Bradley Wiggins may not have won the stage, but he looks
like he may have just won the Vuelta, after a superb ride by himself and Chris
Froome, on Stage 14.
Froome really put the hammer down, with two kilometres to go
and immediately began to shell riders off the back of the peloton. Wiggins made
sure to keep a tight hold of his Kenyan-born teammate’s back wheel and even
took a few turns on the front. Next came the unexpected and Vincenzo Nibali
popped and fell off the back.
The Italian was probably regretting not making a go of it on
one of the several descents, which preceded the final climb. Joaquin Rodriguez
couldn’t keep up with the pace either and was quick to join Nibali’s pity
party, further down the mountain. When the finish finally came Wiggins had put
a huge 1 minute 16 seconds, between himself and the defending champion. The effort
really showed on the red jersey holder, after the finish line, as he slumped on
to the front of his handlebars.
