Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) lived up to expectations when he won today’s time trial of the Vuelta a Espana after a close battle with his teammate Rigoberto Uran and archrival Fabian Cancellara (Trek). Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) did a great time trial by taking fourth and took over the leader’s jersey after Nairo Quintana (Movistar) crashed on a descent and lost more than 3 minutes to the Tinkoff captain.

 

One year ago Tony Martin was beaten by Fabian Cancellara in the long Vuelta a Espana time trial after a close battle between the two TT giants. This year the German was determined to get his revenge when the riders tackled a 36.7km time trial in the northern part of Spain.

 

This time there was no one beating the German who covered the course in a time of 47.2 to beat the Swiss rival by 18 seconds. Having gained time on the Trek rider throughout the entire course, the German excelled on a hilly course that suited him perfectly.

 

Surprisingly, his biggest rival was neither Cancellara nor Chris Froome (Sky). Instead, his teammate Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) confirmed his excellent progress in the discipline by finishing second, just 15 seconds off the mark set by the German stage winner. The Colombian had been faster than the specialists in the uphill first part but was unable to match their speed when it all came down to power on the slightly descending roads to the finish in Borja.

 

The second big winner of the day was Alberto Contador who again confirmed that he has arrived in Spain with a much better condition than he initially claimed. The Spaniard was faster than anybody else on the early climb and even though he lost ground in the second half, his fourth place was enough to take the leader’s jersey off Nairo Quintana’s shoulders.

 

The Colombian was the big loser after he had gone down in a crash on the descent just after the passage of the top of the climb. He went too fast into a corner and hit the deck hard before lying on the ground for a long time. He got back on his bike and finished the stage but his time loss of more than 3 minutes saw him slip to 11th in the overall standings.

 

Another big loser was Froome who could only manage 10th and was beaten by several GC rivals. The Brit was expected to take the overall lead but could only maintain his fifth place and is now 1.18 behind Contador.

 

Alejandro Valverde kept Movistar’s options alive by producing a splendid ride to take 8th and is now second overall, 27 seconds behind Contador. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) also did a surprisingly good performance with 17th to keep his overall options open.

 

Contador faces a hard first day in the leader’s jersey as tomorrow’s stage is the third mountaintop finish of the race. After a flat first halp, the riders tackle two climbs in the finale, with the latter leading to the finish and being the hardest finishing climb of the race so far.

 

A hilly course

After a well-deserved rest day, the Vuelta a Espana riders tackled one of the most important sages of the race on day 10. The 36.7km time trial started in Real Monasterio de Sta. Maria de Veruela and ended in Borja and was a very mixed affair. After a first part that included a very irregular climb, the second part consisted of long, slightly descending roads that suited the specialists perfectly.

 

The first rider down the ramp was Matteo Pelucchi (IAM) but he wasn’t the first rider to cross the line. Instead, Carlos Betancur (Ag2r) got a rare chance to lead a time trial but he was quickly beaten by Luke Rowe (Sky).

 

Sergent crushes the opposition

Jonathan Fumeaux (IAM) beat the Brit but the first good time was set by Daniil Fominykh (Astana) who lowered the mark by 1.39. However, he didn’t even lead the stage for a minute as Gert Joeaar (Cofidis) went 18 seconds faster.

 

At this point, however, it was clear that Jesse Sergent (Trek) was on a great ride. The Kiwi had been clearly the fastest at both checks and when he crossed the line, his time of 48.15 was 1.37 faster than Joeaar’s.

 

Malori second

Damien Gaudin (Ag2r) was no threat to Sergent who was expected to come under threat by Adriano Malori (Movistar). However, the Italian lost time throughout the entire course and at the finish, he was almost a minute behind Sergent in second.

 

David Millar (Garmin) slotted into third in one of the last time trials of his long career while Patrick Gretsch (Ag2r) was only slightly slower in fourth. Belgian champion Kristof Vandewalle (Trek) suffered on the hilly course and he could only manage 21st at the finish.

 

Bodnar fades

Dario Cataldo (Sky) had a disappointing ride as he could only manage 8th at the finish. Michael Valgren (Tinkoff) did a surprisingly good performance by taking 6th.

 

Maciej Bodnar (Cannondale) was only 1 second behind Sergent at the top of the climb but the Pole lost time in the second part. At the finish, he could only manage 7th, losing 1.52 to Sergent.

 

Best time for Cancellara

At this point, however, it was clear that Cancellara would set the best time. The Swiss gained time between all time checks and his time of 47.20 was 55 seconds better than his teammate’s.

 

Stef Clement (Belkin) slotted into 7th before Rohan Dennis (BMC) completed a consistent ride by taking 5th. Bart De Clercq (Lotto Belisol) did surprisingly well to take 6th before Johan Le Bon (FDJ) slotted into 8th.

 

Jungels continues great Trek performance

While Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar) was far off the mark after having saved energy for later stages, Bob Jungels (Trek) continued the great showing by his American team. He stopped the clock in a time of 48.41 to make it three Trek riders in the top 4.

 

That didn’t last for long though as Martin was about to finish his ride. The German had gradually gained time on Cancellara in all parts of the course and at the finish, he was 18 seconds faster than Cancellara.

 

Great ride by Evans

Tobias Ludvigsson (Giant-Shimano) did well to slot into 7th before Luis Leon Sanchez (Caja Rural) took 9th.  Tanel Kangert (Astana) bounced back from a couple of disappointing performances by relegating Ludvigsson to 8th.

 

Cadel Evans (BMC) bounced back in a surprisingly good way by taking third but all eyes were now on Jerome Coppel (Cofidis). The Frenchman had been faster than Martin at the first check but as he lost ground all the way to the finish he could only manage 6th.

 

Serry 6th

Dominik Nerz (BMC) was the next rider to crack the top 10 but he was quickly relegated to 11th by a surprisingly strong Romain Sicard (Europcar) who slotted into 8th. Pieter Serry (OPQS) did an outstanding performance by taking 6th.

 

The GC riders had now hit the course and the first encouraging performance was delivered by Daniel Navarro (Cofidis). The Frenchman had been very fast at the top of the climb but was just outside the top 10 at the finish.

 

Sanchez slots into third

Wilco Kelderman (Belkin) had a very bad day and finished outside the top 20 while Damiano Caruso (Cannondale) did surprisingly well to slot into 13th. However, the attention was now on Samuel Sanchez (BMC) who had posted the fastest time at the top of the climb and finished the stage in the third best time.

 

Johan Esteban Chaves (Orica) delivered a disastrous performance to finish outside the top 140 and he was almost caught by his compatriot Uran. The Colombian had been slightly faster than Martin at the second check but at the finish, he had to settle for second.

 

Bad day for Froome

Robert Gesink (Belkin) took the 13th best time while Fabio Aru took 16th. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) did well to limit his losses, slotting into 13th.

 

A day of suffering for Froome came to an end when he stopped the clock in the 8th best time before Winner Anacona (Lampre-Merida) surprised most by taking 13th. Alejandro Valverde had done a great performance by taking second at the top of the climb and he maintained his speed sufficiently to slot into 7th.

 

Quintana the big loser

Contador had been faster than anyone else on the climbs but he was unable to keep up with the more powerful riders in the second part. At the finish, he was fourth, 39 seconds off Martin’s mark.

 

Quintana had started his stage well by taking 5th at the top of the climb but moments later he had gone down in a crash. He suffered violently in the second part of the course and finished outside the top 80 to drop to 11th in the overall standings.