Stage 15 saw the Spaniard Carlos Barredo finally break his grand tour duck with a win on the summit of Lagos de Covadonga in horrible conditions. The Quick Step rider became known for his fruitless attacks during the Tour de France this year. He finally reaped the rewards and finished over a minute ahead of second place man Nico Sijmens. He announced later that he is going to leave the Belgian team and join Rabobank next season.
Two days after losing race leader Igor Anton in a huge crash Euskaltel were on top again when Mikel Nieve left his companions on the ascent of the Cotobello.
Pre-tour favourite Fränk Schleck finally showed his form after breaking his collarbone on stage three of the Tour de France. The Luxembourg road champion hadn’t made much of an impression, but chased Nieve in to second place.The big news of the day, however, was Joaquin Rodriguez taking back the red jersey from Vincenzo Nibali after the Liquigas rider cracked and lost over 30 seconds on the final climb.
Time Trial Surprise
After the rest day came the time trial and Peter Vilets sprung the surprise of the tour after he beat Denis Menchov and Fabian Cancellara. The HTC Columbia rider put on a stunning performance and took advantage of a tail wind towards the end of the course to outclass the rest of the field.
Rodriguez had to relinquish the red jersey for the second time during this tour after having a terrible day on the bike. Vincenzo Nibali had some problems himself after a puncture midway through, but rode hard and took the lead yet again.
Theo Bos had a horrible day when he crashed in to a parked motorbike on the side of the road during his time-trial.
Cavendish Back at the Front
Stage 18 was a return to the flat and a chance for the sprinters to how they still
Cervelo had another blow to their team when Thor Hushovd decided to pull out of the race to prepare for the World Championships. Also dropping out of the race was David Zabriskie citing tiredness for his departure.
Stage 19 was supposed to be another one for the sprinters but the slight incline at the end gave Philip Gilbert the perfect chance to add to his previous win in the first week. Tyler Farrar was the surprise of the day hanging on to the Belgian’s wheel to take second.
The big news was the exit of Fabian Cancellara who got off his bike part way through the stage to conserve himself for the World Championships.
Final Showdown
Saturday’s stage was the last real chance that any contenders had to overtake Nibali in the classification and it produced one of the memorable stages of this year’s tour. Second place man Mosquera was 50 seconds behind the red jersey and had to pull out a brilliant performance if he wanted to wear it.
One day after announcing his move to the Vacansoleil team he decided to make his mark by launching an attack on the final climb in to Bola de Mundo. Unfortunately for him Nibali hung on to his wheel and crossed the line only one second behind Mosquera.
This gave the Italian a 58 second lead after the time bonuses were taken in to account. Nibali could barely believe what he had done knowing that it was unlikely that the Spaniard would overhaul the deficit.
With the mountain classification won by David Moncoutie and the red jersey in the safe hands of Nibali; Sunday’s stage was left for the sprinters to decide the green jersey.
The 12 lap course was this year redirected along the Grand Via (Great Way) to celebrate 100 years since the building of the important road.Mark Cavendish was favourite to take the sprint in the capital but it was American Tyler Farrar who came from five men back to win the stage by a large advantage. Despite the loss Cavendish won his first Grand Tour jersey and became the first Britain to win a sprint jersey since Malcolm Elliott in 1989.
Results
General Classification
2. Ezequiel Mosquera +41”
3. Peter Velits + 3' 02''
Sprinters
1. Mark Cavendish 136
2. Tyler Farrar 124
3. Vincenzo Nibali 119
King of the Mountains
1. David Moncoutie 51
2. Serafin Martinez 43
3. Ezequiel Mosquera 36
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