Antonio Piedra of Caja Rural attacked a ten-rider break 20 kilometers from the finish of Stage 15 of the Vuelta a España Sunday, and stayed clear of his pursuers to win the mountainous stage. It was a tremendous win for the rider and his Continental team against the more powerful Pro Tour teams.
Piedra hadn’t planned to attack that far out; it was more of a feeler, to see how the other breakaway riders would respond. When no one followed him, he decided to see what he had in him.
“I felt pretty good today—I was just waiting until I could get away,” he told Eurosport. “I was thinking some of the guys were going to react but they didn’t. I could tell that my legs were good so I just went for it.
This is good for Caja Rural, no question. We are a small team and this is one of the biggest races in the world.”
The race leaders, Joaquim Rodriguez, Alejandro Valverde, and Alberto Contador, attacked each other all the way up the final climb but crossed the finish line together. Chris Froome cracked on the climb, and lost 35 seconds.
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