Fabio Aru (Astana) took his second stage win in this year’s Vuelta a Espana when he beat Chris Froome (Sky) in a two-rider sprint at the top of the Monte Castrove climb. The Italian used a lull among the favourites to launch a wise attack and managed to hang onto Froome when the Brit bounced back with a great showing that saw him drop Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and reduce his overall definite by 18 seconds.

 

A little more than a week after taking his first Vuelta a Espana stage victory, Fabio Aru become one of the most successful riders in the 2014 Grand Tours when he added another victory in a summit finish to the one he took earlier in the race and the one he took in the Giro d’Italia. The Italian again made use of a combination of great climbing legs and hesitation among the favourites to launche a move from afar and again he managed to hold on to take the win.

 

Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and Alberto Contador had both attacked pretty early on the final climb of Monte Castrove but had been unable to drop each other and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar). Hence, they both constantly slowed down which allowed more riders to rejoin from behind.

 

Aru was one of them and just as the group was getting into its rhythm in pursuit of lone escapee Jerome Coppel (Cofidis). The Italian made his move. Nobody reacted to the Astana rider who easily got a big gap and quickly passed Coppel.

 

A little later Rodriguez went all in with a fierce attack but Contador and Valverde were glued to his wheel. Having initially seemed to be struggling, Chris Froome was dangling a few metres behind but the Brit was just gauging his effort perfectly. When Rodriguez sat down, he bridged the small gap and sprinted straight past his three Spanish rivals.

 

Being on their limit after Rodriguez’ attack, none of them had any response and Froome quickly built a big gap. He bridged across to Aru and after having recovered a bit of Froome’s wheel, the Italian started to cooperate with the Brit.

 

As they approached the summit, Froome tried to get rid of Aru but the Italian managed to hang onto his wheel. From there, Froome was doing all the work while Valverde was doing most of the work in the chase trio which desperately tried to reel their British rival in.

 

At one point, Froome and Aru were 15 seconds ahead but a strong acceleration by Rodriguez brought it down to just a few seconds. When the Katusha leader sat down, however, the advantage again started to grow.

 

The summit came 700m from the line and Froome rode hard on the front in the final, flat section to maximize his gains. Aru was sitting in the perfect position on his wheel and had no trouble passing the Brit to take his second stage win.

 

13 seconds later, Valverde beat Rodriguez and Contador in the sprint for third and so Froome gained a total of 19 seconds on the race leader. That allowed him to move into second overall but he remains 1.19 behind the Tinkoff-Saxo captain.

 

Contador should have an easier day tomorrow when the riders tackle stage 19 which is mostly flat but contains two category 2 climbs, one at the midpoint and one just 15km from the finish. On paper, it looks like a day for a breakaway or a reduced bunch sprint while the GC riders will be keen to save energy for Saturday’s big mountain stage.

 

A tricky summit finish

After yesterday’s sprint stage, it was another big day for the GC. Stage 18 brought the riders over just 157km from A Estrada to a mountaintop finish on Monte Castrove. The first part of the stage consisted of typical lumpy roads mainly along the Galician coast but the real excitement was saved for the finale where the riders went up the category 2 Monte Castrove climb twice. The finish line was located just 700m after the top when the riders had climbed the ascent for the second time.

 

The riders took the start under dry, cloudy conditions but a few big names were absent. Robert Gesink (Belkin) who was 7th overall, had returned to the Netherlands to be with his pregnant wife while Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and Fabian Cancellara (Trek) stopped the race to prepare for the Worlds. Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEDGE) didn’t take the start either as the Australian has been suffering from illness.

 

Lots of attacks

Right from the start of the stage, a big, dangerous group got clear when Jesse Sergent (Trek), Pieter Serry (OPQS), Jay Thomson (MTN-Qhubeka), Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEDGE), Nathan Haas (Garmin-Sharp), Manuel Quinziato (BMC), Martijn Keizer (Belkin), Valerio Conti (Lampre-Merida) and Sebastien Hinault (IAM) got a gap. At the 4km mark, they were 14 seconds ahead and Katusha started to chase.

 

Lotto Belisol had missed the move and so they took over from the Russian team but after 10km of racing, the gap had grown to 25 seconds. They then tried to send Adam Hansen across while Eduard Vorganov (Katusha) and Jose Serpa (Lampre) also tried to make the junction.

 

De Bon makes his first move

None of them made it and so Movistar, Katusha and Lotto Belisol again started to chase. At the 20km mark, the gap was only 9 seconds and 1km further up the road, the race was back together.

 

While Koen De Kort (Giant-Shimano) abandoned the race, the attacking continued but it took a while before anyone got a noticeable gap. Finally, Johan Le Bon (FDJ) slipped clear and at the 37km mark, he was 8 seconds ahead.

 

A big group

Three riders bridged across but Movistar brought it back. Le Bon tried again and this time he was joined by Jacques van Rensburg (MTN) and Amets Txurruka (Caja Rural).

 

Simon Clarke (Orica), Guillaume Levarlet (Cofidis), Kanstantsin Siutsou (Sky), Romain Hardy (Cofidis), Alberto Losada (Katusha), Vorganov, Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar) joined the move and at the 50km mark, they had built an advantage of 22 seconds. However, Garmin-Sharp and Lampre-Merida had missed the move and after 55km of racing, it was again back together,

 

The break takes off

Le Bon was unstoppable and at the 62km mark, he tried again. KOM leader Luis Leon Sanchez (Caja Rural) and Hubert Dupont (Ag2r) joined him and this time the peloton finally slowed down. After 68km of racing, the break was already 2.33 ahead.

 

The gap reached 3.47 at the 70km mark but that was the signal for Alejandro Valverde to show his intentions. He sent his Movistar troops to the front and they started to bring the escapees back. At the halfway point, the gap was only 2.18 and Movistar continued to ride on the front while Elia Favilli (Lampre) rejoined the peloton after a crash.

 

Movistar in control

With Jose Herrada, Adriano Malori and Imanol Erviti as the driving forces, the Spanish team continued to ride hard on the front and with 50km to go, they had brought the gap down to 1.50. While Le Bon led Sanchez and Dupont across the line in the first intermediate sprint, Movistar took a short breather to allow the gap to reopen a bit before they again tightened the screws.

 

As the peloton approached the Monte Castrove for the first time, the fight for position had started. This caused the gap to melt away and with 33km to go, the escapees were just 45 seconds ahead.

 

Hansen attacks

Le Bon tried to get rid of his companions on a small hill but the trio stayed together. Meanwhile, Adam Hansen (Lotto) launched an attack from the peloton but with Movistar, Sky and Tinkoff all fighting for position, he was easily brought back.

 

Sky take control

As soon as they hit the climb, Tinkoff-Saxo took over the pace-setting with Sergio Paulinho and Oliver Zaugg but it didn’t take long for Sky to show their intentions. Kanstantsin Siutsou hit the front and made the peloton splinter to pieces.

 

Nonetheless, Guillaume Levarlet (Cofidis) attacked and he was joined by first Alberto Losada (Katusha) and then Andrey Zeits (Astana). The Spaniard emerged as the strongest and he quickly dropped Levarlet and later also Zeits.

 

KOM points for Sanchez

In the front group, Sanchez set a brutal pace and it was no surprise to see Le Bon fall off the pace. A little later Dupont also had to surrender and Sanchez fought hard to maintain a 25-second advantage over Siutsou and the rest of the peloton.

 

Levarlet, Le Bon and Zeits were all caught while Losada and Dupont joined forces. Sanchez crested the summit as the first rider and after having crossed the finish line for the first time, he sat up, allowing Dupont and Losada to pass him.

 

Froome sprints for bonus seconds

However, Siutsou and Dario Cataldo were riding full gas for Sky and with 18km to go, it was all back together. From there, Siutsou and Cataldo kept the pace high in the 50-rider group until they reached the final intermediate sprint where Froome sprinted for the seconds, being narrowly beaten by Gorka Izagirre (Movistar).

 

Christophe Le Mevel (Cofidis) attacked from the bottom of the climb and he was briefly joined by Paulinho and Dmitry Kozontchuk (Katusha) before he dropped both of them. Instead, Paolo Tiralongo (Astana) and Alessandro De Marchi (Cannondale) joined him.

 

Barguil attacks

In the peloton, however, a Katusha rider attacked with Rodriguez, Contador and Philip Deignan (Sky) and they bridged the gap to the front group. However, Mikel Nieve (Sky) brought it back together for Sky.

 

Warren Barguil (Giant) saw an opportunity to attack and decided to wait for Daniel Moreno (Katusha) who had taken off in pursuit. That’s when Contador made his first attack but as he was unable to drop Rodriguez and Valverde, everything came back together.

 

Coppel makes a move

Caruso accelerated with Rodriguez on his wheel but when he slowed down, Barguil tried again. Coppel joined him and later Moreno and Sergio Pardilla (MTN) also joined them.

 

Coppel rode away from the trio while De Marchi and later Oliver Zaugg (Tinkoff) restored order in the peloton by initiating a chase. That’s when Aru made his move and he quickly passed Coppel.

 

Froome counters

De Marchi again started to chase before Caruso hit the front to set Rodriguez up for his fierce attack. Daniel Navarro (Cofidis) made a short-lived attack but he was quickly passed when Rodriguez made his move.

 

He was unable to drop Contador and Valverde while Froome seemed to be struggling. However, the Brit still had something left in the tank and when Rodriguez sat down, he countered the attack.

 

Froome bridges to Aru

Froome quickly bridged to Aru and after a short recovery, Aru started to contribute to the pace-setting. Behind, Valverde was doing all the work before Contador made an unsuccessful attack.

 

When the gap had reached 15 seconds, Rodriguez made a very strong attack but as he failed to get rid of his rivals, he again sat down. Valverde went back to work but Aru and Froome were again increasing their advantage.

 

Froome led over the summit of the climb and Aru stayed on his wheel until he launched his sprint 100m from the line. Froome tried to respond but had to settle for second while Valverde narrowly beat Rodriguez in the sprint 13 seconds later.