Vuelta a España: Navarro wins stage 13

Daniel Navarro (Cofidis, Solutions Credits) timed his attack to perfection to win stage 13 of the Vuelta a Espana from Belorado to the Cabárceno nature park. The Spanish climber jumped clear on the final climb before the line as the overall contenders hesitated behind, and despite a gap of only a handful of seconds Navarro held on to win ahead of Daniel Moreno (Katusha) and Wilco Kelderman (Belkin).

In the race for the overall Alberto Contador (Tinkoff Saxo) retained his advantage of 20 seconds from Alejendro Valverde (Movistar), with Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team) in third at 1:08.

For Navarro it was a moment of complete jubilation, with the 31-year-old taking the biggest win of his career and putting to bed the disappointment of abandoning this year’s Tour de France.

Navarro joined Cofidis at the start of last year as a possible GC contender in major tours. He finish a creditable ninth in last year’s Tour de France but was forced to withdraw from this year’s race – on his birthday no less – but he showed a clear pair of wheels on today’s stage, animating the stage finale with a mix of anticipation and strength.

On the uncategorised climb before the line he allowed Gianluca Brambilla (Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team) to launch a solo attack. After strong teamwork from Christophe Le Mevel, Navarro bullishly attacked, bridging up to Brambilla before unleashing a second and more powerful attack.

Behind him Daniel Martin (Garmin Sharp), Alejandro Valverde, Alberto Contador and Joaquim Rodriguez all seemed more concerned with watching each other, although Martin attempted to break free on two occasions. There was even a brief solo move from Chris Froome – a timely reminder that despite his struggles – he is very much in this race – but Navarro was not to be caught.

How it unfolded

After yesterday's sprint stage, Friday’s stage 13 offered a sterner test for the 190 riders who lined out at the start with three categorised climbs situated in the mid-section of the stage.

After 15 kilometres of racing a break of 11 had formed with Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Jay Thomson (MTN-Qhubeka), Peter Sagan (Cannondale), Paolo Longo Borghini (Cannondale), Jasper Stuyven (Trek Factory Racing), Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida), Stef Clement (Belkin), Luis Leon Sanchez (Caja Rural), Danilo Wyss (BMC), Damien Gaudin (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Vegard Breen (Lotto-Belisol) establishing a lead over the bunch.

Yesterday Orica GreenEdge saw a number of their pack hit the deck after a tumble inside the final five kilometres. Twenty-four hours later and with Michael Matthews a contender for the stage, the Australian team were back to work and holding the break at under three minutes.

At the top of the Braguía it was the experienced Luis Leon Sanchez who led the field, with the Caja Rural rider looking for his first Grand Tour stage win since 2012.

By the time the break reached the Alto del Caracol – the most difficult climb on the stage – the break still had a two minute lead, but gaps had started to appear in their ranks. Sagan was one of the first riders to drop back, his work done as he continues to build his form ahead of the Worlds, as Cunego, Danilo Wyss, Leon Sanchez, Damien Gaudin and Alexey Lutsenko forced their way clear.

Orica were still tapping out the pace as the peloton hit the lower slopes, but their efforts weren't shared with the rest of the peloton as Movistar and Katusha both held their men in reserve.

Despite this lack of collaboration, the leaders continued to lose time after the descent. Orica, who were giving themselves a chance to regroup, were joined finally by a spirited FDJ taking control of the peloton as the gap to the leaders began to fluctuate.

The French outfit reduced the leaders' advantage to a mere 40 seconds with less than 14 kilometres remaining. Lutsenko disappeared up the road as the remnants of the break began to chase each other but by the time the Astana man could settle into a decent rhythm the bunch already had him in their sights.

All that remained was for the peloton to tackle the uncategorized final climb. There had been confusion earlier in the stage when the race organisers had called Navarro’s name in the early break, but there were no crossed wires as Navarro darted for the line and the biggest win of his career.

For Contador, this was another stage ticked off, but he will face far sterner tests in the coming days with five riders all capable of winning this year’s Vuelta.

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