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Giant-Alpecin’s Tom Dumoulin decimated the rest of the peloton by over a minute in the 38.7-kilometre individual time trial around Burgos to both claim the stage victory and regain the overall race lead.
Earlier in the day Tinkoff-Saxo’s Maciej Bodnar set a benchmark time of 47 minutes and five seconds that was unmatchable until Dumoulin crossed the finish line.
The Dutchman easily bested the quickest time at each of the intermediate time checks on his way to smashing Bodnar’s time by one minute and four seconds.
Tirelessly riding the course in 46 minutes and one second, at an average speed of just over 50 kilometres per hour, Dumoulin’s general classification rivals could only hope to limit their time losses to minutes.
Speaking to the press after his show of dominance, Dumoulin commented, “I felt good on the rest day and this morning I still felt good so had a lot of confidence. It’s amazing it worked out. It’s only three seconds on [Fabio] Aru so I am worried but tonight first celebration. Yes, it’s possible to win the Vuelta. I am pretty confident I can handle the attacks from other teams. It will be stressful.”
Team Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana proved strongest of the other GC riders, the duo finishing in third and sixth – one minute and eight seconds and one minute and 33 seconds adrift of Dumoulin’s winning time.
Sitting in second place overall at the beginning of the stage, Aru finished the stage 10th, one minute and 53 seconds slower than Dumoulin. That result sees the Italian retain second place in GC, trailing the Maillot Rojo by just three seconds heading into the last four stages.
Meanwhile, former Maillot Rojo Joaquim Rodriguez suffered another horrible day in the individual time trial discipline, finishing the stage three minutes and six seconds adrift. The Catalan climber now sits third in GC and needs to overturn a time gap of one minute and 15 seconds to claim the overall race victory.
Tomorrow’s jersey wearers will be Tom Dumoulin in the Maillot Rojo, Joaquim Rodriguez in the Maillot Verde (green jersey), Omar Fraile in the Maillot de Lunares (polka-dot) and Fabio Aru in the Maillot Combinada (white jersey).
2015 Vuelta a Espana – Stage 17:
01. Tom Dumoulin of Giant – Alpecin… 46:01″
02. Maciej Bodnar of Tinkoff – Saxo… +1:04″
03. Alejandro Valverde of Team Movistar… +1:08″
04. Vasil Kiryienka of Team Sky… +1:31″
05. Jerome Coppel of IAM Cycling… +1:32″
06. Nairo Quintana of Team Movistar… +1:33″
07. Romain Sicard of Team Europcar… +1:36″
08. Nelson Oliveira of Lampre – Merida… +1:38″
09. Stephen Cummings of MTN – Qhubeka… +1:40″
10. Fabio Aru of Astana Pro Team… +1:53″
2015 Vuelta a Espana – General Classification after Stage 17:
01. Tom Dumoulin of Giant – Alpecin… 68:30:36″
02. Fabio Aru of Astana Pro Team… +0:03″
03. Joaquim Rodriguez of Team Katusha… +1:15″
04. Rafal Majka of Tinkoff – Saxo… +2:22″
05. Nairo Quintana of Team Movistar… +2:53″
06. Alejandro Valverde of Team Movistar… +3:15″
07. Esteban Chaves of Orica – GreenEDGE… +3:30″
08. Daniel Moreno of Team Katusha… +3:46″
09. Mikel Nieve of Team Sky… +4:10″
10. Louis Meintjes of MTN – Qhubeka… +6:51″
It’s time for the crucial 38.7 kilometre-long individual time trial around Burgos, commonly referred to as “the race of truth”. Join The Roar for live updates and commentary of Stage 17 of La Vuelta a Espana from 11:45pm (AEST).
Pitting man against the clock in the ultimate test of strength, each rider from the peloton will complete today’s rolling parcours alone without the assistance of their teammates. With over two weeks of challenging racing in the legs freshness, not just time trial prowess, will be a key factor.
Starting within the city streets of Burgos, the riders will complete a clockwise route south-east out to Carcedo de Burgos before returning to Burgos for a technical finish outside the Catedral de Burgos. It will be a stage suited to the rouleurs and time trial specialists, if they still have any energy in reserve after the high mountains.
As one of the world’s best time trialists Giant – Alpecin’s Tom Dumoulin is expected to compete for both the stage victory and the Maillot Rojo that currently rests on the shoulders of Team Katusha’s Joaquim Rodriguez. However, Dumoulin’s unexpected lofty position in the general classification standings does mean that the Dutchman begins the individual time trial more fatigued than usual.
If fatigue takes its toll on Tom Dumoulin then the stage victory could well go to Team Sky’s Vasil Kiryienka, who won the individual time trial at the 2015 Giro d’Italia. The Belorussian rider has had the ability to conserve his energy through the mountains ahead of the time trial unlike Tom Dumoulin.
Our third and last favourite for today’s stage is Astana’s Luis Leon Sanchez, who finished second and third behind Vasil Kiryienka in the individual time trial at the Giro d’Italia and European Games respectively. The Spaniard can be a strong time trialist when in form and given the right course, as one of Astana’s strongest time trialists L.L. Sanchez will be expected to set benchmark times for teammate Fabio Aru.
The Vuelta a Espana loves to throw up some surprises however, so some potential dark horses to keep an eye out for include former Under-23 world champion Damien Howson, Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Niki Terpstra, Jerome Coppel, Nelson Oliveira, Steven Cummings and Peter Velits
But what do you think? Let us know in the comments and join us from 11:45pm (AEST) for live updates, commentary and a chat as we follow Stage 17 of the 2015 Vuelta a Espana.
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