The ending of the stage was challenging as well, with a short, steep climb about six kilometers out—another great place to launch an attack—then some cobblestones, and an uphill finish, which would hinder the sprinters if it came to that.
The final there kilometers were full of switchbacks and 200 meters from the line the road took a short curve. So if it came down to a sprint finish, it would be tough for the teams to keep any order.
In the end, it was not the sprinters or the breakaway which contested the finish: it was Philippe Gilbert, the Omega-Pharma Lotto rider who wore the red jersey for the first week of the Vuelta, and Tyler Farrar of Garmin-Transitions, followed by Katusha’s Felippo Pozatto and Ag2R’s Sebastien Hinault—those three sprinters, admittedly—followed by GC contender Peter Velits of HTC Columbia, and race leader Vincenzo Nibali, sneaking a few seconds on the field. Mark Cavendish crossed the line 18th, nowhere near the action.
“Very nice finish—very technical,” Gilbert told Fromsports.com. “I had a lot of help from my team to get me in position just before the hill. When I saw attacks from a lot of riders, I decided to stay calm and try to throw everything into the sprint, and ultimately it was a good choice.”
The nature of the course invited late attacks, and they came, fragmenting the peloton and giving Velits and Nibali a chance to take some time out of their rivals. Niblai, the veteran, stuck to Velits the relative rookie, while Ezequiel Mosquera of Xacobeo-Galicia, missed the move, losing a crucial twelve seconds.
Saxo Bank’s Fränk Schleck lost twelve seconds and fourth place, but at nearly fopur minutes back, this was less crucial. Mosquera’s mistake might well have cost him any chance at the overall win.
Catching the Break
The expected escape formed around the 30-km mark, when Dominik Roels (Team Milram), Xavier Florencio (Cervelo TestTeam), Manuel Ortega (Andalucia-Cajasur), and Josep Jufre (Astana) took off and opened a gap of five minutes.
Unfortunately for the breakaway riders, Mark Cavendish and Tyler Farrar, and the other sprinters were eager to go head-to-head one more time. So 65 km out, HTC-Columbia and Katusha took up the chase, cutting two minutes off the gap in fifteen kilometers.
Thirteen km out, the break was over. The sprinters’ teams wanted that faceoff and would not be denied.
Saxo Bank moved to the front with J.J. Haedo pulling, since Fabian Cancellara had retired at the start of the stage. Possibly Haedo didn’t think he could beat Cavendish in the sprint anyway, so why not pull for Fränk Schleck.
All the sprinters’ teams knew that if HTC-Columbia could deliver Mark Cavendish anywhere near the front in the last half-kilometer, the race would be his. However, these teams also knew that because of the hills and the length, a high pace might wear out Cavendish, giving some of the less swift but more powerful sprinters a chance.
Seven kilometers out, Footon Servetto and Lampre took up the pace, and pushed up the pace, hoping to get a chance at the end.
Chaos in the Final Kilometers
Predictably Quick Step’s Carlos Barredo attacked on the final steep climb—he always attacks, though rarely at the right moment—followed by his teammate Dario Cataldo. They were caught, then Luis-Leon Sanchez of Caisse d’Epargne and HTC’s Teejay Van Garderen took off. This pair was caught with less than two kilometers to go.
The attacks, and the efforts to catch them, had fragmented the peloton. No team had any order coming into the final kilometer. Garmin-Transition’s David Millar was pulling for Tyler Farrar, while Philippe Gilbert lurked nearby.
Suddenly, approaching the final turn, Gilbert attacked and only Tyler Farrar was ready to chase him. Gilbert had a few lengths coming out of the turn, but Farrar was flying and nearly caught up to the Frenchman at the line.
The rest of the field was a few lengths back, caught off guard by Philippe’s sudden attack. Pozatto passed Hinault right on the line as the Ag2R rider sat up, and Velits and Nibali pedaled frantically, Velits to gain time and Nibali not to lose any
Vincenzo Nibali’s heads-up riding might have sealed the overall win for him. Unless Niblai cracks badly on the final climb tomorrow, he will win the 2010 Vuelta a España. Peter Velits will finish third, unless he or Mosquea crack.
Today’s results take some of the thrill out of tomorrow’s final stage. Down 38 seconds, Mosquera probably would have attacked endlessly, trying for the win. Fifty seconds back, he might be more willing to settle for second. Velits, young and spirited, might well make a play for second place, but he needs to make up a minute on Mosquera, quite a tall order if everyone is on form.
Fourth place is up for grabs; Joaquin Rodriguez leads Fränk Schleck by only three seconds, with Xavier Tondo five seconds further back. Nicholas Roche and Tom Danielson are within a dozen seconds, and even ninth-placed Carlos Sastre is only half-a minute back of Schleck.
While Velits fights to catch Mosquera who fights to catch Nibali at the front, the rest of the top ten will be fighting just as hard behind them. The best part of the race might be the behind the leaders.
2011 Teams
The season is almost over. Teams are reloading, shutting down, merging.
The Schlecks are heading to the new Luxembourg team, leaving what will be Saxo Bank-SunGard, possibly taking Jens Voigt with them.
Alberto Contador will be joining Saxo Bank SunGard, leaving Astana. Roman Kreuziger, who has worked so hard for Vincenzo Niblai in the Vuelta, will be heading to Astana. Alexandre Vinokourov will be staying with Astana.
Several of Contador’s Astana teammates will be joining him at Saxo Bank SunGard. Chris Anker Sørenson and Nicki Sørenson will be staying.
Liquigas has retained young phenom Peter Sagan and his brother Juraj, Vincenzo Nibali and Ivan Basso.
Cervelo is merging with Garmin-Transitions. Milram is without sponsorship, and captain Linus Gerdemans is rumored to be considering HTC-Columbia, and sprinter Gerald Ciolek has announced he is heading to Quick Step, as is teammate Niki Terpstra.
Footon-Servetto is reforming as Geox, and Carlos Sastre and Rabobank’s Denis Menchov will be heading there
Carlos Barredo will be headed to Rabobank. Luis Lenon Sanchez will be joining him there, as will Saxo Bank’s Matti Breschel.
Xavier Tondo will be heading to Caisse d’Epargne, which will become the Movistar team.
Who will be strong? Saxo Bank-SunGard will have Alberto Contador, arguably the best cyclist riding right now. And possibly Fabian Cancellara, who is a powerhouse in the Classics and a workhorse in the Grand Tours.
Garmin-Cervelo will have an All-Star lineup. With the best of both teams, Garmin-Cervelo looks like HTC-Columbia—which will also have an All-Star lineup.
For the Grand Tours, Garmin-Cervelo and Saxo Bank-SunGard look hard to beat. Liquigas has a lot of stars, but some might be getting a bit long in the tooth.
Nobody knows who will ride on Team Luxembourg, but the Schlecks are still dangerous, and Andy Schleck could develop into the next Alberto Contador. Until the team releases a roster, no one knows if they will have the depth to contend at the top levels.
Look for Saxo Bank-SunGard to take both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España in 2011.
| Vuelta a España Stage Ninteen | |||
|
| Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Philippe Gilbert | Omega Pharma-Lotto | 5:43:41 |
| 2 | Tyler Farrar | Garmin-Transitions | 0:00:01 |
| 3 | Filippo Pozzato | Team Katusha | 0:00:01 |
| 4 | Sébastien Hinault | Ag2R-La Mondiale | 0:00:01 |
| 5 | Peter Velits | Team HTC-Columbia | 0:00:01 |
| 6 | Vincenzo Nibali | Liquigas-Doimo | 0:00:01 |
| 7 | Nikolas Maes | Quick Step | 0:00:01 |
| 8 | Grega Bole | Lampre-Farnese Vini | 0:00:01 |
| 9 | Daniele Bennati | Liquigas-Doimo | 0:00:01 |
| 10 | Paul Voss | Team Milram | 0:00:01 |
| 2010 Vuelta a Espana General Classification | |||
|
| Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Vincenzo Nibali | Liquigas-Doimo | 80:30:48 |
| 2 | Ezequiel Mosquera | Xacobeo Galicia | 0:00:50 |
| 3 | Peter Velits | HTC-Columbia | 0:01:59 |
| 4 | Joaquin Rodriguez | Katusha | 0:03:54 |
| 5 | Fränk Schleck | Saxo Bank | 0:03:57 |
| 6 | Xavier Tondo | Cervélo Test Team | 0:04:02 |
| 7 | Nicolas Roche | Ag2R-La Mondiale | 0:04:10 |
| 8 | Tom Danielson | Garmin-Transitions | 0:04:12 |
| 9 | Carlos Sastre | Cervélo Test Team | 0:04:28 |
| 10 | Luis-Leon Sanchez | Caisse d’Epargne | 0:05:50 |
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