Cobo Acebo wins 15th stage and celebrates overall lead in Vuelta A Espana 2011 – Cycling Update
Geox-TMC team’s Juan Jose Cobo Acebo showed a good performance in stage 15 of Vuelta a Espana 2011 on Sunday, September 4. He also took the overall leader’s yellow jersey.
The race started in Avilers and ended in Angliru. The 30-year-old Spanish road racing cyclists took a total of 4 hours, 1 minute and 56 seconds to cover the distance of 144 kilometres.
Wout Poels of Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling was runner-up with 48 seconds behind the Spaniard. His team-mate Denis Menchov finished third ahead of Christopher Froome (Sky).
After winning the stage, Cobo told the media, “I’m very tired – everybody is at this point [in the race] but nobody could get around me today, which was good, I can enjoy this victory because this job is my passion, I thought about leaving the sport but
this is very important to me.”
The group of three cyclists got away early in the stage including Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Cervélo), Dimitry Champion (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Simon Geschke (Skil Shimano). With 80 kilometres remaining, all of them gained a lead of six minutes.
After 17 kilometres, the break extended their lead of 5 minutes and 10 kilometres later they dropped 2 minutes and 10 seconds. In the first Alto del Tenebredo climb, Geschke increased his pace and dropped the two breakaway riders.
In the second climb, David Moncoutie, Dan Martin and Carlos Sastre worked well together in the front of the field while Moncoutie gained maximum points. In the final kilometres, Wout Poels tried his best to take lead and launched an attacked with Menchov
but failed. Geox-TMC team controlled the situation and Cobo Acebo crossed the finish line ahead of the other cyclists.
Bradley Wiggins (Sky Procycling), Igor Anton Hernandez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Katusha Team) were in fifth, sixth and seventh place respectively.
Recently, Cobo took the third place in Trofeo Deia and overall third place in Vuelta a Burgos. He also grabbed first place in Vuelta a Castilla y Leon.
Simon Geschke took the title of most combative rider. Cobo Acebo took the overall standing with the timing of 59 hours, 57 minutes and 16 seconds.
Sky Procycling team’s Christopher Froome was in second place 20 seconds down to the Spaniard. Bradley Wiggins finished third with the difference of 46 seconds ahead of Bauke Mollema of Rabobank Cycling and Maxime Monfort.
David Moncoutie took the title of overall King of Mountain with 60 points ahead of Matteo Montaguti.
After one day of rest the next stage will run in Villa Romana La Olmeda (Palencia) and end in Haro. All the cyclists will cover the distance of 180 kilometres.
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