With tomorrow’s stage featuring four mountain passes, it came as no surprise that the general classification riders were happy to preserve their energy for much of the day.
Advertisement
Frenchman Kenny Elissonde and Russia’s Egor Silin were second and third respectively, seven and nine seconds behind Gesink.
“My calendar and Froome’s has been pretty similar, in terms of wear and tear, this season, and also my legs feel exhausted at this point of the year. but I hope to keep it going into this final week, hopefully better than Chris, to conserve this leader’s jersey”.
However, every time the Colombian opened up a gap the three-time Tour de France victor responded and was quickly back on his wheel.
However, Alejandro Valverde, Quintana’s Movistar partner, had a day to forget as the 36-year-old slipped from third to 19th overall after finishing almost 11 minutes back.
URDAX, Spain (AP) – Valerio Conti successfully broke away Friday to win the Spanish Vuelta’s long 13th stage, while Nairo Quintana kept his overall lead.
Quintana’s compatriot Johan Esteban Chaves climbed up to third overall after finishing ninth in the 196km journey from Urdax-Dantxarinea to Col d’Aubisque.
Three-time Vuelta victor Alberto Contador also lost another 20 seconds on Froome and Quintana to slip to sixth overall, behind Froome’s Sky teammate Leopold Konig.
“We knew that the breakaway would go to the end because we had a huge advantage. This morning I felt ideal”.
Quintana made his first attack eight kilometres from the finish, but found Froome impossible to distance as he failed to gain the increased advantage he has admitted he needs to hold onto the lead after an individual time trial on stage 19.
The weekend’s stages look set to be a head-to-head between the top two as Froome continues his quest to become the first rider in 38 years to win both the Vuelta and the Tour de France in the same season.
Advertisement
A final attempt in sight of the summit finish also proved futile, leaving Quintana a little frustrated despite holding onto the leader’s red jersey.
