Barredo dominates HC from breakaway
Carlos Barredo may not be in GC position, but he can claim today's stage as his own without any dispute. Barredo dominated from start to finish, working the early morning breakaway before ditching them at the HC and going solo to the finish. He lost a good part of his advantage, but kept himself at a pace where he could maintain his stamina and keep his lead. Barredo was clearly a man determined, as this particular part of Spain holds much significance to him. He said in his post-race interview that it was on these roads that he got his first road bike and began to lay the foundation for his cycling career. He simply would not be denied, and the GC chaos behind him took some of the pressure off as they were not all chasing him. Ezequiel Mosquera attacked on the HC, and left the rest of the riders including Nibali and Rodriguez scrambling. Those two recuperated to cut the deficit to Mosquera to about 10 seconds by the finish line, and in the process put over a half of a minute on other contenders like Sastre, Schleck, and Roche. I am still not ready to call this a 3 horse race, but it is looking a bit more distanced now.
Tomorrow may be the decisive day. 3 cat 1s near the end should wreak havoc on the field, with the first dropping the sprinters and specialists, the second losing the domestiques and the helpers, and the final summit finish deciding the race. By the time the race reaches the final climb, it should be down to a select group composed mostly of GC contenders ready to battle it out for the stage and the title.
Carlos Barredo may not be in GC position, but he can claim today's stage as his own without any dispute. Barredo dominated from start to finish, working the early morning breakaway before ditching them at the HC and going solo to the finish. He lost a good part of his advantage, but kept himself at a pace where he could maintain his stamina and keep his lead. Barredo was clearly a man determined, as this particular part of Spain holds much significance to him. He said in his post-race interview that it was on these roads that he got his first road bike and began to lay the foundation for his cycling career. He simply would not be denied, and the GC chaos behind him took some of the pressure off as they were not all chasing him. Ezequiel Mosquera attacked on the HC, and left the rest of the riders including Nibali and Rodriguez scrambling. Those two recuperated to cut the deficit to Mosquera to about 10 seconds by the finish line, and in the process put over a half of a minute on other contenders like Sastre, Schleck, and Roche. I am still not ready to call this a 3 horse race, but it is looking a bit more distanced now.
Tomorrow may be the decisive day. 3 cat 1s near the end should wreak havoc on the field, with the first dropping the sprinters and specialists, the second losing the domestiques and the helpers, and the final summit finish deciding the race. By the time the race reaches the final climb, it should be down to a select group composed mostly of GC contenders ready to battle it out for the stage and the title.
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