Chris Horner’s attack on the Peña Cabarga distanced the race leader and almost put the American rider back in the red jersey. With two climbing stages to go, Horner needs 3 seconds to take the lead in the Vuelta.

“Three seconds. I guess it won’t matter either way if I get dropped on one of the next two stages. We’ll have to see how things go. I can’t stress on three seconds right now. I made up a lot of time today and the gap is smaller; that’s what is important to me. The team is fantastic; I just can’t thank them enough,” Horner said to the RSLT website. 

At the foot of the climb Greg Rast and Yaroslav Popovych went flat out to ensure a good position for Horner on the climb. Matthew Busche rode next and then Robert Kiserlovski was the last teammate with Horner before he launched his attack in the closing kilometers.

“When I rode with Saunier Duval back in 2005 I lived in an apartment right over there but I never rode up this climb so I didn’t know it too well. But it was so steep it didn’t matter much. I let my legs recover on the one section that isn’t so steep, maybe that is where I lost three seconds. I’m at my best when the climb is the steepest and there is no draft so I can just go my hardest,” he said.

Initially leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) stayed on his wheel, but once Horner went to the front and rose out of the saddle with one grinding push of the pedals, Nibali was distanced and Horner was on the attack. At the finish line he gained 25 seconds, just needing three more to take over the race lead. Horner still wears the white combination jersey as the best-placed rider on GC, points and mountains classifications.

The stage was won from a solo breakaway put in by Vasil Kiryienka (Sky) with 40km to go. Taking second and third on the stage were Chris Anker Sørensen (Saxo-Tinkoff) and Adam Hansen (Lotto Belisol).

Stages 19 and 20 are both climbing stages, with opportunities to break open the race. 

“Saturday’s climb is the better day for me, but when you are going against the best guys in the world, you have to pay attention on every stage. Tomorrow could be a game of tactics. I thought I could take the jersey today but I was three seconds off. I felt confident today and very fresh from the hard work Cancellara did yesterday. But today Gregy [Rast] and Popo [Popovych] and then Busche and Robert lit it up. It was a good day, I enjoyed it. I just need to keep my form for another few days to get the red jersey and take it to Madrid,” he said.

Tomorrow’s Alto Naranco isn’t such a steep finishing climb, but Saturday’s climb to the Angliru is an “all bets are off” sort of climb where anything can happen. If Horner hasn’t taken the jersey before then, it will be the final chance to do so. Friday’s stage 19 is 181km from San Vicente de la Barquera to Oviedo.