The Vuelta peloton is currently in the neutralised zone ahead of the official start of stage 19, which is due at 12.50 local time. The short relatively short stage seems to lend itself to a day-long break. It would be a surprise if any of the GC men were to test the water on the early ascent of the category 1 Alto de la Colladona, but then again it is Alberto Contador's third last day at the office and there might just be time for one final heist.
The general classification picture is as follows ahead of today's stage:
1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 72:03:50 2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:37 3 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:02:17 4 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin 0:02:29 5 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 0:03:34 6 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:05:16 7 Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac 0:06:33 8 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 9 Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky 0:06:47 10 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:10:26
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With only the Angliru and Madrid finishes to come after today, stage 19 is the final opportunity for the bulk of riders in the peloton to garnish their Vuelta with a stage win, and there is, as expected, an early flurry of attacks as the flag drops.
Juan Jose Lobato (LottoNL-Jumbo), Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) and Laurens De Vreese (Astana) are the first riders to try their luck, and they have opened a small gap over the peloton.
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The leading group has swelled to 19 riders with Davide Villella (Cannondale-Drapac) among those to join the fray. The Italian has a slender lead over Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) in the king of the mountains classification, but a day off the front would help him build up his buffer over the Colombian.
Rui Costa (UAE-Team Emirates), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step) Nicolas Roche (BMC), Dani Navarro (Cofidis) and green jersey Matteo Trentin (Quick-Step) are among the riders in this break of 19. It certainly has the firepower to go all the way to the line, but for now the peloton seems reticent to let them sally clear.
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The highest-placed rider in the move is Nicolas Roche (BMC), who is some 27 minutes down on general classification. The gap over the bunch is a mere 15 seconds for the time being, however.
Just as the break's gap yawns out towards the 30-second mark, Movistar and AG2R La Mondiale come to the front of the peloton in a bid to peg it back.
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It seems Movistar and AG2R La Mondiale have missed the train and will be left on the platform, tickets flapping in the breeze. The 19-man break's advantage is nudging up towards the one-minute mark.
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The 19 riders in the break are: Bob Jungels, Matteo Trentin (Quick Step), Nicolas Roche (BMC), Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Julien Duval (AG2R La Mondiale), Davide Villella (Cannondale-Drapac), Floris De Tier, Juanjo Lobato (LottoNL-Jumbo), Rui Costa, Matej Mohoric (UAE Team Emirates), Laurens De Vreese (Astana), Edward Theuns, Jarlinson Pantano (Trek-Segafredo), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Ivan Garcia Cortina (Bahrain-Merida), Dani Navarro, Kenneth Vanbilsen (Cofidis), David Arroyo (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Juan Felipe Osorio (Manzana-Postobon.
AG2R La Mondiale at least managed to place on rider - Julien Duval - in the break, but there is no such consolation for Movistar, who have endured a rather disappointing Vuelta by their normal standards, though it was perhaps to be expected considering the absence of both Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde.
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The break has 3 minutes in hand on the peloton. Chris Juul Jensen (Orica-Scott) is chasing alone, 1:27 back, while Romain Bardet (AG2R) is part of a small group that has jumped off the front of the bunch in pursuit of the earlier escapees.
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Villella and the leading group are approaching the base of the day's first ascent, the category 1 Alto de la Colladona, which climbs for 7 kilometres at an average gradient of 6.8%. Three category 3 climbs follow before the drop to the finish in Gijon.
Juul-Jensen has been joined by the Bardet group. The following nine riders reached the bottom of the climb 2:20 behind the leaders: Romain Bardet, Alexis Gougeard (AG2R La Mondiale), José Joaquin Rojas (Movistar), Antonio Pedrero (Movistar), Koen, Bouwman, Antwan Toelhoek (LottoNL-Jumbo), Carlos Verona, Christopher Juul-Jensen (Orica-Scott), Simon Clarke (Cannondale-Drapac).
The peloton, meanwhile, is some 9 minutes down on the front group.
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Villella et al are approaching the summit of the Alto de la Colladona. The Italian will expect to pick up maximum points here to add to his buffer in the mountains classification.
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There is something of a truce in the main peloton, which is content to ride a steady tempo up the Alto de la Colladona, some 12 minutes down on the leaders.
As expected, Davide Villella picks up the maximum 10 points atop the Alto de la Colladona to extend his lead over Miguel Angel Lopez in the king of the mountains competition to 17. Thomas De Gendt was second to the top, with Osorio third.
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Romain Bardet accelerated in the chasing group near the summit, meanwhile, and his efforts have helped to reduce their deficit to 1:20.
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It's been a brisk opening for the early escapees, who covered 42.5km in the first hour of racing, according to letour.fr. Their lead over the main peloton is up to 13:15.
The Bardet group is drawing ever closer to the leaders, and the gap now stands at just over a minute.
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The 19 leaders are approaching the base of the day's second climb, the category 3 Alto de Sto. Emiliano (6.8km at 4.5%), with a lead of 50 seconds over Bardet, Pedrero et al, and 13:30 over the peloton, which is being led by Team Sky.
Christopher Juul-Jensen appears to have lost contact with the Bardet group, which is down to eight riders but collaborating smoothly, and closing in on the leaders. 36 seconds the gap.
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Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) seems a little unhappy with the level of cohesion in the front group, and he clips away alone at the base of the climb.
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It initially looked as though Theuns had almost slipped off the front by accident, but he is sticking to his task and has built up a lead of 25 seconds over his erstwhile companions.
Bardet and company have joined up with the early break, making for an even more unwieldy front group. The peloton, meanwhile, is now at 15 minutes.
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Villella attacks from the break, catches and then passes Theuns. The Italian is two kilometres from the top of this climb and seeking to augment his lead in the king of the mountains classification still further.
There is precious little cohesion in this large front group, and with a lead of a quarter of an hour over the peloton, there is little incentive for them to keep forcing the pace. One imagines there will be a furthering winnowing process over the next climb. A group of 27 riders with such disparate characteristics is unlikely to survive intact into the final hour of racing.
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Davide Villella leads over the Alto de Sto. Emiliano. He has 1:05 in hand on the 26 chasers, who have caught Theuns, and 15:30 over an ambling main peloton.
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Villella hasn't relented over the top of the climb. He is around 10 kilometres from the base of the second ascent, the Alto de la Falla de Los Lobos, and he is maintaining a lead of 25 seconds over the sizeable group of chasers.
Bob Jungels hits the front of the chasers and brings some cohesion to their efforts. They catch Villella on the flat run towards the Alto de la Falla de Los Lobos. The leaders still have 15:35 in hand on Team Sky-led peloton that is more than happy to leave them to it this afternoon.
Matteo Trentin may wear the green jersey but the points classification is being led by Chris Froome. The Italian's presence in the break today will do his cause no harm, nor will the expected bunch finish in Madrid on Sunday, but he told our own Sadhbh O'Shea yesterday that the structure of the Vuelta points competition meant that he was not expecting to claim the title from Froome. Read the full story here.
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Our 27 leaders approach the foot of the Alto de la Falla de Los Lobos (4.3km at 8.2%) with a hefty advantage of 15:20 over the main peloton.
Two and a half days from the finish in Madrid, and we are yet to see a Spanish stage winner on this Vuelta. The last Vuelta without a Spanish stage winner, incidentally, was in Miguel Indurain's final race as a professional in 1996. Will Alberto Contador's final race as a professional finish rather more happily for the home country?
Contador is at least on course for a top five finish in Madrid. Indurain's final race finished rather more ignominiously when he abandoned ahead of the climb to Lagos de Covadonga on stage 13. For all the background and detail on Indurain's final Tour, Alasdair Fotheringham's Indurain biography Relentless is required reading.
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Emanuel Buchmann sets a brisk tempo at the front that splits the leading group on the short but rather stiff Alto de la Falla de Los Lobos. After that softening up process, Romain Bardet piles on the pressure with an acceleration of his own.
The selection is being made at the rear of this group as Bardet and De Gendt up the tempo. Lobato, De Vreese, Villella and Trentin are among those being left behind as the group shatters into pieces.
De Gendt is laying down a brisk tempo as he approaches the top of the climb, and only Bardet, Rui Costa, Roche, Navarro, Tolhoek, Jungels and De Tier can follow his pace.
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De Gendt leads Bardet, Rui Costa, Navarro, De Tier, Tolheok, Jungels and Roche over the summit of the Alto de la Falla de Los Lobos. The rest of the early move is scattered into small groups behind them, and this platoon of strongmen might well go the distance.
The riders at the head of the race are: Nicolas Roche (BMC), Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), Antwan Toelhoek (LottoNL-Jumbo), Floris De Tier (LottoNL-Jumbo), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step), Rui Costa (UAE-Emirates).
Nicolas Roche has committed wholeheartedly to the descent, with Bardet glued to his wheel. The Irishman is stringing out this front group, and only Bardet, Rui Costa and Jungels seem able to match his trajectories through the sweeping bends.
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De Tier seems to have been shaken loose from the front group on the descent. The men at the head of the race are now Nicolas Roche (BMC), Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), Antwan Toelhoek (LottoNL-Jumbo), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step), Daniel Navarro (Cofidis) and Rui Costa (UAE-Emirates). The remnants of the break are scattered behind them. The Sky-led peloton, meanwhile, is now 16:10 behind.
De Tier has battled his way back on in the company of Emanuel Buchmann, swelling the front group to nine riders.
Jarlinson Pantano (Trek-Segafredo) has also fought his way on, bringing the group to ten riders, but as the road flattens out, it may expand still further.
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De Gendt continues to pile on the pressure at the head of the race, but more and more riders are managing to claw their way back up to the front group. The Sky-led peloton hits the Alto de la Falla de Los Lobos some 17:45 down on the leaders.
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There are now 17 riders at the head of the race following that sorting-out process on the climb: Nicolas Roche (BMC), Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), Floris De Tier, Antwan Toelhoek (LottoNL-Jumbo), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step), Daniel Navarro (Cofidis), Jose Joaquin Rojas, Antonio Pedrero (Movistar), David Arroyo (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Matteo Trentin (Quick-Step Floors), Simon Clarke (Cannondale-Drapac), Rui Costa, Matej Mohoric (UAE Team Emirates), Ivan Garcia Cortina (Bahrain-Merida), Jarlinson Pantano (Trek-Segafredo) and Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe)
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This escapees have 18 minutes over the main peloton and form a mildly more cohesive unit than the earlier group of 27 men.
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Villella, Lobato, Bouwman and De Vreese have rejoined the front of the race to swell the break back up to 21 riders. They have 17:45 in hand on a peloton where Astana have taken up the reins.
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Trentin leads the escapees through the intermediate sprint at Pola de Siero. The Italian may not believe in his prospects of winning the points classification, but he is at least breathing some suspense into the classification ahead of the final weekend.
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There is palpable distrust among the leading group, and there is a stop-start rhythm as first Simon Clarke and then Davide Villella launch tentative attacks.
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Ivan Garcia (Bahrain-Merida) attacks from the front group and opens a small gap over his breakaway companions.
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Garcia has opened a lead of 30 seconds over the rest of the break, where nobody wants to commit to the chase.
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Garcia is ten kilometres away from the base of the final ascent of Alto de San Martín de Huerces (4.5km at 7.2%). He extends his lead to 37 seconds over the chasers. Astana rise the pace in the main peloton, which is now 15:23 down on Garcia.
Rui Costa (UAE-Team Emirates) suffers a puncture in the chasing group. The Portuguese gets a rapid wheel change, but he will have his work cut out to latch back on.
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Ivan Garcia is riding impressively at the head of the race. The Spaniard has padded out his lead to 44 seconds over Bardet, De Gendt et al.
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Matteo Trentin has surged to the front of the chasing group. The Italian puts in a long, long turn on the front, which suggests he is riding in the service of Bob Jungels.
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Garcia hits the lower slopes of the Alto de San Martín de Huerces with a lead of 54 seconds over the chasers, but that margin will surely drop once Bardet et al begin to accelerate on the final ascent.
David Arroyo accelerates as soon as the chasers hit the base of the climb. Matej Morhoric goes with him.
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Garcia is reaching the steeper pitches of the climb with a shade under 3 kilometres to the summit. The 21-year-old neo-professional hails from Gijon... This would be quite a story if he holds on for the win...
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Garcia has 57 seconds in hand on the chasers, who have pegged back Arroyo and Mohoric. The Spaniard has his jersey unzipped and is swaying from side to side, but is still climbing well.
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Bob Jungels takes over in the chasing group and lays down an imposing rhythm that stretches out the chasing group. The deficit is still 57 seconds to Garcia.
Bardet sits on Jungels' wheel but has no inclination to take up the reins when the Luxembourger swings over. Nicolas Roche senses the lull and accelerates.
Back in the peloton, meanwhile, there is a low-speed crash that sees Matvey Mamykin (Katusha-Alpecin) come down. The Russian is conscious as he lies on the road, but appears to have sustained a leg or hip injury. On first glance, it would seem his Vuelta is over.
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Romain Bardet's acceleration on the climb finally arrives. The Frenchman's vicious surge has seen him shake off the chasing group and he is making real inroads into Garcia's lead. Bardet is just 12 seconds down as he approaches the summit.
Bardet's was a rasping attack, and he is almost within sight of Garcia as he bobs from side to side against the gradient. 11 seconds the gap.
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Bardet can see the motorbikes trailing Garcia, who has reached the gentler gradients in the final 500 metres of the climb.
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Ivan Garcia leads over the Alto de San Martín de Huerces, but Romain Bardet is almost upon him.
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Bardet chases the local hero Ivan Garcia at the top of the descent. It seems they are around 15 seconds clear of Nicolas Roche et al.
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Bardet has caught Garcia and moves to the front to take a turn. Nicolas Roche and Rui Costa have formed a chasing duo at around 15 seconds.
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Bardet and Garcia are swapping turns on the descent. They should stay clear until the base of the descent, but the road flattens out in the final 3 kilometres, where it could become a drag race between two groups of two riders...
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Roche and Rui Costa have closed to within sight of Garcia and Bardet. 6 seconds the gap.
13:40 down the road, the peloton has hit the Alto de San Martín de Huerces, and Alberto Contador has attacked off the front. Ilnur Zakarin gives chase... No reaction as yet from Team Sky.
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Roche and Rui Costa catch Bardet and Garcia at the front. This quartet will fight it out for the stage honours, but the host broadcaster may well have eyes (and cameras) only for the Contador attack behind...
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Bardet, Roche, Rui Costa and Garcia are collaborating well for the time being, even if the young Spaniard is showing understandable signs of fatigue.
Contador weaves from side to side as he dances against the gradient. Zakarin has not managed to bridge up to him. He has about 40 seconds on the red jersey group per the on-screen graphics.
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Meanwhile, Nicolas Roche attacks at the head of the race and opens a gap over Bardet, Garcia and Rui Costa.
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Roche is fully committed to this effort, and is stretching out his advantage over Bardet et al.
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Bardet puts in a long turn on the front of the chase group. They are almost at Roche's coattails, but they haven't quite caught him. Jungels leads a second chasing group, which is also closing in...
Contador approaches the summit of Alto de San Martín de Huerces with a decent margin over the peloton. Could he be about to lift himself onto the podium?
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Roche is caught by Bardet, Rui Costa and Garcia at the front, but this quartet has just 11 seconds in hand on Jungels and the rest of the break. This could all come back together when the road flattens out.
Contador reaches the top of the climb with 45 seconds in hand on the Sky-led red jersey group, which has caught Zakarin.
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Jungels has led the chasers back up to Roche, Bardet, Rui Costa and Garcia. There are around a dozen riders in contention for the win in the streets of Gijon.
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Jungels, De Gendt and Navarro are among those who have joined the front group...
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Nicolas Roche accelerates once again. Navarro and Thomas De Gendt join him. This trio has opened a small gap...
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Roche leads Navarro and De Gendt into the final kilometre but Jungels is closing in...
Jungels brings the chasers back up to Roche, Navarro and De Gendt.
Roche will have to stay on the front all the way to the finish. The Irishman leads into the finishing straight with eight riders lined up on his wheel.
Ivan Garcia opens the sprint from distance but De Gendt is closing...
Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) wins stage 19 of the Vuelta a Espana in Gijon.
De Gendt was an emphatic winner in that chaotic, small group sprint, beating Jarlinson Pantano (Trek-Segafredo) and Ivan Garcia (Bahrain-Merida).
Rui Costa took fourth ahead of Floris De Tier.
Alberto Contador, meanwhile, is 8 kilometres from the finish and descending towards Gijon. He has joined his teammate Edward Theuns, who was part of the early break, and this duo has 30 seconds in hand on the Sky-led red jersey group, which contains around 40 riders.
Result:
1 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 3:35:46 2 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo 3 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Bahrain-Merida 4 Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates 5 Floris De Tier (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 6 Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors 7 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 8 Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team 9 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 10 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:45
Contador's lead begins to dwindle as he enters the final 6 kilometres. He has 22 seconds on the peloton, where Wilco Kelderman's Sunweb teammates have joined Sky in setting the pace.
Contador and Theuns reach the streets of Gijon with just 13 seconds of their advantage intact. It looks as though he will end the day with minimal gains, if any.
Contador's cameo fizzles out, and he is swept up by the bunch with 2.5 kilometres to go.
Froome briefly clasps the hand of Contador as the Spaniard drops back into the peloton.
One day less. Team Sky lead the peloton across the finish line, 12:14 down on the stage winner Thomas De Gendt. Despite Contador's pyrotechnics on the final climb, there will be no change to the upper reaches of the general classification ahead of tomorrow's showdown on the Angliru.
General classification after stage 19:
1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 75:51:51 2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:37 3 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:02:17 4 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin 0:02:29 5 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 0:03:34 6 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:05:16 7 Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac 0:06:33 8 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:06:33 9 Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky 0:06:47 10 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:10:26
Nicolas Roche (BMC) put up a very game effort indeed, but he fell short of the third Vuelta stage win of his career: It "was a strange breakaway, as the time gap was growing bigger, riders weren’t riding, they were protecting their leaders’ positions on GC, which is fair enough. Coming into the finish, I tried a couple of times but it didn’t work. The finishing group today had world-class riders. Coming into the finish today, I thought it would be a good idea to anticipate, but I had Dani Navarro on my wheel for a kilometre. They came up behind and they still wouldn’t pass. I was a bit frustrated in the last kilometre, but fair play De Gendt, he’s been in the break all year."
Winner on the Stelvio at the 2012 Giro and Mont Ventoux at last year's Tour, Thomas De Gendt has now claimed stages in all three Grand Tours. "Today was the last chance for the breakaway. Ok, tomorrow maybe, but that’s for the guys under 65 kilos and I’m not in that group so today was the last chance," he says. "We had a fantastic Vuelta with the team, with already three victories and today is the cherry on the top for me."
De Gendt explains his approach in the finale: "The last climb was really steep. I had to go full just to keep the wheel of Bob Jungels. There were four guys away so I thought we were going to ride for 5th position but the gap was never more than 15 seconds and we were going full to catch them back. Nobody was skipping a turn. Once we caught them, it was like poker. I had good cards so I had to go all in when Nicolas Roche went in the final. I didn’t want to miss any breaks. I have a good sprint but I didn’t know all the guys, the guy from Bahrain was really strong in the sprint. I was on the wheels in the final kilometre and I launched the sprint, I just went full and did the sprint of my life."
Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) explains his late attack: "I rode with my heart today, I’m aware of these stages I’m not really going to be allowed to win but today I had good sensations and I thought I’d go for it. Tomorrow’s going to be hard for sure, definitely I’m going to try and gain some time It’s very cold but it’s also short. I think it will be crazy."
Chris Froome (Sky) moves a day closer to completing the Tour-Vuelta double. He needs to stay within 1:37 of Vincenzo Nibali on the Angliru tomorrow and the race is his. "For us today, and for me certainly, it was about saving as much energy as possible and get through the day without any big issues. I’m quite happy to put today behind us, and we’re just focusing everything on tomorrow now," Froome says. "Of course it’s extremely hard climb the Angliru. I don’t think it’s just going to be on the final tomorrow, it’s a very short stage - 117km - we could see fireworks from the start tomorrow and there are some other tough climbs before the Angliru."
A full report, results and pictures from today's stage are available here.
Result:
1 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 3:35:46 2 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo 3 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Bahrain-Merida 4 Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates 5 Floris De Tier (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 6 Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors 7 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 8 Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team 9 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 10 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:45
General classification after stage 19:
1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 75:51:51 2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:37 3 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:02:17 4 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin 0:02:29 5 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 0:03:34 6 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:05:16 7 Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac 0:06:33 8 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:06:33 9 Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky 0:06:47 10 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:10:26
Thanks for joining our live coverage on Cyclingnews. We'll be back with more from the short but decisive penultimate leg to the Angliru tomorrow.
