Vuelta a España 2015: Stage 16

By
published

January 1 - September 13, Luarca, Spain, Road - WorldTour

Refresh

Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 16 of the 2015 Vuelta a España, which takes the riders across a mountainous 185km route from Luarca to Ermita de Alba. See below our recent coverage from the race.

 

Good morning/afternoon/evening, depending on where you are in the world. You thought the Andorra stage was the queen stage, didn’t you? Well, apparently it wasn’t. This is. There are no fewer seven categorised climbs on today's route, which culminates with a new and potentially spectacular hors-catégorie summit finish. A big day in store at the Vuelta!

Here's the profile of today's stage:

As you can see from the stage profile, the riders are faced with an early climb. As we pick up the action they are nearing the top, with some early attacks and splits in the bunch. 

A group of five riders went clear pretty much as soon as the flag dropped. There was no trouble in them opening up an advantage and they currently have around 6 minutes on the peloton. 

On the slopes of that third-category climb four a few riders went clear of the peloton. Four of them formed a group and have now linked up with the five breakaway riders to form a group of nine. The four newcomers are: Moreno Moser (Cannondale-Garmin), Cyril Lemoine (Cofidis), Lawrence Warbasse (IAM Cycling) and George Bennett (LottoNL-Jumbo). 

Tsgabu Grmay (Lampre-Merida) is dangling half a minute back from the lead group, which now has over seven minutes over a peloton where the main favourites are content to take it easy for now. 

Fraile is the first man over the Alto de Aristébano, followed by Rolland and then Torres. With seven categorised climbs in total, this is a potentially lucrative day in the fight for the mountains jersey. 

Grmay joins up with the leaders and we now have a group of 10 out front with an ever-growing advantage currently standing at 8 minutes. 

The weather is warm and dry, with very little wind at the moment. 

We may be heading deeper into the Vuelta but we can spare a thought for one of the other Grand Tours. The Giro d'Italia has just unveiled one of its showpiece stages for next year and it looks like a stunner. Read all about it:

The gap between the break and the unconcerned peloton stretches out to over 10 minutes. The closest threat to Aru's red jersey is Schleck, all the way down at over 40 minutes. 

The leaders begin the second climb of the day, the second-category Alto de Piedratecha, having covered 32km in the first hour of racing. They have a lead of over 12 minutes now and it's starting to look pretty good in terms of the stage win. 

A reminder that you can listen to/download the Cyclingnews podcast. We will have another episode for you tomorrow, featuring Bradley Wiggins and plenty of Vuelta discussion. Until then, if you haven't listened to the current episode, with an exclusive interview with Dave Brailsford, then you can do so using the link below.

147km remaining from 185km

One senses that today's stage will be Nairo Quintana's final opportunity to ignite a general classification challenge from his Vuelta a Espana, as he begins the day in 9th place overall, three minutes behind Fabio Aru. The auguries from Quintana's attack on the Sotres yesterday were not altogether encouraging however, though he remained cautiously optimistic about his prospects of a podium finish in Madrid.

140km remaining from 185km

The relative détente in the main peloton is all the more understandable when one considers that this is not merely the third summit finish in succession, but the ninth out of the Vuelta’s 16 stages to date. By any measure, this has been a brutal edition of the Vuelta, and there’s still a week to Madrid.

The break is on the long plateau that follows the  Piedratecha, some 30 kilometres from the category 3 Alto de la Cabruñana, the third of the day's seven climbs.

134km remaining from 185km

The general classification picture ahead of today's stage, meanwhile, was as follows:

120km remaining from 185km

As the peloton's deficit reaches 21 minutes, the brinksmanship between Astana and Katusha appears to have come to an end. Katusha have begun to set a brisker tempo at the head of the bunch.

We have also been wrapping up all the news away from the Vuelta. Pauline Ferrand-Prevot is now a world champion in no fewer than three cycling disciplines. Read what she had to say about her remarkable achievement in our latest edition of news shorts. Also features Nacer Bouhanni's Worlds preparations and riders taking wrong turns at the Tour of Alberta.

103km remaining from 185km

Fraile is once again the first man over the top of the climb. The Spaniard began the day 28 points ahead in the mountains classification and none of his other breakaway companions are anywhere near him. There are still plenty of points on the road and with the way things are going it only seems likely he'll continue to add to his tally. 

Meanwhile the breakaway's advantage has started to fall for the first time today. Katyusha's appearance on the front of the bunch has knocked a couple of minutes off the gap over that climb and it now stands at 20 minutes.

One man who will have been perfectly happy with the gentle pace in the bunch over the first half of this stage is Tom Dumoulin. The Dutchman, who sits fourth on GC, has been losing nuggets of time in the mountains but is limiting is losses far better than anyone could have predicted. If he can get through today without losing too much more, then he could steal back a whole chunk in the time trial on Wednesday. 

19:30 is the gap now. We may be in between two categorised climbs but that doesn't mean the road is flat. The road drags up, drops down, then drags up again towards the fourth climb of the day. 

The Mark Cavendish transfer saga (can we call it a saga?) rumbles on. Bradley Wiggins seemed to let slip that the Manxman will definitely be leaving Etixx-QuickStep at the end of the year. Read what he said here:

One man who will have been perfectly happy with the gentle pace in the bunch over the first half of this stage is Tom Dumoulin. The Dutchman, who sits fourth on GC, has been losing nuggets of time in the mountains but is limiting is losses far better than anyone could have predicted. If he can get through today without losing too much more, then he could steal back a whole chunk in the time trial on Wednesday. 

Joaquim Rodríguez won yesterday and moved to within a second of the red jersey. Katusha DS Jose Azevedo was in no way unsure about what must be achieved today. 

The gap to the peloton ducks below 19 minutes now on the approach to the Alto de Tenebredo.

Rafa Majka put in another strong performance on yesterday's summit finish and he finds himself in third on GC with realistic podium prospects. Here's what his DS Tristan Hoffman had to say this morning.

Schleck drops back from the break to the medical car. It's unclear at the moment what the problem is. 

Katusha are still on the front on this climb, dragging things along but the pace isn't too high. 

No prizes for guessing who was first over the top of the Alto del Tenebredo... Omar Fraile is having a great day out there consolidating his lead in the mountains classification. 

Up at the Tour of Britain there are riders, like at the Vuelta, with sights firmly set on the World Championships in Richmond later this month. Tyler Farrar is one of them and Cyclingnews' Sadhbh O'Shea caught up with him this morning. 

The riders in the peloton are now dragging themselves over the top of this second-category climb. It's a steep drag there, with everyone out of the saddle. Katusha still on the front. 

So, just the three climbs to go now. The summit finish looks brutal but the two climbs beforehand will certainly play their part. Our man in Spain Alasdair Fotheringham drove the route earlier today and here's what he has to say about the next climb on the agenda - the second-category Alto de Cordal.

With that gap still up at just under 19 minutes, it is pretty much nailed on that our stage winner will come from the breakaway. 

We're four hours in now and the leaders covered 33.8km in that fourth hour. They're onto the lower slopes of the Cordal now. 

The tactics, or lack thereof, of Tom Dumoulin - this is what his DS Christian Guiberteau said to lavuelta.com this morning. 

Katusha are still on the front of the peloton, with the Astana riders in tow and the Movistar men grouped behind them. The GC contenders have been quite happy to delay hostilities so far and the four categorised climbs have passed by with little incident. Soon, though, they will start thinking about turning up the heat. Will it be on this second-category Alto de Cordal? Will it be on the tricky descent? Or will we have to wait until the penultimate climb? 

Over in Blighty, Petr Vakoc of Etixx-QuickStep has just soloed to victory in Lancashire on stage 2 of the Tour of Britain. 

The 10 breakaway riders are still together as they make their way up this climb but their lead is ebbing away as they do so. It's down at 17:30 now. 

Tinkoff-Saxo take it up now, putting an end to Katusha's long monopoly on the front of the bunch. 

36km remaining from 185km

Lots of riders struggling to hang onto the back of this single-file bunch now. Two Giant riders fall off and this is having the desired effect as far as Tinkoff are concerned. 

The leaders crest the Alto de Cordal (with Omar Fraile taking the points, obviously) and have the briefest moment to take in the spectacular view over the mountains of Asturias before getting their heads back over their bars and throwing themselves down this descent. 

Remember, this is a tricky descent. Narrow, lots of corners, dodgy surfaces, and leaves. 

Somewhat incongruously, there is an intermediate sprint point on this brutally up-and-down stage. The leaders are passing through it now as they finish the descent of the Cordal. They'll be more preoccupied, though, with the first-category climb that's about to begin. 

The peloton crest the Cordal now and thanks to Tinkoff-Saxo they do so just 11 minutes in arrears of the break. 

Crash! Leonardo Duque (Colombia) collides with an IAM rider on one of the first corners of the descent and the pair go crashing into the barriers. Duque is up and on his feet but the IAM rider is on the ground and in some pain. 

Sylvain Chavanel is the man down. That looked like a nasty one and the Frenchman was sat at the side of the road, head hunched, clearly in some pain. 

Meanwhile up the road the lead group is starting to fragment on the slopes of this first-category climb. Lemoine has lost contact and Fraile is in danger of doing the same. 

25km remaining from 185km

Here's how this penultimate climb looks:

Here's what Cyclingnews reporter Alasdair Fotheringham, who drove the route today on his way to the press centre, makes of the final couple of climbs.

Schleck is looking pretty strong out front on this climb. He has been setting the pace so far and that has caused the lead group to break up. A group of four now leads the race: Schleck, Torres, Verona, and Bennett.

Astana have replaced Tinkoff-Saxo on the front now as the bunch thins out yet further on this climb. 40 or so riders in there now with many starting to drop off the back. 

Henao has been dropped from the bunch. Lawson Craddock, who can climb well, is also off the back and that leaves Dumoulin isolated. 

Schleck and Torres forge on together, dropping Bennett and Verona from that lead group. 

In the peloton four Astana men, including Aru, lead the way. There have been no real attacks but the boys in sky blue are grinding quite a pace on this wide, smooth road. 

Mikel Nieve attacks from the bunch. The Spaniard is 7th on GC but with 19km still to go this one may be short-lived. 

Schleck and Torres crest the climb and now begins a step, tricky descent. They don't have to take too many risks - they have probably enough time in hand over the peloton for the stage win.

14km remaining from 185km

In this group we have Aru and two Astana men, Rodríguez and Moreno for Katusha, Majka and Hansen for Tinkoff, Quintana and Valverde for Movistar, along with Nieve, Dumoulin, Pozzovivo, Chaves, Meintjes, Sicard, and a few others. 

Schleck flicks his wrist and beckons Torres through to take a share of the workload. It has been pretty one-sided so far, with Schleck looking really strong and forcing the issue. The final climb now begins for the leading duo. 

6km remaining from 185km

The GC group is currently making its way down the tricky descent of the Alto de la Cobertoria. 

Torres just comes through and turns up the pace, briefly putting Schleck in a spot of bother. 

Here's what the final climb of the day looks like. 21%!!

And Tinkoff-Saxo leads the GC group around the corner and onto this final climb. 6.5km to go now for these riders. 

Polanski opened up a gap as he sprinted onto the climb, and he's out of the saddle and forcing a high pace here. 

Schleck attacks! The Trek rider strikes out and leaves Torres behind on the steep gradients. 

This could well be Schleck’s first victory since he came back from a one-year doping ban relating to a positive test for Xipamide at the 2012 Tour de France. 

Back in the GC group Poljanski pulls off and almost grinds to a halt. A great job done to set up teammate Majka. 

Schleck gets a brief spot of respite on a short flat section. There's no official time gap but I think he's a good 30 seconds ahead of Torres. 

Flamme rouge for Schleck, as things are yet to ignite in the GC group behind. 

Landa is on the front of the bunch here. It's not splitting up really, and Dumoulin is second wheel, looking very comfortable. 

Schleck comes up towards the line now - he has this in the bag.

Huge crowds at this summit finish. It's steep and narrow, with fans banging the hoardings, and Schleck comes through it into the final 100 metres. 

Schleck zips up the jersey, sits up, and savours the moment as he crosses the line to win stage 16 of the Vuelta. 

Valverde is dropped from the GC group. 

Torres comes through the line now for second place. 

Back to the GC group now, and Chaves is struggling to stay in contact too. 

2km remaining from 185km

Moreno struggling now, and Dumoulin fading slightly as well. Aru is nearer the back of the group and not on teammate Landa's wheel. 

Dumoulin loses contact but he comes back! Mightily impressive stuff once more from the Dutchman. 

1km remaining from 185km

Dumoulin's legs go! A really steep ramps there and the legs just stop working briefly. Can he get back on - wouldn't bet against it. 

Rodriguez attacks! 

Majka is trying to come back but Rodriguez has a gap. Crucially, Dumoulin has been distanced. 

Aru comes past Majka and takes it up in pursuit. He's losing his race lead here. 

Aru has a gap on Majka 

Rodriguez comes across the line, followed 2 seconds later by Aru. 

Maja comes through now with Quintana, Landa, Nieve, and Meintjes. 

And now Dumoulin comes home! He was distanced but lost less than 30 seconds to Rodriguez. What an effort. 

Rodríguez is the new leader of the Vuelta by a solitary second over Aru. Dumoulin is 1:31 back. 

Top-10 on the stage

General classification after stage 16

Our brief report is already up. We have a full report and photo gallery on the way shortly, and we'll be bringing you all the initial reaction right here.

There's a long 300km transfer after this stage to Burgos, where the all-important time trial will take place after a rest day. Fortunately for the top-10 on GC, who are listed to the right of your screen, they can enjoy the luxury of being taken by helicopter from the top of this mountain, courtesy of the race organisers. 

Frank Schleck celebrates his victory

Here's what Tom Dumoulin had to say after the stage:

Here is stage winner Schleck on the day's proceedings:

So, a rest day tomorrow, before what is likely to be the decisive stage of this Vuelta. It's the time trial, and Dumoulin is still in with a shout. It's beautifully poised. 

Here's what Fabio Aru, who lost his leader's jersey by a second, made of it all:

 

That's about it from our live coverage today. I'll leave you with our full report, results, and photo gallery. Tomorrow is a rest day but we'll be bringing you all the latest from the race, as well as another episode of the podcast. Thanks for joining!

Latest on Cyclingnews