Cycling: who would have thought? Should it be exciting again at the Vuelta a España? The leader Chris Froome (Sky) lost a whopping 42 seconds to his biggest opponent Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida). The Brit revealed on the final climb that he was vulnerable. The day's victory was secured with an impressive performance by the Austrian Stefan Denifl (Aqua Blue Sport).
The normal madness at the Vuelta a España
After the rest day and yesterday's time trial, today's 17th stage was really uphill again. The section took the drivers over 180,5 kilometers from Villadiego to the mountain finish at Alto de los Machucos. On the way, the Portillo de Lunada and the Puerto de Alisas had to be conquered. So the normal Vuelta madness. Six riders tried to go into the final ramp with a lead. The Austrian Stefan Denifl (Aqua Blue Sport) and Daniel Moreno (Movistar) succeeded in this. But the field of favorites was only a little over a minute behind. And that's where the first attacks came from.
# LV2017 People go crazy when they see Alberto Contador. pic.twitter.com/1W1RM0diF2
— Brain on Wheels 🚲 (@BrainOnWheels) September 6, 2017
Froome tears away - Denifl impresses
The 7,2-kilometer final climb has an average gradient of 8,7 percent, with smaller ramps of up to 26 percent. So no picnic – not even for the mountain goats. Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) continued his attack. Chris Froome (Sky) stayed in his saddle surrounded by numerous teammates. But he had to let go. A smaller group around Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb), Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) and Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) managed to break away. Contador was even further ahead and still hadn't given up hope of catching Austrian Denifl. This in turn surprisingly left Moreno standing.
72. Tour of Spain 2017
Stage 17# LV2017 #lavuelta2017 pic.twitter.com/UrwyhpPljS— LV2017 (@Albatross_Sport) September 6, 2017
Denifl saves - Froome's lead takes a lot of damage
While Alberto Contador got a little closer to Stefan Denifl, Mikel Nieve (Sky) had to keep waiting for his captain Chris Froome. The Briton actually seemed to be showing his first weaknesses today. Denifl saved a 28 second lead on Contador across the line. For Lopez, Nibali and Zakarin the clock stopped 64 seconds after the winner. Froome didn't arrive for another 42 seconds. As a result, the leader lost some time to his biggest opponent, Nibali. Should it be exciting again at the Vuelta a España? Either way: The Austrian Stefan Denifl can be happy about his grandiose victory. What an outstanding achievement to hold your own against these world-class riders on a ramp like this. Alongside Froome, the loser of the day is also Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott). The little Colombian finished a further four minutes after Froome and slipped out of the top 10.
¡¡Victoria de Stefan Denifl 🇦🇹 (Aqua Blue Sport) and Los Machucos on the 17th edition # LV2017!! Vence el equipo invitado more inesperado. pic.twitter.com/yV9ODHZphb
— Manu Lorenzo (@ManuLorenzo_2) September 6, 2017
Vuelta a España stage #17 daily classification
Tour Locations | Driver | Country | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Stefan Denifl | Austria | Aqua Blue Sport | 4:48:52 |
2. | Alberto counter | Spain | Trek-Segafredo | + 0: 28 |
3. | Miguel Angel Lopez | Colombia | Astana | + 1: 04 |
4. | Vincenzo Nibali | Italy | Bahrain-Merida | st |
5. | Ilnur Zakarin | Russia | Katusha Alpecin | st |
- | - | - | - | - |
9. | wilco kelderman | Netherlands | Sunweb | + 1: 19 |
10. | David of the Cross | Spain | Quick Step Floors | + 1: 42 |
14. | Chris Froome | Great Britain | Sky | + 1: 46 |
17. | Fabio Arau | Italy | Astana | + 2: 04 |
Vuelta a España stage #17 general classification
Tour Locations | Driver | Country | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Chris Froome | Great Britain | Sky | 67:44:03 |
2. | Vincenzo Nibali | Italy | Bahrain-Merida | + 1: 16 |
3. | wilco kelderman | Netherlands | Sunweb | + 2: 13 |
4. | Ilnur Zakarin | Russia | Katusha Alpecin | + 2: 25 |
5. | Alberto counter | Spain | Trek-Segafredo | + 3: 34 |
6. | Miguel Angel Lopez | Colombia | Astana | + 4: 39 |
7. | Michael Woods | Canada | Cannondale Drapac | + 6: 33 |
8. | Wout poels | Netherlands | Sky | + 6: 40 |
9. | Fabio Arau | Italy | Astana | + 6: 45 |
10. | David of the Cross | Spain | Quick Step Floors | + 10: 10 |
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