Vuelta a España (st. 18)

The Colombian, already down at Alcañiz's finish, suffers a crash with no major consequences in a fast finale for stage 18 of the Vuelta a España in Valladolid

The bunch had no rest during the 18th stage of the 2012 Vuelta a España -the race’s longest over 204 kilometers from Aguilar de Campoo to Valladolid- covered at almost 48 kph average. The fast speed into the peloton during final circuit and some cones wrongly placed in the middle of the road caused a crash just over 30k from the finish, with Colombia Nairo Quintana amongst those affected.

The young rider from Movistar Team, with pain in his right wrist and a finger in his right hand plus a blow in his torax, could get on his bike again and complete the stage into a second echelon of the short bunch led by Daniele Bennati (RNT) at the day’s tight sprint. With no changes overall as Alejandro Valverde keeps the 2nd place, 1.52 behind Contador (STB), the race will enter on its third-to-last stage tomorrow: 178km between Peñafiel and La Lastrilla, with no categorized climbs yet with plenty of slopes in the final kilometers.