Horner A Stage Away From Winning Vuelta a España

Last updated : 15 September 2013 By Covsupport News Service

Radio Shack's Chris Horner is set to become the oldest ever winner of a Grand Tour after finishing second on the penultimate stage of the Vuelta a España.

 

It was a stage which saw 41 year old Chris Horner leading by three seconds from Vincenzo Nibali of Astana as the riders set off on this 142.2 kilometres stage twenty from Avilés to the Alto de l’Angliru, which has gradients of up to 10% and slopes of up to 23%.

 

Thirty two riders in Jose Joao Mendes (NetApp-Enudra), David Arroyo (Movistar), Andriy Grivko (Astana), Vasil Kiryienka (Sky), Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Jacob Fuglsang (Astana), Juan Jose Oroz (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Serge Pauwels (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), Jan Barta (NetApp-Enudra), Bauke Mollema (Belkin), Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM), Rafael Valls Ferri (Vacansoleil-DCM), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Antonio Piedra (Caja Rural), Maciej Paterski (Cannondale), Carlos Alberto Betancur (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Dominik Nerz (BMC), Francis De Greef (Lotto Belisol), Juan Manuel Garate (Belkin), Jerome Coppel (Cofidis), Kenny Elissonde (FDJ), Johannes Frohlinger (Argos-Shimano), Ivan Santaromita (BMC), Dmitry Kozontchuk (Katusha), Angel Vicioso (Katusha), Benat Intxausti (Movistar), Dario Cataldo (Sky), Paolo Tiralongo (Astana), Imanol Erviti (Movistar), Andre Cardoso (Caja Rural) and Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida).started the first attack of the day.

 

As they made their way up the Alto de la Cabruñana with 102kms to go, their lead was 4:24 back to the main peloton. 

King Of The Mountains leader Nicolas Edet of Cofidis took the points over the Alto de la Cabruñana and he was involved in a break away with Vasil Kiryienka (Sky), David Arroyo (Movistar), Andriy Grivko (Astana) and Antonio Piedra (Caja Rural) twenty kilometres later.

 

With Piedra dropped, the category 2 Alto de Tenebredo was next to dealt with and again Edet took the full quota of points.

 

Team Sky's Salvatore Puccio abandoned as Paolo Tiralongo of Astana shot off just before the start of the Category One El Cordal climb with a lead of 5.38 over the peloton, which also included Points leader Alejandro Valerde.

 

Tiralongo was joined by Kenny Elissonde with 23.3kms remaining but the Astana rider took the full points on El Cordal ahead of the FDJ rider.

 

Elissonde nearly cooked it going into a left turn before they started on the Alto de l’Angliru with 12.8kms to go.

 

Eustakel's Sammy Sanchez went after the duo who were 34 seconds ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games winner and 4.48 ahead of the peloton, whilst Horner, Nibali and Roche kept their eye on each other bringing the gap down to 2.50 with 6.6kms left.

 

Nibali launched an attack with 6.2kms to go, taking ten seconds on Horner, Valverde and Rodriguez. Up the road, Elissonde dropped Tiralongo, who was waiting for his team-mate in Nibali. 

 

Horner and Rodriquez caught up to Nibali as the mist rolled in and Elissonde fought his way up the hill and through the massive crowds.

 

Nibali tried to shake Horner with three left but the American was right in his wheel on slopes of 20%.

 

Horner put the hammer down and this time Nibali could not respond and the American sped past the remaining escapers to move into second a minute behind Elissonde who kept going in thick mist and won in a time of 3.55.36. Horner flew up this last flat bit of road to the finish and came in 26 seconds behind. Nibali finished 54 seconds down on Elissonde's time in fourth place just behind Alejandro Valverde 

 

Horner's second place keeps him in red going into the final stage with a 37 second lead and all he needs to do is finish the final run in, into Madrid to secure the victory. 

 

General Classiffication

1 Christopher Horner RadioShack Leopard 81:52:01
2 Vincenzo Nibali Astana Pro Team 0:00:37
3 Alejandro Valverde Movistar 0:01:38
4 Joaquim Rodriguez Katusha 0:03:22
5 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:07:11

 

Elissonde told La Vuelta.com: "It’s just incredible. The Angliru is a myth. In the first part of the stage, I made the breakaway with many good climbers and I didn’t have good legs. It was a very hard stage and I’ve won it. After Alexandre Geniez at Peyragudes and our leader Thibaut Pinot finishing seventh overall, we couldn’t hope for more."

 

Race leader Chris Horner (RadioShack-Leopard) said: “This is an amazing moment. You said Nibali attacked six times? I thought they were ten or twenty. But ok, I agree. He put on an amazing show. I can imagine how beautiful it was to watch from a couch. It must have been unbelievable for the fans. I hope people have enjoyed every pedal stroke. It was too dark in the fog, I never saw the last kilometre mark, I misunderstood the last kilometre and the banner for the KOM. 

 

"When I expected a downhill, it was still going up, so I was really twisted in the hardest part. I had put on the big chain ring and I kept suffering.

 

"A guy of my age winning a Grand Tour, it’s something you’ll maybe never see again in your life.

 

"Earlier this year, when I was at home after my knee surgery, I told my 11 year old boy that I wanted to continue racing but that I might be forced to retire. He said ‘you can’t retire, it’s not cool, right now at school I tell my mates that my dad is a professional cyclist and rides Giro, Tour and Vuelta, I can’t tell them that my dad is an ex-cyclist!’ Now he will say that his dad is the only American to have won the Vuelta and the only 42 year old to have won a Grand Tour.”