Anton wins tough Vuelta stage
Spanish climber Igor Anton won Stage four of the 2010 Vuelta a Espana on Tuesday after three challenging climbs delivered riders to Valdepenas de Jaen.
Anton, riding for Euskaltel-Euskadi in sweltering conditions, finished ahead of Liquigas-Domino's Vincenzo Nibali and HTC-Columbia's Peter Velits.
Out of the 23-man grouping that formed during the final, category-2 climb up Alto de Valdepenas de Jaen, it was Anton who prevailed.
The Spaniard did especially well to overcome the final stretch before the finish line, where the incline briefly hit an astonishing 23 per cent.
"I knew I had to stay relaxed on the downhill of the Alto de Valdepenas even though I was worried by the attacks of Vincenzo Nibali and Luis Leon Sanchez," Anton told the press after his victory. "Fortunately they were brought back and my teammate Mikel Nieve did a fantastic job, helping me stay in the best position before the finishing climb.”
Daunting inclines faced by riders
Stage four had looked like a handful even for the more experienced climbers in the field, with three categorized climbs laid out along the 184km-stretch.
The first breakaway occured after 16km. Guilaume Bonnafond, Sergio Carrasco Garcia, Dominik Roels and Dario Cataldo rode away from the peloton, building up a lead of seven minutes.
The gap to the peloton closed up slightly after the first climb up the Alto de Zafarraya, but the quartet managed to remain 5:40 ahead.
They also held on over the second climb up the Alto de Montefrio, but looked certain to be caught by the Valdepenas.
Before the final ascent, Katusha joined Omega-Pharma Lotto at the front of the pack, hoping that Joaquin Rodriguez would outlast Omega-Pharma's Philippe Gilbert on the final climb.
As expected, the four escapees were caught on the Valdepenas, during which the peloton began to wear thin.
Spanish climber Carlos Sastre failed to hold on to the 23 riders that now took the lead, landing a blow to his hopes of claiming this year's general classification.
Out of the 23-man group, Gilbert, Frank Schleck, Denis Menchov, Anton and Rodriguez seemed poised to fight for the stage win.
Anton perseveres in final kilometer
Anton emerged as the winner on the lethal final-kilometre slope, earning his first stage win in a Grand Tour since 2006.
“My goal for the Vuelta was to win a stage. Rodriguez is very strong and I think he’s the favourite for the overall victory. I have the condition to do something good but I haven’t won any small stage race yet. I must improve gradually first,” he said, humbly understating his chances of winning the general classification.
An exhausted Gilbert crossed the line in fifth place to retain the red leader's jersey ahead of Wednesday's fifth stage. He is trailed in the overall standings by Anton and Rodriguez, who are both ten seconds behind the Frenchman.
Tags: