cycling: Vuelta a Espana stage #17: Frank conquers the steep final climb

Cycling: Mathias Frank (IAM) won the 17th stage of the Vuelta a Espana. The Swiss broke away from a large group of leaders and successfully heaved his way up the steep Alto Mas de la Costa. Leopold König (Sky) and Robert Gesink (LottoNL-Jumbo) were late. Not much happened in the overall standings as the top four riders finished at the same time.

A long ramp to end the day

After a few exciting stages and a well-deserved rest day, the drivers continued today at the Vuelta a Espana. With the 17th section from Castellón to Llucena Camins del Penyagolosa, it was not only a matter of covering 177,5 predominantly hilly kilometers, but also of conquering the extremely steep Alto Mas de la Costa at the end. This climb of the 1st category is only 3,8 kilometers long, but on average a whopping 12,5 percent steep, with the maximum gradient officially given as 21 percent. On the last 100 meters, a fan made a little fun out of the effort of the drivers: the words "Welcome to Hell" can be read on the asphalt. Some riders must have felt that way too, because having to climb such a climb in the third week was certainly the pinnacle of torture.

Strong and large breakaway group

Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) didn't want to do that anymore, he was already far behind in the overall standings and had no more ambitions. The 28 other riders, who were able to flee after a long fight and formed the big leading group of the day, saw things completely differently. The strong climbers Robert Gesink (LottoNL-Jumbo), Dario Cataldo (Astana), Bart De Clercq (Lotto-Soudal), Maxime Bouet (Etixx-Quick Step), Mathias Frank and Marcel Wyss (both IAM) and from the German team Bora-Argon 18 Christoph Pfingsten and Scott Thwaites. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) also sent his teammates Imanol Erviti and José Herrada into the rout, as did Chris Froome (Sky) Leopold König, who is one of the best climbers on the tour. The two opponents for the mountain jersey, Kenny Elisoonde (FDJ) and Omar Fraile (Dimension Data), meanwhile did not sneak into the top group.

Mathias Frank & Dario Cataldo break up

Since Marcel Wyss, the best-placed driver in the overall standings, was already more than half an hour behind Nairo Quintana, Movistar was not seriously interested in catching up. The breakaway group's lead increased to over eight minutes. The BMC team in particular then tried to reduce the gap. This increase in speed reduced the lead to five minutes at the foot of the climb. Meanwhile, the leading group was no longer in agreement, because around 25 kilometers from the finish, Dario Cataldo attacked and Mathias Frank jumped onto his rear wheel. The duo extended the lead over the large chasing group to 22 seconds by the beginning of the final climb. The battle up to the eagerly awaited Alto Mas de la Costa could begin - both at the top for the day's victory and in the main field for the overall ranking.

Frank struggles successfully to win the day

In the chasing group, Michael Golas (Sky) for Leopold König and Bram Tankink (LottoNL-Jumbo) for Robert Gesink were particularly busy tracking. This paid off, because the leading duo's lead could be kept within limits. Nevertheless, Kristian Sbaragli (Dimension Data) attacked and went in pursuit alone. However, the drivers all clearly had to struggle on this steep climb. Mathias Frank's kick looked the smoothest, as he was able to shake off his partner Dario Cataldo with 2,4 kilometers to go. He finally got a visit from Robert Gesink and Leopold König, who didn't want to bother with him for long, but went in pursuit of Frank. However, his lead of around 15 seconds was enough for him to save himself from his two pursuers. A very strong performance by the Swiss. At the end of the stage, Leopold König was second in front of Robert Gesink.

Contador strong, but no time gaps

The main field was severely thinned out just a few hundred meters after the start of the final climb. Ben Hermans (BMC) pulled away, but as he posed no threat to the general classification, he was allowed to do so. When Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) finally launched the attack, Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Esteban Chaves (Orica-BikeExchange) took to his rear wheel. As in the previous stages, Chris Froome (Sky) was initially left behind, but was suddenly able to fight his way back to the three out of nowhere. All four reached the finish together, so there are no time differences to report. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) lost time as well as the other teams' classification riders. Astonishingly little has changed on this stage in terms of the overall ranking.

Vuelta a Espana Stage #17 – The daily standings:

Vuelta a Espana Stage #17 – Overall standings: