Nicolas Roche refuses to buckle on Vuelta's toughest test; shows heart to stay in mix

Nicolas Roche (far left in climbers' classification jersey) rode his heart out today to stay in the favourites group at the Vuelta a Espana.

By Gavin McLoughlin

Nicolas Roche took a valiant 7^th place as the Vuelta a Espana presented its most difficult test thus far on stage 10 today, Monday.

On the brutal hors-categorie climb to the finish line, the Irishman was distanced on three occasions by a group of elite climbers, managing twice to fight his way back on before ultimately being distanced again in the final burst for the line.

Chris Horner (Radioshack-Leopard) attacked the group with 4.6 kilometres remaining and managed to sustain the move all the way to the end, with Roche arriving 1:10 behind the 41-year-old stage winner.

After surrendering the red jersey by a tiny margin yesterday, the Saxo-Tinkoff leader bested overnight leader Daniel Moreno (Katusha) but lost time to half a dozen general classification contenders.

Roche is now 3^rd overall, at 53 seconds behind new race-leader Horner. The American’s triumph also elevates him into the mountains jersey, pushing Roche down to second in that competition.

Though he lost time, it was an impressive display of mental fortitude from Roche today. Despite getting into difficulty on the punishing slope, the Irishman refused to buckle and managed to limit his losses well.

He will have a chance to recuperate on tomorrow’s rest day before tackling a time trial in which he is confident of performing well. A 39-kilometre test in the environs of Tarazona, that stage’s route is focused mainly on the ascent and descent of the third-category Alto del Moncayo.

With Horner less than a minute ahead of Roche and second-placed Vincenzo Nibali of Astana just 10 seconds clear, a good ride on Wednesday could propel the Saxo-Tinkoff leader up the standings again.

The pace was frantic at the beginning of today’s 187 kilometre ride from Torredelcampo to the summit of the hors-categorie Alto de Hazallanas, as many riders fought to get into the break of the day.

Two arduous mountain climbs loomed at the end of the route, and for Irish supporters the question of the morning was whether Roche could distance Moreno by two seconds and re-claim the red jersey.

After about 60 kilometres, a 10-man group went clear with Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida), Tomasz Marczynski (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Georg Preidler (Argos-Shimano) among the protagonists.

These men were still out front when the first mountain climb, the first-category Alto de Monachil, arrived with 36 kilometres remaining.

Marczynski and Ulissi were the strongest of the escapees and they formed a new lead duo as Movistar led the chase behind. The heat was oppressive and the peloton thinned rapidly as the navy-clad Spanish outfit set a tricky pace. Roche, however, was untroubled.

Ulissi left Marczynski behind as the top of the first mountain neared, and the Italian crossed the summit alone. But the Pole caught and passed him on a twisty, technical descent as Movistar continued to spearhead the pursuit.

Preidler was turning in a fearless effort as the road plunged downward, and eventually he too had passed Ulissi. The 23-year-old Austrian managed to catch Marczynski and this pair led the way onto the vicious Hazallanas.

Ulissi made it back to the leaders as the road curved upwards, but with a lead of only about a minute it was clear that the breakaway men would not be able to make it all the way to the end.

Marczynski struck out alone once more in search of a win, but once the steeper inclines arrived the favourites were far fresher and were blasting up the slope, reeling in the Vacansoleil man at quite a rate. It would not be the Pole’s day.

Just over 6 kilometres remained and a strong-looking Nibali moved menacingly to the front as Roche continued to keep pace with the main group. Briefly it looked as if the Saxo-Tinkoff leader’s luck was in as Moreno was summarily ejected out the rear, but then Roche was dropped too as Nibali would not relent.

Horner was one of the few who could match the pace, and he was next to attack, launching his decisive move with 4.6 kilometres left.

As the Radioshack veteran danced up the slope, the tempo looked to ease a little. Roche managed to latch back on to Horner’s pursuers but didn’t look especially comfortable, struggling to hold the wheel of Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha).

Still the monstrous climb went on and Nibali finally played his hand a little over 2 kilometres from home, shooting away after Horner in an almost Froome-esque fashion. As Rodriguez and the rest of the group pressed on gamely, the pace was enough to distance Roche again.

Nibali looked to be moving fast but after the Italian’s initial burst the advantage of Horner remained steady as the American rode a bigger gear all the way to the stage victory.

Behind, Roche had somehow managed to tack on to the Rodriguez contingent, but on the final ramp the Irishman paid for his efforts and had to settle for 7^th.

Tomorrow will be a very well-earned rest.