Anton reclaims Tour lead
09/08/2010 07:41:35 PM
Igor Anton has snatched back his Tour of Spain lead from Joaquin Rodriguez on the mountainous Stage 11 to Andorra on Wednesday.
The first serious mountain stage of the Tour caused a shake-up in the general classification, as a tiring Rodriguez fell from first place to 17th and more than a minute behind fellow Spaniard Anton on the final climb.
Anton could not be denied in the last ascent, powering past compatriot Ezequiel Mosquera to claim the 208-kilometre stage in five hours 25 minutes 44 seconds.
Mosquera crossed the finish line three seconds behind Anton in second, with Xavier Tondo 10 seconds off the pace in third.
Mikael Cherel and Johann Tschopp carved out an early lead as the stage got underway in Vilanova i la Geltru, holding as much as a 14-minute buffer before the peloton closed the gap on the slopes.
Anton now holds a 45-second overall lead from Italian Vincenzo Nibali, with Tondo climbing into third place.
The Vuelta continues on Thursday with a 172km descent out of Andorra to the Catalonian city of Lleida.
It finishes in Madrid on September 18.