“I’m very tired—everybody is at this point [in the race] but nobody could get around me today, which was good,” Cobo told Eurosport after the race.
“I can enjoy this victory because this job is my passion,” he continued. “I thought about leaving the sport but this is very important to me.”
Cobo made his move up the final Hors Categorie climb, when the grade reached a leg-breaking 23 percent. Neither Bradley Wiggins not Chris Froome, the first- and second-placed riders, were able to respond. Cobo got stronger while the rest of the leaders tired.
The Geox rider steadily increased his lead, crossing the line 48 seconds ahead of the second-placed rider. With a 20-second time bonus for winning, Cobo now leads the Vuelta by 20 seconds over Froome and 46 over Wiggins, who fell to third.
Decisive Stage
Stage 15, the toughest of the Vuelta, was seen as the decisive stage since the start of the race. This was the stage where the General Classification winner would be selected; while there were six stages to follow, none of them would offer the chance to make up big chunks of time. Barring crashes and mechanical disaster whoever led after Stage 15 would likely win in Madrid.
No one picked Juan Jose Cobo to be that winner. This 30-year-old Spanish rider had an absolutely rotten season in 2010, and reportedly considered retiring from the sport.
Cobo showed in Stage 13 that he was having a much better season in 2011, as he moved into eighth in GC, 1:27 down. He then made a fantastic effort in Stage 14, finishing second and moving to fourth in GC, 55 seconds behind Sky’s Bradley Wiggins.
Still no one picked Cobo as a serious contender. The general opinion seemed to be that Bradley Wiggins, escorted by teammate Chris Froome, would hold on up the Angliru and go on to be the first British winner of a Grand Tour.
Wiggins looked good over the first two climbs of the day—less steep climbs which suited his speedy, power-climbing style. Through most of the stage, Wiggins relied on Froome to do most of the work, saving the Sky team leader’s legs for the nasty ramps of Angliru.
Once on that final climb, both Sky riders suffered. Two km from the top, Froome almost came to a dead stop. He then gathered himself up and forged ahead. Wiggins was unable to do the same; he fell back steadily over the final 2000 meters, eventually losing the stage, the red jersey, and quite possibly the entire race.
The Vuelta is not over. Of the remaining six stages, though, not many offer opportunities for a rider to make up a lot of time—say, 46 seconds. With Juan Jose Cobo riding well, the HC finish of Stage 17—six kilometers long at 10 percent, with ramps up to 18 percent—won’t be enough for Wiggins even with a 20-second time bonus.
Stages 18, 19, and 20 have some serious climbs, but none near the end, where a rider could get a gap and keep it. Monday is a rest day, but it is followed by a sprint stage, so Wiggins and Froome couldn’t even take advantage if Cobo came back a little stale.
Chris Froome has a better chance at the overall win, if Wiggins works for him for the rest of the Vuelta. None of the rest of the field is close enough to challenge.
|
2011 Vuelta a España Stage 15 |
|
General Classification after Stage 15 |
||||||
|
1 |
Juan Jose Cobo |
Geox |
4:01:55 |
1 |
Juan Jose Cobo |
Geox |
59:57:16 |
|
|
2 |
Wout Poels |
Vacansoleil |
0:00:48 |
2 |
Christopher Froome |
Sky |
0:00:20 |
|
|
3 |
Denis Menchov |
Geox |
0:00:48 |
3 |
Bradley Wiggins |
Sky |
0:00:46 |
|
|
4 |
Chris Froome |
Sky |
0:00:48 |
4 |
Bauke Mollema |
Rabobank |
0:01:36 |
|
|
5 |
Bradley Wiggins |
Sky |
0:01:21 |
5 |
Maxime Monfort |
Leopard Trek |
0:02:37 |
|
|
6 |
Igor Anton |
Euskaltel |
0:01:21 |
6 |
Denis Menchov |
Geox |
0:03:01 |
|
|
7 |
Maxime Monfort |
Leopard Trek |
0:01:21 |
7 |
Jakob Fuglsang |
Leopard Trek |
0:03:06 |
|
|
8 |
Joaquin Rodriguez |
Katusha |
0:01:35 |
8 |
Vincenzo Nibali |
Liquigas |
0:03:27 |
|
|
9 |
Sergey Lagutin |
Vacansoleil |
0:01:35 |
9 |
Jurgen Van Den Broeck |
Omega Pharma-Lotto |
0:03:58 |
|
|
10 |
Bauke Mollema |
Rabobank |
0:01:35 |
10 |
Wout Poels |
Vacansoleil |
0:04:13 |
|
