

6. PORTE Richie, SKY PRO CYCLING + 01′ 15″

7. RODRIGUEZ Joaquim, KATUSHA + 01′ 17″

8. MEYER Cameron, ORICA-GREENEDGE + 01′ 17″

9. TALANSKY Andrew, GARMIN-SHARP + 01′ 24″

10. CASTROVIEJO Jonathan, MOVISTAR + 01′ 34″

Vuelta a Espana Overall Standings

1. RODRIGUEZ Joaquim, KATUSHA, 40h 26′ 15″

2. CONTADOR Alberto, SAXOBANK-TINKOFF BANK + 00′ 01″

3. FROOME Christopher, SKY PRO CYCLING + 00′ 16″

4. VALVERDE Alejandro, MOVISTAR + 00′ 59″

5. GESINK Robert, RABOBANK + 02′ 27″

6. MORENO Daniel, KATUSHA + 02′ 54″

7. ROCHE Nicolas, AG2R LA MONDIALE + 03′ 39″

8. TALANSKY Andrew, GARMIN-SHARP, + 04′ 08″

9. TEN DAM Laurens, RABOBANK + 04′ 22″

10. MOLLEMA Bauke, RABOBANK + 05′ 10″