After the final rest day of the 2014 Tour of Spain the teams and riders are back to complete the final flat stage of this year’s race. Join The Roar for a live blog of Stage 17 of the Vuelta a Espana from 12:00am (AEST).
Tonight’s stage, from Ortigueira to A Coruna, is the last chance for the sprinters to win at this year’s Tour of Spain.
It is a 190 kilometre stage, with no category climbs, and two intermediate sprints as the field travels along the sea in the north of the country. It is almost the perfect stage for the field after a rest day.
Heading into the final few days, which still includes two medium mountain stages, a mountain stage, and a time trial, it is a good stage for the riders to complete, before they hit the harder ones at the end of the week.
This stage shouldn’t affect the overall standings though as Alberto Contador continues to stamp his authority on the Red Jersey in the last stage on Monday.
He won Stage 16 and extended his lead to 1 minute and 36 seconds to Alejandro Valverde in second position.
Tonight’s stage is important for Valverde, and not because of the overall standings.
Valverde is in contention for back to back green jerseys after winning the points classification last year. This year he is just ten points behind John Degenkolb and is in contention to win the jersey.
Tonight could give Valverde a great chance to win the jersey if Degenkolb struggles to win the stage, or gain any points in the intermediate sprints.
With no flat stages for the rest of the tour, and plenty of mountain stages, Valverde could recover the points gap in those stages and win the jersey.
On the other hand, a win by Degenkolb, and more points in the intermediate sprints, could help the German win the green jersey for himself.
He will be one of the riders to look out for tonight with Peter Sagan, Tom Boonen and Nacer Bouhanni also in contention for the stage win.
For Sagan, and Boonen, tonight provides a chance to win something that has eluded them all season. A stage win at one of the Grand Tours this season has not happened to Sagan or Boonen.
Despite winning the Tour De France points classification, Sagan has struggled to win a stage in the three Grand Tours.
Boonen has only competed at the Vuelta and was close in the last flat stage on Stage 12.
While these two riders are chances of winning the stage tonight, I still think it is down to Bouhanni and Degenkolb.
Both riders have won stages at the Vuelta with Degenkolb winning three and Bouhanni winning two this year.
Out of the four flat stages so far in this tour, Degenkolb and Bouhanni have won all of them.
I’m going to lean towards a Degenkolb win as he needs a big night to extend his lead in the green jersey. The 25 point win from the stage could give him the green jersey at the end of the Tour.
PREDICTION: Degenkolb.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
That is all from me in the live blog tonight. Thanks for joining in. That is also it from me in the stages of the Vuelta. It has been great to live blog the event. Here's hoping the final few days of the Tour are exciting and close in all the jerseys. Until next time, it is bye from me.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Final Thoughts: Degenkolb wins the stage which was dominated by Australian involvement. Rohan Dennis was great in the breakaway. Cam Meyer was outstanding in the peloton for Orica GreenEdge as his team-mate, Michael Matthews, almost stole the stage from Degenkolb. It was just a shame that no Aussies actually won the stage tonight. Can Degenkolb hold on in the green jersey? I think he can. Valverde would need to finish in the top 3 in a couple of stages to get the job done. That is a tough task for the Spaniard. That will be an interesting battle over the next few days as the overall classification also heats up.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
The overall standings stay the same. Contador leads by 1 minute and 36 seconds over Valverde. Froome is three seconds behind Valverde.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
How good does La Coruna look! Looks fabulous. Anyway Degenkolb does his chances of winning the green jersey no harm, as he takes the 25 points on offer for the win. He is now 35 points clear of Valverde as they head back into the mountains. Is it enough? We will find out in the next few days.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
With 200 metres to go, Degenkolb moves to the right, and sprints away from the field to the line. Michael Matthews slipstreams him, and then moves to the right, to try to win the stage himself. He just doesn't have enough power to catch him. Degenkolb holds on, and wins his fourth stage for the Grand Tour. Matthews finishes in second with Cancellara in third.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
John Degenkolb wins stage 17 of the Vuelta a Espana. He can thank his team for the win today. They were incredible. Description of the final sprint soon.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
They are caught inside the final kilometre.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
There has been a big split in the peloton too. Dennis and Favilli are holding on.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Rohan Dennis attacks with 1.5 kilometres to go.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
3 kilometres to go - The gap is now 6 seconds. The breakway is finished.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
17 seconds is the gap with 4 kilometres to go.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
4 kilometres to go - Now is the time for Dennis to attack if he wants to win the stage.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
5 kilometres to go - The gap is 23 seconds. They also hit the cobblestones.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
The gap is 39 seconds with 6 kilometres to go. This is going to be extremely close.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Elia Favilli attacks Dennis and Jungels but they don't move from him. 6 kilometres to go.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
The two riders who cleared the peloton were Guillaume Levarley and Johan Le Bon.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
Two riders attack from the peloton and move away. I don't think they will last long at the front.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
The breakaway catch back up to Dennis. Jungels then has an attack and Teklehaimanot is dropped from the breakaway. The gap is 47 seconds with 8.9 kilometres to go.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
10 kilometres to go - Rohan Dennis attacks. He's had enough of the breakaway and tries to move on his own.
Shane Jones
Roar Guru
12.5 kilometres to go - The gap is now 1 minute and 1 second. This is going to be close.