Vuelta a Espana 2017: Stage 10

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January 1 - September 10, Caravaca, Nîmes, Road - WorldTour

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Stage 9 report: Froome wins and extends overall lead

Adam Yates: I’m still aiming for GC at Vuelta a Espana

I hope you didn't miss us too much yesterday. We're back racing today with stage 10 of the Vuelta a Espana. There are a flurry of riders making their way to the sign on stage, with the peloton set to roll out in just over 20 minutes. 

Chris Froome has just arrived on stage to sign on. He says to the MC: "I think today with the weather is going to be a tough stage."

As Froome referred to, the weather in Spain today is not so great. There's a touch of rain at the start and we can expect more throughout the day. Koen de Kort jokingly called it 'Dutch weather' as he made his way from the sign on stage. 

Chris Froome goes into today's stage with a 36-second advantage over Esteban Chaves in the overall classification after winning Sunday's stage to Cumbre del Sol. Things are still fairly close together and today could be a chance to gain or lose time with that lengthy descent towards the line. 

Alberto Contador has just been up on stage with some children in the crowd singing his name as he signed on. Contador says that he knows the route and is expecting it to be a complicated day, particularly with the weather forecast. 

If you were otherwise occupied yesterday and didn't have a chance to listen to our rest day podcast, do it now! You can find it here. 

More on the weather situation today from our reporter on the ground, Alasdair Fotheringham. The rain is falling quite heavily at the start and there is even more on the main climb of the day the Collado Bermejo, which could make the descent very tricky. It is the first time in months that it has rained here, which could also mean more than the usual amount of punctures. 

Today is jokingly described as a transition day on the Vuelta's website. While there is a large section of flat/descent in the first 125km of today's stage, there is a first category climb to contend with. The Collado Bermejo will force some splits as will the descent down the other ride. 

The riders have set off through the neutral section. Racing is expected to start at 13:20 local time. 

There are just 13 points available on today's stage in the mountains classification, which means that Davide Villella will be safe in his jersey. However, we can probably expect to see him try to get into the breakaway as he looks to add a few more points to his tally. 

One of the big news stories over the weekend was that the Cannondale team is frantically searching for an investment of 7 million euros after a prospective sponsor pulled out. Rumour has it that the sponsor that pulled the plug was Unibet. Whatever the score, Cannondale has had to tell its riders that they are free to look for other teams. Classics rider Sep Vanmarcke has said that he cannot afford to wait for the team to find a new sponsor. 

Romain Bardet got himself a haircut ahead of the stage. Not sure it will help him go too much faster on the climbs. Now sitting over 10 minutes down in the overall classification, Bardet said this morning that stage victories are his aim in the remaining two weeks of the Vuelta a Espana. 

The flag for racing has dropped and the 179 riders that finished Sunday's stage have started today. No abandons over the rest day. 

The first attack of the day comes from Aqua Blue rider Michel Kreder. The Dutchman took a flyer after two kilometres of racing but has been quickly brought back by the peloton. Getting into the break has been a very hard task at the Vuelta, unlike this year's Tour, and it's not going to change today. 

Kreder had Rohan Dennis for a bit of company but their attack did not get any further than the four kilometre mark. Riders continue to try to get off the front, but so far nothing is sticking. 

A few journalists have posted video footage of the Collado Bormejo and the rain is pretty torrential there. We will have to wait and see if the organisers make a call on neutralising the descent or if they will let the riders race down it. 

I mentioned punctures earlier and Esteban Chaves has already fallen foul of them after 10km of racing. He's had to pop back to the car to get a new wheel. The peloton still together as the rain hammers down on them. 

The big problem is that as it hasn't rained in so long, this rain will wash a lot of dirt and debris across the road, causing there to be more punctures than usual. This area of the world isn't that used to rain so the roads are likely to get much slippier than if they were in northern Spain. 

And we have another puncture with Nicolas Roche paying a visit to the team car. It's still all together in the bunch. 

Away from the racing, Mikel Landa has added another project to his repertoire. He's already started up a cycling website with a friend and now he is set to take over the Fundacion Euskadi team with a former teammates. You can read about that and more in our latest edition of news shorts. 

The race is in Murcia at the moment, the home of three professional riders. Luis Leon Sanchez and Ruben Fernandez are both from the region, as is Alejandro Valverde. The latter is not racing at the Vuelta after his huge Tour de France crash, but he did pay his teammates a visit yesterday. 

Bob Jungels is on the attack after 24 kilometres. He's got a very small advantage on the bunch at the moment. 

Jungels has been reeled back in but there are plenty more riders keen to take his place at the head of affairs. Almost 30km of racing done already today. 

FDJ's Arnaud Courteille says that they will be looking to make it into the breakaway again. There have been a couple of breakaway wins already and Courteille says that Team Sky will not seek to control the bunch every day. 

Still no breakaway out there as the peloton battles the elements. It's a balmy 18 degrees out there and there's a slight cross headwind coming across from the right. 

The riders are on a gradual descent at the moment, which won't help the efforts of the breakaway. It will be another 10-15 kilometres before the road levels out. 

The riders have almost 50 kilometres under their belts now and still no breakaway up the road. 

The pace is taking its toll on the peloton and riders are being shelled out the back of the bunch. Around 20 have lost touch as more riders try to attack off the front. 

The World Championships are just a few weeks away and the first teams have been announced. The Dutch have confirmed a very strong line-up set to start in Bergen. Read the full story here. 

The dropped riders have regained contact with the peloton. It's gruppo compatto after 60 kilometres of racing. 

Romain Bardet is riding two Grand Tours in a season for the first time in his career. The AG2R La Mondiale rider told the L'Equipe that he is learning about himself riding the Vuelta and having some fun too. 

If today was to go most of the distance without a break, it wouldn't be the first time at this year's Vuelta a Espana that it had happened. Stage 2 to Gruissan only saw the peloton break up in the final eight kilometres of the stage.

If today was to go most of the distance without a break, it wouldn't be the first time at this year's Vuelta a Espana that it had happened. Stage 2 to Gruissan only saw the peloton break up in the final eight kilometres of the stage.

A group of seven riders tried to break free but again found themselves back in the clutches of the peloton soon enough. Daniel Oss is now having a go. BMC Racing has been a consistent presence in the break attempts today. 

Oss has been joined by Lasse Norman Hansen. The pair has just 20 seconds on the peloton but it's the most that anyone has had all day. 

It looked like we might get a move that might hold for a little longer but Hansen and Oss have been brought back by the peloton and as we reach the halfway point there is still no breakaway. 

It is highly possible that the group will stay together until the intermediate sprint and maybe even the climb. 

The rain is still falling hard out there. The wind direction has changed for the bunch with a lighter cross tailwind, compared to the earlier cross headwind. It's getting a little warmer at 23 degrees now. 

An image of the splits in the bunch earlier on. Nice weather for ducks, not so much for cyclists. 

The rain has finally eased off as the peloton splits into three groups. Some big names caught behind, including Wout Poels who is in that third group 1:44 behind the leading group. Froome is in group two. There are about 20 riders in this leading group. 

Some solid riders in this leading group, including Trentin, Oss, Lobato and Terpstra. Lots of shouting as they try to rally the troops and get this one away. 

70km remaining from 164km

It looks like this will finally be the breakaway after almost 90 kilometres of racing as many riders move off to the side to take a comfort break. 

Apologies it is De Marchi rather than Oss in that leading group. There are 18 riders in total out there and they are: Jaime Roson, Jose Joaquin Rojas, Luis Leon Sanchez, Valerio Agnoli, Alessandro De Marchi, Marc Soler, Alexandre Geniez, Arnaud Courteille, Bert-Jan Lindeman, Julien Bernard, Matteo Trentin, Jacques Janse van Rensburg, Juan Jose Lobato, Rafael Reis, Nico Denz, Niki Terpstra, Michael Morkov and Domen Novak.

There are a few riders in this breakaway that have come close to a stage win at this year's Vuelta a Espana. Matteo Trentin the only rider in this group that has done it though. Trentin won on stage 4 and is currently in the lead of the points competition. 

The peloton is looking much more relaxed now and the riders are laughing and joking. David Lopez appears to have nicked Chris Froome's glasses. He's got a pair on his face and another set in his helmet. He hands one of the pairs to his team leader, much to Froome's delight. 

61km remaining from 164km

Michael Morkov has not had a shot at victory at this year's Vuelta a Espana, but he pointed out this morning on social media that it is four years to the day that he won a stage of the Vuelta. It's a day that probably sticks with a lot of cycling fans. It was the day that Tony Martin went on an epic solo break, only to be caught in the final metres. 

4:48 is now the advantage for the breakaway. With the break being given so much space this late in the day, it is more thank likely that the winner of today's stage is going to come from this move. 

As mentioned before, the race is the home region of Luis Leon Sanchez, so he will be highly motivated today. If that wasn't enough, he will be spurred on from the disappointment of stage 6 when he sat up in the breakaway only for the move to succeed. 

Ian Stannard and Christian Knees are manning the peloton for Team Sky as they have been throughout the Vuelta so far. There is now impetus in the peloton and the break continues to extend their lead. 5:14 is the latest gap. 

Matteo Trentin mops up the points at the intermediate sprint. He actually lost the lead in the points classification over the weekend and is wearing the jersey for Chris Froome today. The three points earned at the sprint puts him three points behind Froome in the classification. If he can finish in the top places today then he should take back the lead in that classification. 

47km remaining from 164km

Vincenzo Nibali was one of the many GC contenders speaking to the press yesterday. He told reporters that Froome had been the most explosive rider and the strongest so far in this Vuelta, but that his Bahrain-Merida team had been going well, according to the computers. Read the full story here. 

Vincenzo Nibali was one of the many GC contenders speaking to the press yesterday. He told reporters that Froome had been the most explosive rider and the strongest so far in this Vuelta, but that his Bahrain-Merida team had been going well, according to the computers. Read the full story here. 

The leaders are onto the first of two climbs today. The Alto del Morron de Totana is a third category ascent. There is a minimal amount of descending before they're climbing again. In reality it is basically one climb today there are just more points available in the KOM competition. 

Luis Leon Sanchez told the La Vuelta website before the stage that the descent could be very tricky if the roads are wet. The rain stopped a little while ago, but we'll have to wait and see how well the roads have dried out in that time. 

37km remaining from 164km

Jacques Janse van Renseburg has gone on the attack. It's not a punchy attack, he just ups the pace a little bit and moves slowly off the front. He's got a small gap on the group with just over 2 kilometres to the top of the climb. 

34km remaining from 164km

Trentin, Lindeman and Reis have set off in chase of Janse van Rensburg as the riders head down this very short descent. 

At present, Janse van Rensburg has 20 seconds on the three chasers and a further 9 seconds on the group behind. Suaza is still well over four minutes behind the main escape group, let alone the leader. 

30km remaining from 164km

Team Sky has pushed the pace up in the peloton as lots of the GC riders move to the front. The road gets very technical from here and nobody wants to find themselves caught out by a crash or a split.

Trentin and his cohorts were caught while the camera was on the peloton so Rojas is just chasing down Janse van Rensburg and he's almost across the gap. 

28km remaining from 164km

Janse van Rensburg has been caught by the three chasers and Roson is trying to push on from this leading group. 

Roson has 11 seconds on the group behind. Not very much at all when you consider the length of the descent. Trentin was dropped briefly but is crawling his way back. 

Trentin riding a very good race here at the moment. He would surely be favourite if he can keep the leaders at close quarters on the ascent. Rojas obviously has a fast kick, but Trentin is definitely stronger in the sprint. 

Janse van Rensburg is having a little bit of trouble hanging on after his earlier efforts but he has not been distanced by too much and could still get back to the leading group. 

Janse van Rensburg is back with the leaders, who have 23 seconds on the chasers. Trentin working on the front. Not a bad job for a rider largely considered to be a sprinter. 

24km remaining from 164km

5:20 further back down the road, Bahrain-Merida has taken control of the peloton. They're really forcing things along up the climb. The peloton is quickly shrinking. 

The chase group has been reduced to just six riders. They are: Sanchez, Geniez, Agnoli, De Marchi, Soler and Courteille.

23km remaining from 164km

And Trentin has put in a huge dig on the front of this leading group. Roson has to work hard to keep up with him and he's looking very strong at the moment. He zips up his jersey ready for the descent.

De Marchi and Courteille are 25 seconds back on this leading group with the four other chasers a further 10 seconds back. 

Rojas is helping Trentin on the front. The four will work together for now, but we can expect plenty of attacks towards the end because Roson and Janse van Rensberg will not want to come to the line with Rojas and Trentin. 

Team Sky shedding riders under the pace of Bahrain-Merida. They still have three with Froome, Moscon, Rosa and Poels. Chaves is locked onto the back wheel of Froome. 

The leaders are over the top of the climb. Geniez and Soler are now trying to bridge back on the descent. Geniez adopting his usually terrifying descent style. Let's see if it works. 

Nibali has lost all his teammates and he takes up the front as the bunch goes over the top of the climb. Will he try to make time on the descent?

Nibali is going for it. He's got Chaves in his wheel and Froome is third wheel and there are gaps appearing behind Froome. 

The road is mostly dry but there are a few wet patches waiting to catch people out. Nibali is not giving anything away on this descent. Hold onto your hats!

In the lead group, Janse van Rensburg has been dropped. He's lost about 5-10 seconds to his former companions. 

Reports coming in that Mate has crashed on the descent. No news on his condition. 

Trentin is leading the way for the three leaders. Roson is on the back of that group and is having to work very hard to keep up. Meanwhile, Nibali has developed a small gap on the other GC contenders. 

This is the type of descent that would make even the sternest of stomachs carsick. Nibali is scything down it though. 

14km remaining from 164km

The Trentin group is 10 seconds ahead of Janse van Rensburg now. Soler and Geniez are at 29 seconds to the leading trio. 

There is a rider in red kit with Chaves, just behind Nibali. It seems is is a BMC rider rather than the race leader. 

It is Roche with Chaves and it looks like the dancing figure of Contador is on the back of that group. 

9km remaining from 164km

NIbali has finally been brought back by the Roche group. Froome is near the back of this group and he has a teammate with him, it appears to be Moscon. Roche is now the rider pushing on the pace. 

Roche has now attacked and he passes Niki Terpstra who was in the breakaway earlier on. 

6km remaining from 164km

The gap is growing to Roson and Janse van Rensburg. Rojas and Trentin have 30 seconds on the two chasers now. It looks like it is going to be a head-to-head battle between these two fast man. 

Roche still up ahead of the leader's group. It seems that one of the Yates brothers is leading the Froome group down. Nibali, Contador, Chaves and Van Garderen also in there. 

2km remaining from 164km

Trentin would be the bet for today's win but this is home ground for Rojas so he will be very determined to take the win. 

The leaders are under the flamme rouge. 

Trentin looks over his shoulder. He can sense that Soler and Geniez are not too far behind. 

Rojas leads the sprint out

Trentin surges past Rojas though. He has so much more power. Trentin takes the win. 

Roson crosses the line 20 seconds later. He thumps the handlebars in frustration. Next time Jaime. 

As Trentin takes the plaudits, the GC riders are still making their way to the finish. 

Most of the main GC riders seem to be in that group with Froome. There are a couple still chasing on, including de la Cruz and Zakarin. 

Te dribs and drabs of the escape group are making it across the line. This was supposedly a transfer day. Not so. It was a very tough day in the saddle, particularly with the weather at the start. 

Roche comes across the line 4:02 after the lead group. Let's see how much time he makes up.

It looks to be about 29 seconds as the group of favourites cross the line. 

That should put Roche equal on time with Chaves.

This is how the stage finished today. 

Confirmation that Roche is equal on time with Chaves at 36 seconds behind the race leader Froome. This is a look at the top 10 after today's stage. 

So Roche is the only mover in the top 10 after that stage. It was a canny move by the BMC rider. He knew it would be hard to make time on Froome on the climbs. With much bigger threats to worry about in the group of favourites, he was able to slip up the road. He'll likely have to do it again to maintain his podium spot but that is a solid effort. 

Nibali put on a good show on the descent, but it came to nought. It will be a nice salve for his confidence, but he will have to come up with something else if he wants to improve on his fourth place. 

Here is the moment that Matteo Trentin took the stage win. 

Trentin's win is his second of the Vuelta a Espana and Quick-Step Floors' fourth. The Belgian team has now won 14 Grand Tour stages this year with five in both the Giro and the Tour. 

Trentin had this to say after the stage: "I really wanted it. It was for a while I was thinking about this stage because the climb was hard, but it was a steady grind," said Trentin. "It was something that I can handle pretty good. I knew the downhill was really technical. For me it was good having Rojas in the front group because he was really really good going down. I could just follow him. To be honest, when he was really pushing, I’m a good downhiller I think, but I was a bit in trouble to follow him. We could distance all the other guys on the downhill, then it was good in the sprint.

For today's report, results and gallery head here.

Cofidis reports that Luis Angel Mate has not suffered any serious injuries after crashing on the descent of the Collado Bormejo. He managed to get back up and finish the stage. 

With his stage win, Trentin moves back into the lead of the points classification. He was wearing the jersey today, but it was Froome that actually led the competition. 

Tomorrow's stage will be another stern test for the GC contenders. The Vuelta organisers appear to have taken to comedy because after describing today as a transitional stage, they have called tomorrow a medium mountain stage. It will be a tough day with two first category climbs one after the other, including the summit finish to the Observatorio Astronómico de Calar Alto.

Froome's lead in the overall classification remains intact, even if it is now two riders on the 36-second mark. Froome said after the stage that he was not going to take risks on the descent and congratulated Roche on his ride today.

Luis Leon Sanchez was one of many local riders in the bunch today, along with JJ Rojas. He had been one of the pre-stage favourites but he wasn't able to make it work for him today. He had this to say after the stage. 

Roche said after the stage that he only decided to try and go on the descent when Nibali managed to go clear. 

There were a lot of muddy bikes at the end of today's stage. 

Rojas was obviously quite disappointed after today's stage. He said that there was little that he could do against Trentin in the finale. 

You can read through a selection of post-stage reactions here. 

BMC's Nicolas Roche on the solo bid that earned him 29 seconds in the general classification:

Finally, we have the video highlights from the stage today. You can check them out here.

Thanks for following today's stage with Cyclingnews. Tune in tomorrow for the first major summit finale of the race.

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