Cavendish Gets First Vuelta a España Win In Stage Twelve

Mark Cavendish of HTC-Columbia had to wait until Stage Twelve to get his first win in the Vuelta a España, but it was a convincing win. After having had problems coordinating with new leadout man Matt Goss in earlier stages, the pair hit it perfectly in Stage Twelve.

"We're really happy to have won today," Cavendish said on Fromsports.com. “That was thanks to my lead-out man Goss. He did an incredible job."

While the rest of the peloton maneuvered for position down the narrow and twisting final two kilometers of the course, Cavendish and Goss watched the road, and coming into the final 90-degree right-hander the pair attacked, gapping the field by several meters.

Goss led out so well, Cavendish urged him to go on and take the win; they had enough clear road, Goss might have beaten the rest of the sprinters,

"The finale was chaotic, really chaotic,” Cavendish said. “I thought we were too far back with 600 metres to go but Goss went down the outside. I thought he wouldn't get round the [final] corner, so I eased off but he made it.

“I looked round and saw we had a massive gap. I wanted to give him the win but he said 'Go! Go!' The group was coming so I went for it.”

Instead Goss, perhaps exhausted by his efforts, sat up and coasted home third. Had he pushed a bit harder, he would have had an easy second place.

Stage Twelve was Cavendish’s tenth win of 2010, but his first ever in the Vuelta.

"It’s pretty nice to have now won stages at each Grand Tour,” Cavendish said. “Everyone knows the passion I have for these races. I used to watch them as a kid. To stand on the podium is pretty special.

"I just love winning and being part of a winning team. I hope to keep winning as long as I'm a professional."

Stage Thirteen is all up-and-down, with a pair of Cat 3 climbs in the final sixty kilometers. This is a great stage for a strong breakaway. But it might come down to the sprinters again. Cavendish, his sprint attack with Matt Goss, finally coordinated, will be a threat there—if he can drag himself over the endless hills.

Vuelta a España Stage Twelve
	Rider	Team	Time
1	Mark Cavendish	HTC-Columbia	4:00:30
2	Tyler Farrar	Garmin-Transitions	+0:00:00
3	Matthew Goss	HTC-Columbia	+0:00:00
4	Denis Galimzyanov	Team Katusha	+0:00:00
5	Thor Hushovd	Cervelo Test Team	+0:00:00
6	Oscar Freire	Rabobank	+0:00:00
7	Allan Davis	Astana	+0:00:00
8	Sébastien Chavanel	Française Des Jeux	+0:00:00
9	Philippe Gilbert	Omega Pharma-Lotto	+0:00:00
10	Giorgio Furlan	Lampre	+0:00:00
2010 Vuelta a Espana General Classifiaction
	Rider	Team	Time
1	Igor Anton	Euskaltel-Euskadi	51:37:45
2	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas-Doimo	0:00:45
3	Xavier Tondo	Cervélo Test Team	0:01:04
4	Joaquin Rodriguez	Katusha	0:01:17
5	Ezequiel Mosquera	Xacobeo Galicia	0:01:29
6	Marzio Bruseghin	Caisse d’Epargne	0:01:57
7	Ruben Plaza	Caisse d’Epargne	0:02:07
8	Rigoberto Uran	Caisse d’Epargne	0:02:13
9	Nicolas Roche	Ag2R-La Mondiale	0:02:30
10	Frank Schleck	Saxo Bank	0:02:30