Vuelta a Espana 2015: Stage 11 Results, General Classification and Highlights
Mikel Landa of Astana won Stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana after a gruelling and controversial race between Andorra la Vella to Cortals d'Encamp.
The Spaniard pulled away in the final kilometres from the leaders and cruised over the line after a brave move to race ahead of Italy's Fabio Aru.
Team Sky's Ian Boswell took third in his first Grand Tour as the 24-year-old made a final drive for the line.
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Here are the full results and updated general classification standings:
| 1 | Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 4:34:54 |
| 2 | Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:01:22 |
| 3 | Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky | 0:01:40 |
| 4 | Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Team Katusha | 0:01:57 |
| 5 | Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Team Katusha | 0:01:59 |
| 6 | Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo | 0:02:10 |
| 7 | Mikel Nieve (Spa) Team Sky | 0:02:10 |
| 8 | Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica GreenEdge | 0:02:59 |
| 9 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin | 0:02:59 |
| 10 | Diego Rosa (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:03:02 |
It was billed as the hardest Grand Tour stage ever, with a total of six categorised climbs throughout the day. Sky Sports shared the shear madness of Wednesday's challenge, with Tour de France champion Chris Froome taking a fall in the opening minutes:
Froome was soon back on his bike, and the Brit was back chasing, but he clearly struggled to make a full impression on the stage after the incident.
Movistar and Astana held the peloton together over the first climbs, until the leading group fragmented and split into six sections, with Froome in the last grouping. The rider looked distressed as he attempted to proceed, but he appeared to be in some difficulty.
Romain Sicard of Europcar and BMC's Darwin Atapuma broke free first, with Javier Moreno, Matteo Montaguti, Boswell, Pawel Poljanski, Dario Cataldo, Alberto Losada, Ruben Plaza and Damien Howson all in the nearest chasing bunch.
Froome settled into the peloton as the main group trailed the leaders by just over a minute, and the Tour winner began to look more comfortable.
The riders stormed down the Coll de la Rabassa descent towards the foot of the Collada de la Gallina climb, with the race hitting the most difficult section of the stage. The Vuelta's official Twitter account shared the incredible challenge:
Team Sky took control of the peloton on the third climb of the day as they desperately tried to get Froome back into contention, but the Brit simply didn't have enough in the tank after his fall and he slowly fell back down the order. Sky manager Dave Brailsford commented about his star's performance, and was apprehensive after Froome's tough season, per CyclingNews.com:
"Some may chose to ride it aggressively, others more conservatively. Also on such a stage cars will never be too close to the race and punctures, wheel changes or mechanics could have more impact than usual. Stages like this are pretty unique. And it will be up to who adapts best to a unique situation. Chris [Froome] had a bad day the other day but it was not alarming. You can never tell how a rider will react after riding the Tour.
"
With Froome out of contention, and Giant-Alpecin's overall race leader, Tom Dumoulin, off the leaders, it was left to Imanol Erviti of Movistar to head the stage, one minute clear of the rest, with the peloton trailing by four minutes. The extreme climbing was severely affecting the racing positions, with many struggling. However, Erviti clearly took a breather on the third descent—as big drops of rain began to fall—with no rider prepared to light the touch paper.
The rain further complicated matters, with riders struggling with their tactics, as Astana's Dario Cataldo lead the peloton. Froome appeared to surrender his chances of winning the Vuelta as he detached from the back of the peloton, clearly in distress and joined by the race doctor.
Thankfully for the riders, the roads soon dried up, with Alejandro Valverde leading a select group into the penultimate climb—the Cat 2 Alto de la Comella—with Aru and Esteban Chaves chasing hard.
Tinkoff Saxo's Sergio Paulinho's race was shockingly brought to an end after colliding with a TV motorcycle, with the team tweeting their displeasure:
The team's Oleg Tinkov gave his thoughts on Paulinho's premature exit, heavily criticising the race organisers:
Racing legend Alberto Contador shared a picture of the stricken Paulinho and wished the rider all the best:
The stage continued, with Dumoulin showed his class and catching the leaders as the group descended for the final time before hitting the 14 kilometres of climbing to the finish on Alto els Cortals d'Encamp.
With 10 kilometres to go, a breakaway of five riders led the stage, as Astana's Landa looked to win the race. Froome had also fought his way to five minutes off the lead—an amazing effort considering his issues.
Italian Aru attacked with 7.6 kilometres to the finish line, with "Purito" Rodriguez and Daniel Moreno responding. The three fought hard to extend their lead, but red jersey Dumoulin was in hot pursuit, improving the 24-year-old's chances of an overall Grand Tour win.
However, it was Landa who responded best, as he took the lead from the top riders, and he was soon ahead of Aru. Landa stretched and maintained his lead as he entered the final kilometre after blowing Aru away.
Landa took the victory with no riders around him, as Astana dominated proceedings.
The race was one step too far for Froome, and much of the talk will be of how dangerous conditions have become with motorcycles causing crashes.
Froome looks drained after his Tour efforts, but the Vuelta has given opportunities to many of the other top riders in the world.
Landa was exceptional in the final stages of the race, and he will surely win a Grand Tour in the next few years.
Stage 12 takes place on Thursday as riders face the 172.5 kilometres race between Andorra and Lleida.
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