Nicolas Roche finishes in the select group on Vuelta stage 12 after going on the attack with Alberto Contador.
Nicolas Roche, Alberto Contador attack Vuelta stage 12
Ireland’s Nicolas Roche put in an attack with Alberto Contador during La Vuelta stage 12 today.
However, while the Spanish rider made it all the way to the finish, he gained very little time.
And Roche returning to the select group behind looks, in hindsight, like a wise move.
But after the stage the BMC Racing man said he was unable to follow Contador without going into the red and risking exploding.
“Did I think it would be a GC day? Yes and no. I think it was a bit my fault that it became a GC day,” Nicolas Roche said at the finish.
“I think everybody was quite happy with how the pace was. But I just thought ‘why not?” he said of his attack on the long but gradual cat 2 Puerto del Torcal.
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“It wasn’t as hard a climb as the other days. And it could have been a good way to grab a few precious seconds.
“The idea was good when I went with Alberto. But Alberto’s pace was that little bit too hard for me on the climb.
“And I thought it would be better to ease off and not completely explode. The group behind was coming pretty fast.”
Roche also said he was happy to see better conditions; specifically higher temperatures, which he prefers.
“It was definitely a lot better out there today with the weather. This weekend is going to be really tough.
“Tomorrow is going to be a hard start. But hopefully it’s a sprint day and it will be a bit more cruisy and straightforward.”
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In his post-stage remarks, Contador said he had spoken to Roche and they both agreed they would attack.
“I attacked; I spoke with Nicolas Roche and went with him,” he said. Contador added while Roche desisted, he was happy with his time gain.
Today’s stage took the riders 160km from Motril to Antequera Los Dólmenes .
A 14-man escape, featuring Aqua Blue Sport’s Peter Konig, got clear. They would gain nine minutes at one point.
Tomasz Marczkysnki (Lotto-Soudal) proved best of the escapees. He attacked them on the final climb and rode to a solo stage win.
It was his second of this race as he also claimed victory on stage 6; again from a breakaway.
As Contador and Roche were attacking on the final climb, race leader Chris Froome (Team Sky) crashed twice.
His second mishap occurred when chasing back from his initial incident. And it compounded his pursuit.
In the end Contador would finish in 13th place on stage, some 7:25 down the winner. The Spaniard would take 22 seconds on the select group of 17 riders which included Roche.
Froome never got back on to that group. But he lost just 20 seconds; finishing with team mate Wout Poels.
Up front, Aqua Blue Sport’s Konig would be found wanting when the battle for the stage began in the breakaway.
But he still managed to stay clear of the chasers; coming home in 11th place some 5:03 down.
Conor Dunne, who was in the breakaway yesterday for Aqua Blue Sport, would finish in 169th place. He was in a group 21:59 down and will look for more opportunities to attack.
The Irish team will now really want to do something special following its bus being destroyed in an arson attack on the race overnight.
Stage 12: Motril to Antequera Los Dólmenes (160km)
1 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal 3:56:45
2 Omar Fraile Matarranza (Spa) Dimension Data 0:00:52
3 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team
4 Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
5 Stef Clement (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
6 Brendan Canty (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac 0:01:42
7 Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:02:50
8 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
9 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
10 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:03:00
11 Peter Koning (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport 0:05:03
12 Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:06:49
13 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 0:07:25
14 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:07:47
15 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team
16 David de la Cruz (Spa) Quick-Step Floors
17 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
18 Johan Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) Orica-Scott
19 Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team
20 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
21 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Katusha-Alpecin
22 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb
23 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team
24 Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates
25 Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
169 Conor Dunne (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport 0:21:59
General Classification
1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 49:22:53
2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:59
3 Johan Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) Orica-Scott 0:02:13
4 David de la Cruz (Spa) Quick-Step Floors 0:02:16
5 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:02:17
6 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin 0:02:18
7 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:02:37
8 Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac 0:02:41
9 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 0:03:13
10 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:03:51
11 Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team 0:04:25
12 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
13 Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:04:41
14 Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky 0:04:54
15 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:05:50
16 Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates 0:06:19
17 Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Team Sky 0:07:54
18 Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:10:04
19 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Dimension Data 0:12:31
20 Darwin Atapuma (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:18:46
174 Conor Dunne (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport 2:52:10
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