VaE: Moncoutie moves closer to fourth consecutive mountains classification, with victory on Stage 11

David Moncoutié’s efforts finally paid off, as he rode the final 19 kilometres of Stage 11 alone, to take his fourth Vuelta a Espana stage.

Moncoutié is known for his climbing prowess and moved himself within one point of a fourth consecutive Vuelta mountains classification victory. The Cofidis rider got in to a breakaway, with several other riders, after almost 70 kilometres of racing. He also went on to take points on two of the three climbs, placing him just behind Matteo Montaguti.

Cofidis have had a lacklustre year, when it comes to Grand Tours, so this victory will prove a big boost for them. Nobody could keep up with the pace of Moncoutié and second place man Beñat Intxausti rolled across the line over a minute down.

Bradley Wiggins will also be a happy man, after he took control of the race and moved in to the red jersey. The Brit started the day 20 seconds down on his teammate, but Froome lost 27 seconds on the final climb. Jakob Fuglsang also finished in the same group as Froome and has slipped to fifth, in the general classification. Vincenzo Nibali seems to like floating around the third spot; he didn’t make any time on Wiggins, but jumped the struggling Fuglsang.

With his pride most likely dented, after blowing in the previous mountain stage, Joaquin Rodriguez went on the attack. The Katusha rider could only pull out a small margin, of 7 seconds, on Wiggins and Nibali, but it is sure to have given him a small boost. He is currently 56 seconds down, on 10^th place man, Janez Brajkovic and will be aiming to move above the RadioShack rider.

The victory hopes of Michele Scarponi and Igor Anton continue to collapse, like a cheap deck of cards, as they were both distanced on the final climb. Anton lost a whopping 11:41, while Scarponi found himself, a slightly less scary, 3:35 behind. Both of them sit outside the top 20 and Anton is in risk of falling outside the top 40. For both of these riders it has been a tour to forget and their only hope is a stage victory. However, with their form so far, this is highly unlikely.

Stage 12 is a slightly flatter affair, with only two third category climbs to contend with. It could be the chance for the sprinters to show their form again, however, the little ramp up at the end could provide Joaquin Rodriguez with another stage victory.