Vuelta a España (st. 17)
Alejandro leads -together with Mas (QST)- GC contenders atop Balcón de Bizkaia, puts 8" on Yates (MTS) to sit just 25" off leader's jersey with two mountain stages to go. Nairo Quintana concedes 1' against his team-mate, moves further off -now 6th, 2'11" back- from fight for red.
What if the 2018 Vuelta a España was saving something really big, a true moment of joy for Alejandro Valverde? The everlasting Spaniard from the Movistar Team reverted on Wednesday’s hellish Balcón de Bizkaia (Cat-1, 7km at 10%) ascent, finish of the race’s Basque stage, the small advantage obtained by Simon Yates (MTS) over him at the Torrelavega TT, and got back to just 25″ off the leader’s jersey with two mountain stages to go.
As Andrey Amador was present, up to the beginning of the last climb, into the big breakaway -26 riders- which featured stage winner Michael Woods (EFD), Valverde tried to hurt his rivals in the favourites’ group and jumped off the front as soon as they reached the concrete ramps inside the final 4km. His brutal pace took Kruijswijk (TLJ) out of contention; forced Adam Yates (MTS) to work; and made room for some other moves, most notably from Miguel Ángel López (AST). 750 meters from the end, Valverde launched a second acceleration which was only countered by Enric Mas (QST). Yates lost eight seconds, which bring Valverde closer to the red jersey.
It was, in turn, a terribly hard stage for Nairo Quintana. Out of any energy at the final climb, the Colombian rider from the Movistar Team dropped back soon after Valverde’s first attack, and bore large amounts of suffering to get to the finish, 1’04” behind his team-mate to fall to sixth overall, now 2’11” behind Yates. ‘Bala’, Nairo and their team-mates will seek to get through safely at a flat stage to Lleida on Thursday (186km) before facing the two decisive stages -up La Rabassa and La Gallina’s finishes- in Andorra on Friday and Saturday.
REACTIONS:
Alejandro Valverde: “It isn’t going too bad for me so far (smiles). Eight seconds on Yates today – it’s always good to take back some time, though he remains in front. We knew it could be a day with lots of changes, lots of things happening to everybody, coming from a rest day and a tough time trial like Tuesday’s. We saw many contenders struggle. The whole stage and most notably the opening section of the final climb were really fast-paced today. I felt better than yesterday. I didn’t really know where to attack, though I wanted to do so. I had talked to Nairo, he told me he was doing well, but at the third week of the Grand Tours, you never know how your body will react.
“Astana really went strong in the finale, but at that opening part of the final Balcón ascent I saw Miguel Ángel (López) wanting to leave some room behind Pello’s (Bilbao) wheel. As soon as the slopes ramped up, I attacked to see how our rivals were doing. Kruijswijk was worrying me really much, and he lost time. It might be a fight between three of our riders now, but there’s still lots left. The gaps today were really short, but at any point of the mountain roads remaining, they can become really significant.
“La Rabassa? It’s not bad for me, I know it pretty well. As Alberto Contador told me – he was sitting behind the podium after the stage – I have to take care of my body eat as much as I need, because I really cracked hard at that climb in 2008 (laughs). For the time being, we’re doing exceptionally well, passing all these mountain ‘exams’. Team leader? Well, Nairo lost a bit more time, and it’s going to be more difficult for him. We haven’t reached our team hotel nor talked about the situation, but to be honest, things are looking better for me now.”
Nairo Quintana: “We lost more time, and to be sincere, I didn’t have any more energy left. I won’t lie about being sick or anything like that, because it is what it is. I feel OK, but I simply didn’t have any energy left. The stage was fast from the very beginning, and once we got to the final climb I wasn’t able to put up with the pace. They eventually got me out of energy and I just could continue pushing, as hard as I could, to end up with Kruijswijk, who had also lost time. The good thing is that Alejandro remained with the top guys, even put some time on them, came ahead of Yates. I must remain as close to him as possible and play any strategies the team wants me to. The goal was and remains winning the race outright for Movistar, either with Alejandro or myself. Alejandro was really strong today, and we will support him. This team has always worked like that: it’s up to the race itself to dictate on leadership in case of shared roles, and what matters is having a team-mate win. We’ll continue to work, just as we’ve done during the whole race. Let’s some what happens in the next few days.”
Picture (c): BettiniPhoto.net // Movistar Team