Vuelta a Espana 2013: Daniel Moreno Headlines Stage 10 Contenders

Currently sitting atop the overall standings, Daniel Moreno has come to be a fairly surprising success of this year’s Vuelta a Espana.

Winning Stage 9 in impressive fashion, Moreno now finds himself atop the overall leaderboard, as Sky Sports Cycling tweeted:

The Spaniard has done terrifically well to place among the top riders of almost every mountain stage this past week, but has performed not quite so well along the flat routes.

However, given that the majority of the event’s stages include mountainous inclines and terrains, the 31-year-old can be hopeful of seeing his success continue for some weeks to come.

The only race of his type that Moreno failed to perform in this week was Thursday’s Stage 6 trip from Guijuelo to Caceres, where he could only manage a finish of 81st.

For the most part, though, the Katusha representative has looked good in steep climates, winning two of the five mountainous stages and coming second in another two.

Alejandro Valverde and Nicolas Roche will be two other names drawing the gaze as we head into Stage 10, but neither has managed quite the same consistency as Moreno.

Of course, his shortcomings in the sprint mean that Moreno will still find it hard to challenge for silverware in the Vuelta a Espana, but can hope that his strengths are enough to flatten out any weaknesses.

Stage 10’s first real test comes about 25 kilometres in, where riders will begin their ascent of La Cerradura, after which they won’t come back down for another 50 kilometres.

It’s here that Moreno should look to make the best use of his power on the climb.

That’s before the toughest peaks of the competition thus far make their appearance. The Alto de Monachil is a peak reaching almost one-and-a-half miles in height and will really separate the two packs that are likely to have been established at this point.

After a short descent, it’s then back up the Guejar Sierra and onto Stage 10’s finish: the 1.675-mile high Alto de Hazallanas.

In the biggest climbs that the riders will have faced at the Vuelta a Espana this year, Moreno will be among the leaders if he’s able to maintain the form that’s been evident for much of the campaign this far.