Dan Martin on one of his attacks off the front of the select group headed by race leader Alberto Contador on Vuelta stage 11.
By Brian Canty
Dan Martin has put in a very gutsy display on stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana this afternoon, finishing eighth on the stage, eight seconds behind winner Fabio Aru (Astana) and moving up to 11th overall.
The Garmin-SHARP man, who is now 3:59 down on race leader Alberto Contador, had stage honours in his sights on a brutally hard day from But in the end he perhaps paid for his aggression in the closing kilometres.
Martin showed his ambition on the final ramp to the line which reached gradients of 14 per cent and averaged a stinging 9 per cent.
He clung doggedly to the front group that gradually whittled down and by the finish numbered no more than 15 riders, many of whom occupy the top section of the leader board.
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The pace was set at the front by Katusha, who were trying to set up their top general classification man Joaquim Rodriguez for the stage win.
However, the pressure was also piled on by the relentless attacking of Martin who tried time and again to get away.
Katusha was keen to keep the pressure on in the hope its leader Rodriguez could take the stage but he ended the day 3rd.
Intense attacking began in the final 10 kilometres which, to much surprise, saw Chris Froome (Team Sky) drop out of the front group.
The 2013 Tour de France winner would eventually haul himself back on level terms and remain in contention after a determined ride.
The next big move came from Warren Barguil (Cofidis) and Robert Gesink (Belkin) and that looked extremely dangerous when they pulled out a gap of around 20 seconds.
Martin was next to light the fuse and he really dug deep to go after the two up front before Contador went and took a group of half a dozen across with him.
By that stage, Froome had gotten back on level terms, at which point Martin accelerated again only to be brought back again by some frantic chasing.
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Fabio Aru digs deep on his way to a great stage victory, adding it to his stage win in the Giro where he finished 3rd overall (Photo: Sirotti)
It was then that Aru made his move, and following a moment’s hesitation from the big favourites he pulled clear and crossed the line with six seconds to spare on next placed Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).
Valverde is now his team’s sole general classification man after Nairo Quintana was forced to abandon following another crash today which saw him break a bone in his wrist.
The former race leader is now just 20 seconds behind leader Contador with Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) over a minute back in third. Froome is now fourth at 1:21.
Philip Deignan finished in the grupetto over 13 minutes down but put in another selfless display of domestique duties. He is now 60th overall.
Race leader Alberto Contador is looking good for overall victory, but there are still some very tough tests to come.
Stage 11: Pamplona - San Miguel de Aralar (153.4)
1 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 3:41:03
2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:06
3 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Team Katusha
4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo
5 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky
6 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:00:13
7 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team 0:00:15
8 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin Sharp
9 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:00:16
10 Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team 0:00:21
11 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Team Katusha 0:00:25
12 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Shimano 0:00:49
13 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale 0:00:56
14 Winner Anacona Gomez (Col) Lampre-Merida 0:01:14
15 Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) MTN - Qhubeka
111 Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky 0:13:04
General Classification
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo 40:26:56
2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:20
3 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team 0:01:08
4 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 0:01:20
5 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Team Katusha 0:01:35
6 Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team 0:01:52
7 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:02:13
8 Winner Anacona Gomez (Col) Lampre-Merida 0:02:22
9 Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team 0:02:55
10 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale 0:03:51
11 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin Sharp 0:03:59
12 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:04:26
13 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Shimano 0:04:56
14 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team 0:05:00
15 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Team Katusha 0:06:10
60 Philip Deignan (Irl) Team Sky 0:45:40
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