Wednesday was a day for the GC contenders to stay alert and remain close to the front on stage 17 of the Vuelta a España into Burgos. While other riders lost some ground, Chris Horner (RadioShack-Leopard) held firm to stay in contention for the overall win.

“The last kilometres were really complicated,” Horner explained on the RadioShack-Leopard website. “The first two-thirds of the race were incredibly boring and uneventful with no excitement. Then the last one-third was incredibly fun and dangerous. Cancellara was amazing. There were probably seven Saxo riders on the front and Fabian just took me past all of them and then pulled for another 2km or more. For me it was the difference today and I thank him for staying in the race as long as he did after winning the time trial. He was unbelievable in the beginning of the mountain stages and amazing today.”

Cancellara finished fifth today and subsequently left the Vuelta to return to Switzerland to complete his final preparation of the forthcoming world championships.

It’s back to the mountains again on Thursday for stage 18. The stage begins in Burgos and ends atop the Peña Cabarga after 186.5km and five climbs, including the uphill finish with a section at 20%. The Peña Cabarga has provided plenty of racing excitement in past races and with only three climbing stages to go and plenty of opportunists still in the hunt for time, should once again figure prominently in la Vuelta.

“Tomorrow could be a very big day,” Horner acknowledged. We don’t know how much affect it will have on the race but it will certainly be the stage for all the fans to watch from the couch. Grab your beer and get ready for the show!”