Vuelta diary, Stage 17: Contador takes the lead

On countless occasions throughout the Vuelta a Espana, Alberto Contador has tried with all his might to break Joaquim Rodriguez, yet he simply couldn’t. Today though, was a different story and one that will live in Rodriguez’s memory forever.  

It was the day he relinquished his 2012 Vuelta a Espana title, when it seemed as if the race had almost been won.

After a day of countless failed breakaway move that were constantly being pulled in by the peloton, Contador saw his chance and made without a doubt the most succesfull move of this year’s Vuelta.

With the pace of the peloton already extremely hot, Contador launched a vicious attack with 43 km to go in the stage and was quickly joined by about 11 to form a breakaway group.

Not wanting to lose time on the four time Grand Tour winner, fellow general classification threats, Alejandro Valverde and Joaquim Rodriguez created a chasing group off the front of the peloton, with the sole purpose catching an on fire virtual race leader, Alberto Contador.

Sensing that he could gain further time on his now worried rivals, Contador made a move off the front of the breakaway only 23 km out from the line, with the 29 year old going well clear of the breakaway group that he was well amongst of only moments earlier.

This prompted Valverde to attack, and the red jersey holder, Joaquim Rodriguez could not get near him. Aided by the strong help of two of his team mates, young gun Nairo Quintana as well as 26 year old Spaniard, Benat Inxausti, Valverde did very well in bridging the gap between him and Contador.

The group were later joined by a few others, and collectively they did a great job closing the gap on Contador. With 1.5 km to go Contador only had a 15 second lead over the group, but in a credit to his true class he held on for the memorable stage win by 6 seconds over Valverde.

However, that was not what Contador would’ve been pleased about. The fact that Rodriguez ended up losing a huge 2:38 to Contador in the stage is music to the Saxo Bank rider’s ears.

As a result of today’s fascinating stage Contador now holds a 1:52 advantage over Alejandro Valverde in 2nd place, whilst former red jersey holder Joaquim Rodriguez has dropped to 3rd, 2:28 off the pace.

Today’s win for Contador is as significant as any previous stage win in his career. Whilst it not only most likely landed him his 5th Grand Tour, it marks his return to cycling and a day in which Contador regained his previous unbelievable form.

Last night’s stage could have been the break though moment in Contador’s career, and now he may return as the head of world cycling once more. Chris Froome, watch out.

Stage 18 tonight, the longest of the Vuelta is a 204 km journey from the historic town of Aguilar de Campoo to the city famous for its collection of museums, Valladolid. The stage is completely flat, and will give the sprinters an opportunity for stage glory after suffering for many days in the high and medium mountains.

Stage 17 ‘unsung hero’: Nairo Quintana. The 22 year old Colombian has been Valverde’s workhorse throughout the whole Vuelta, and today was no different. The Colombian sacrificed himself to play an instrumental role in helping Valverde gain as much time as possible on Rodrguez, and so move into 2nd place overall. Great job Quintana.

Stage 17 Results

1. Alberto CONTADOR VELASCO, Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank, in 4:29:20
2. Alejandro VALVERDE BELMONTE, Movistar, at :6
3. Sergio Luis HENAO MONTOYA, Sky, at :6
4. Gorka VERDUGO MARCOTEGUI, Euskaltel-Euskadi, at :6
5. Rinaldo NOCENTINI, Ag2r La Mondiale, at :19
6. Jan BAKELANTS, RadioShack-Nissan, at :55
7. Benat INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA, Movistar, at 1:13
8. Alexandre GENIEZ, Argos-Shimano, at 1:40
9. Paolo TIRALONGO, Astana, at 2:13
10. Joaquin RODRIGUEZ OLIVER, Katusha, at 2:38

General Classification

1. Alberto CONTADOR VELASCO, Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank, in 68:07:54
2. Alejandro VALVERDE BELMONTE, Movistar, at 1:52
3. Joaquin RODRIGUEZ OLIVER, Katusha, at 2:28
4. Christopher FROOME, Sky, at 9:40
5. Daniel MORENO FERNANDEZ, Katusha, at 11:36
6. Robert GESINK, Rabobank, at 12:06
7. Laurens TEN DAM, Rabobank, at 12:55
8. Andrew TALANSKY, Garmin-Sharp, at 13:06
9. Igor ANTON HERNANDEZ, Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 13:49
10. Benat INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA, Movistar, at 14:10