Vuelta a España: Dumoulin wins on Alto de Puig Llorença
Giant-Alpecin rider takes race lead
Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) stunned the overall contenders and the pure climbers on the steep finish above Calpe at the end of stage 9 of the Vuelta a España, using his time trial power to tackle the four-kilometre climb, and blast past late attacker Chris Froome (Team Sky) to win the stage. Dumoulin also put enough time into Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) to take back the race lead.
Froome caught and passed Dumoulin inside the final kilometre and seemed set to win the stage but then the big Dutchman got out of the saddle and used his final drops of power to close the gap and pass the Briton in time to cross the line first.
Chaves finished well off the pace and so Dumoulin now leads the Vuelta by 57 seconds ahead of Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) who finished third on the stage five seconds behind Dumoulin. Chaves slipped to third at 59 seconds.
The climb and fast pace caused several gaps with Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) both losing 20 seconds.
Dumoulin was stunned to have won and fought to catch his breath after the line. "Unbelievable," he said. "I could have never imagined this. Yesterday, I had a really bad day. The team told me just to keep going and see how it goes, and today it ended pretty well…"
The 168km stage ended with a typical steep climb to the finish but nobody expected the short climb to turn the race upside and see riders lose so much time. However after seeing much of the climb during a first passage and finally catching the 14-rider break of the day, the attacks thick and fast on the climb to the finish.
Valverde was one of the first to attack but he seemed to lack power, perhaps due to being involved in a mass crash early in the stage. When he was caught, Quintana had a go, with the Movistar living up to their promise of being more aggressive. However both seemed to pay for their efforts when the race exploded in the final two kilometres.
Dumoulin started the shake down and he tried to hit out early and perhaps open a gap on the more explosive climbers as the gradient hit double figures. He got a gap and put many of his rivals in trouble. Dumoulin was the first under the red kite indicating the final kilometre but behind him Froome mounted a serious chase and closed the gap, with Rodriguez on his wheel.
The Spaniard looked strong and determined after ordering his Katusha teammates to work all day and hearing that his father had covered the road with his ‘Purito’ nickname. However Froome and Dumoulin were even stronger. Froome hit out alone, dropping his two rivals and could see the finish ahead of him. However the steep gradient turned the action into slow motion and made every pedal stroke painful.
Froome lacked power but Dumoulin found some thing extra by getting out of the saddle and stomping on the pedals. He closed the gap and got around Froome in time to hit the line first, win the stage and take the race lead. It was a perfect day for the big Dutchman.
Froome was disappointed to miss out on the win but praised Dumoulin. "I thought I had it there for a second but Dumoulin is showing incredible form in this race and hats off to him. He's a young rider with a bright future ahead of him," Froome said
"I don't think my attack was too far out. I gave it everything. I did try and ride more conservatively at the bottom to save something for an effort at the top if I had the legs. i'm just happy I was up there and didn't lose too much time today."
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin | 4:09:55 |
2 | Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky | 0:00:02 |
3 | Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha | 0:00:05 |
4 | Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:00:16 |
5 | Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo | 0:00:18 |
6 | Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team | 0:00:20 |
7 | Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky | 0:00:31 |
9 | Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:33 |
10 | Louis Meintjes (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka | 0:00:34 |
11 | Sergio Luis Henao (Col) Team Sky | 0:00:49 |
12 | Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:00:55 |
13 | Mikel Nieve (Spa) Team Sky | 0:00:56 |
14 | José Gonçalves (Por) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:00:59 |
15 | Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica GreenEdge | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Team Katusha | 0:01:08 |
17 | Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:14 |
18 | Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:01:18 |
19 | Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Etixx - Quick-Step | 0:01:21 |
20 | Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:01:31 |
21 | George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:01:37 |
22 | Kenny Elissonde (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:01:48 |
23 | Rodolfo Torres (Col) Colombia | 0:01:52 |
24 | Andre Cardoso (Por) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Jerome Coppel (Fra) IAM Cycling | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Romain Sicard (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Larry Warbasse (USA) IAM Cycling | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:02:06 |
29 | Daniel Navarro (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Trek Factory Racing | 0:02:16 |
31 | Nelson Oliveira (Por) Lampre-Merida | 0:02:17 |
32 | Romain Hardy (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:02:30 |
33 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team | 0:02:45 |
34 | Frank Schleck (Lux) Trek Factory Racing | 0:02:49 |
35 | Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | David Arroyo (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Trek Factory Racing | 0:03:01 |
39 | Maxime Bouet (Fra) Etixx - Quick-Step | 0:03:03 |
40 | Amets Txurruka (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:03:21 |
42 | Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo | 0:04:13 |
43 | Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:04:25 |
44 | Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Team Katusha | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Team Katusha | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
47 | Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) BMC Racing Team | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) IAM Cycling | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Luis Mas (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:04:43 |
51 | Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Lampre-Merida | 0:04:54 |
52 | Benjamin King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | Row 51 - Cell 2 |
53 | Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:05:13 |
54 | Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team | 0:05:14 |
55 | Pieter Serry (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step | 0:05:39 |
56 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Etixx - Quick-Step | Row 55 - Cell 2 |
57 | Leonardo Duque (Col) Colombia | 0:06:09 |
58 | Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff-Saxo | Row 57 - Cell 2 |
59 | Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin | Row 58 - Cell 2 |
60 | Lawson Craddock (USA) Team Giant-Alpecin | Row 59 - Cell 2 |
61 | Markel Irizar (Spa) Trek Factory Racing | 0:06:12 |
62 | Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:06:13 |
63 | Miguel Angel Rubiano (Col) Colombia | Row 62 - Cell 2 |
64 | Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 63 - Cell 2 |
65 | Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | Row 64 - Cell 2 |
66 | Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha | 0:06:55 |
67 | Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge | 0:07:05 |
68 | Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky | Row 67 - Cell 2 |
69 | Juan Pablo Valencia (Col) Colombia | Row 68 - Cell 2 |
70 | Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky | Row 69 - Cell 2 |
71 | Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Lampre-Merida | Row 70 - Cell 2 |
72 | Stephen Cummings (GBr) MTN - Qhubeka | Row 71 - Cell 2 |
73 | Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Etixx - Quick-Step | Row 72 - Cell 2 |
74 | Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky | Row 73 - Cell 2 |
75 | Javier Moreno (Spa) Movistar Team | Row 74 - Cell 2 |
76 | Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica GreenEdge | Row 75 - Cell 2 |
77 | Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | 0:07:39 |
78 | Jesper Hansen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo | 0:07:49 |
79 | Dominique Rollin (Can) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:07:58 |
80 | Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | Row 79 - Cell 2 |
81 | Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:08:22 |
82 | Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 81 - Cell 2 |
83 | Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:08:23 |
84 | Songezo Jim (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka | 0:08:25 |
85 | Yohan Bagot (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:08:43 |
86 | Tony Hurel (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:09:12 |
87 | Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team | 0:09:14 |
88 | Omar Fraile (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 0:09:30 |
89 | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step | 0:09:36 |
90 | Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Trek Factory Racing | 0:10:10 |
91 | Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica GreenEdge | Row 90 - Cell 2 |
92 | Alexis Gougeard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:10:44 |
93 | Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:10:47 |
94 | Angel Vicioso (Spa) Team Katusha | 0:12:26 |
95 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin | 0:13:37 |
96 | Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka | 0:13:44 |
97 | Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:13:50 |
98 | Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:13:53 |
99 | Vicente Reynes (Spa) IAM Cycling | 0:13:57 |
100 | Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 99 - Cell 2 |
101 | Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Trek Factory Racing | Row 100 - Cell 2 |
102 | Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ.fr | Row 101 - Cell 2 |
103 | Martin Velits (Svk) Etixx - Quick-Step | Row 102 - Cell 2 |
104 | Jay McCarthy (Aus) Tinkoff-Saxo | Row 103 - Cell 2 |
105 | Martijn Keizer (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 104 - Cell 2 |
106 | Simon Pellaud (Swi) IAM Cycling | Row 105 - Cell 2 |
107 | Marcel Aregger (Swi) IAM Cycling | Row 106 - Cell 2 |
108 | Fabio Duarte (Col) Colombia | Row 107 - Cell 2 |
109 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin | Row 108 - Cell 2 |
110 | Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky | Row 109 - Cell 2 |
111 | Thierry Hupond (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin | Row 110 - Cell 2 |
112 | Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Team Katusha | Row 111 - Cell 2 |
113 | Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team | Row 112 - Cell 2 |
114 | Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team | Row 113 - Cell 2 |
115 | Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin | Row 114 - Cell 2 |
116 | Jérôme Cousin (Fra) Team Europcar | Row 115 - Cell 2 |
117 | Johan Van Summeren (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | Row 116 - Cell 2 |
118 | Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:14:22 |
119 | Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | 0:15:06 |
120 | Timo Roosen (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo | Row 119 - Cell 2 |
121 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge | 0:15:08 |
122 | Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:15:10 |
123 | Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:15:19 |