Horner Wins Vuelta a España Stage Ten

Last updated : 02 September 2013 By Covsupport News Service

  Radio Shack's Chris Horner won the tenth stage of the 68th Vuelta a España Stage Nine and takes overall control of the race.

The fifteen kilometres of neutralised racing before the mountain 186.6km stage from Torredelcampo to Güéjar Sierra/Alto Hazallanas produced a big crash featuring race leader Dani Moreno of Katusha. Moreno carried on but Bart De Clercq (Lotto Belisol), Guillaume Boivin (Cannondale), Barry Markus (Vacansoleil-DCM), Alberto Losada of Katusha all were forced to abandon due to their injuries and 190 riders finally took to the road when the flag finally dropped.

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky), Chris Anker Sorensen (SAxo-Tinkoff), Adam Hansen (Lotto Belisol), Diegog Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) and Jerome Coppel (Cofidis), got themselves into an early twenty one man break but with 136kms remaining, off shot  Stef Clement of Belkin, who quickly built an eighteen second lead ahead of the chasers and 45 seconds clear of the peloton and red jersey holder Dani Moreno.

Clement and the chasers were caught and a new break of Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM), Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida), Georg Preidler (Team Argos-Shimano), Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step), Maciej Paterski (Cannondale), Tomasz Marczynski (Vacansoleil-DCM), Martin Kohler (BMC Racing Team), Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Euskaltel Euskadi), Nico Sijmens (Cofidis) and Stef Clement (Belkin Procycling Team).formed, taking a lead of 3.09 with 79kms gone.

After Omega Pharma Quick Step's Andy Fenn was seemingly disqualified for getting a long tow from a car and Thomas de Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM) was also reportedly disqualified, the ten riders went through the city of Granada.

Flecha took the first intermediate sprint of the day before they tackled the Alto de Monachil climb with now six up the road.

Diego Ulissi of Lampre and Tomasz Marczynski of Vacansoleil-DCM went clear as the climb started to see riders strung out all down the road.

Ulissi was first over the climb and started on the descent with 27.5kms to go.

The Alto Hazallanas was next and Marczynski and Georg Preidler (Team Argos-Shimano), joined Ulissi, taking a lead of twelve seconds going into the remaining eleven kilometres as Oriz, Flecha and Dela Cruz gave chase.

Marczynski tried to get away on his own on the downhill ramp before climb, which had gradients of up to 18% in the first two kilometres, started with 7.5kms to go.

Nicholas Roche got himself into the lead group, after Marczynski was passed, with Nibali, Basso, Horner, Rodriguez and Valverde but then dropped back out of the group.as further down the road, the race leader was struggling.

Chris Horner, who will be 42 in October, some 28 seconds back on GC, got on the front with 4.4kms to go as Roche and Pinot caught up

With 3.8kms, Horner had pulled out the lead he needed and was out of the saddle pushing out a steady rhythm.

With two kilometres to go, Vincenzo Nibali of Astana, kicked and went after Horner, who was nine seconds behind Nibali on GC.

Roche was jusy about staying with the chasing group but the attention was firmly on the Horner/ Nibali battle and who would take the stage and go into red on the first rest day.

Horner took a 49 second lead over Nibali going under the Flam Rouge and he carried on and won in a time of 4.30.22. Nibali came in second 48 seconds later and Valverde finished third. Nicholas Roche came in seventh.

Horner now leads the race by 52 seconds from Nibali going into the time trial at Tarazona on Wednesday 

General Classification

1 Horner, 2 Nibali +43, 3 Roche +46, 4Valverde +1'02, 5 Rodriguez +1'40