Vuelta Stage 19: Second win for Gilbert as stage belatedly explodes into life

Philippe Gilbert of BMC Racing has taken his second stage victory of the 2012 Vuelta, winning a hard fought finale on an uphill drag in La Lastrilla to take Stage 19 of the race, the excitement of the closing kilometres redeeming what had otherwise been a forgettable day ridden at a slow pace.

Ben Swift of Team Sky, narrowly beaten by RadioShack-Nissan's Daniele Bennati yesterday, tried to get on the Belgian's wheel but faded in the closing 100 metres or so, with Alejandro Valverde of Movistar coming second and Daniel Moreno of Katusha third.

Heading into tomorrow's penultimate stage which features a summit finish on the Bola del Mundo, Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank's Alberto Contador, who tackles that climb on regular training rides from his home near Madrid, leads by nearly two minutes and looks poised to take his second overall victory in the race he previously won in 2008.

It's been a thrilling and unpredictable race so far, though, and the big question is whether Valverde or long-time leader Joaquin Rodriguez of Katusha have it in them to spring one last surprise?

Most of today's stage was ridden at a slow pace that saw just under 40km covered in the first hour, with the 178km route from Peñafiel eventually completed around half an hour after the slowest pace predicted in the itinerary published by orgaisers.

The peloton finally shook itself out of its collective slumber and began to ratchet up the pace shortly after the two men in the day's break, Aitor Galdos of Caja Rural and Andalucia's Jose Vincente Toribio, had been swept up some 28 kilometres out from the finish on the outskirts of Segovia.

Approaching the final 12km, it briefly looked as though Rodriguez and Valverde had gone on the attack, but instead they were looking for bonus seconds and points at the day's second intermediate sprint, their move policed by a vigilant Contador and his team.

Valverde crossed first, he and Rodriguez immediately sitting up, but as the race headed into the last 10km the pace a the front was causing splits in the peloton, and 3km out its was the Cofidis rider Egoitz Garcia who initiated the attack from which the group that contested the finale would form.

Under the flamme rouge, AG2R-La Mondiale's Nicolas Roche had got of the front of that bunch but was quickly reeled in, Argos-Shimano's John Degenkolb, seeking a fifth stage win, tracking him, but once Gilbert hit the front, there would be no stopping him.

Less than a fortnight ago in Barcelona, the Belgian got his first win since joining BMC Racing at the start of the season following what had been a momentous 2011, including a hat-trick of victories in the Ardennes Classics.

Ominously for his rivals in the world championship road race that takes place in that corner of the world in a little over a fortnight's time, he seems to be riding himself back into form at just the right time, and it won't be lost on them that the two stages he has won have been on stages with tricky uphill finishes.

Vuelta Stage 19 Result  

1  GILBERT, Philippe       BMC      4h 56' 25''
2  VALVERDE, Alejandro     MOV      Same time
3  MORENO, Daniel          KAT          "
4  RODRIGUEZ, Joaquin      KAT          "
5  MEERSMAN, Gianni        LTB            + 3''
6  MOLLEMA, Bauke          RAB            + 3''
7  SWIFT, Ben              SKY            + 3''
8  BAKELANTS, Jan          RNT            + 3''
9  NOCENTINI, Rinaldo      ALM            + 3''
10 HENAO, Sergio Luis      SKY            + 3''
11 CONTADOR, Alberto       STB            + 3''
12 VERDUGO, Gorka          EUS            + 3''
13 GESINK, Robert          RAB            + 3''
14 NIEMIEC, Przemyslaw     LAM            + 3''
15 KREDER, Michel          GRS            + 6''
16 ANTON, Igor             EUS            + 6''
17 MONDORY, Lloyd          ALM            + 6''
18 TALANSKY, Andrew        GRS            + 6''
19 TEN DAM, Laurens        RAB            + 6''
20 BOUET, Maxime           ALM            + 6''

Last man home on Stage 19  

177 JI, Cheng              ARG        + 7' 44''
   
General Classification after Stage 18  

1  CONTADOR, Alberto       STB     77h 21' 49''
2  VALVERDE, Alejandro     MOV        + 1' 35''
3  RODRIGUEZ, Joaquin      KAT        + 2' 21''
4  FROOME, Christopher     SKY        + 9' 48''
5  MORENO, Daniel          KAT       + 11' 29''
6  GESINK, Robert          RAB       + 12' 00''
7  TEN DAM, Laurens        RAB       + 12' 58''
8  TALANSKY, Andrew        GRS       + 13' 09''
9  ANTON, Igor             EUS       + 13' 52''
10 INTXAUSTI, Beñat        MOV       + 15' 13''

Points Classification after Stage 19  

1  RODRIGUEZ, Joaquin      KAT           186
2  VALVERDE, Alejandro     MOV           183
3  CONTADOR, Alberto       STB           157
4  DEGENKOLB, John         ARG           124
5  FROOME, Christopher     SKY            93

Mountains Classification after Stage 19  

1  CLARKE, Simon           OGE            38
2  RODRIGUEZ, Joaquin      KAT            36
3  DE GENDT, Thomas        VCD            33
4  VALVERDE, Alejandro     MOV            31
5  CONTADOR, Alberto       STB            28