Today's stage: 167 km stage to the summit finish at the Manzaneda ski resort. First time Manzaneda has been included in the Vuelta.
Who won today's stage? David Moncoutie (Cofidis) attacked his other companions in the breakaway, all 18 of them, early on the climb up to Manzaneda and continued to attack until one stuck. He then pedaled away to an easy stage win by over a minute. The win is his 4th straight year with a stage win.
What matters in the GC race? We have a new leader. Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) displaced his teammate Chris Froome from the race lead. Wiggins now leads Froome by 7 seconds. 2nd place entering the day Jakob Fuglsang (Leopard-Trek) finished in Froome's group and fell to 5th overall, 19 seconds behind Wiggins. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) attacked late in the stage, but he only gained 7 seconds on Wiggins. He trails by 2'56” and is still 14th.
What matters in the other competitions?
Green Jersey (Points, Sprinter Competition) – Rodrgiuez still leads this competition by a large margin over Bauke Mollema (Rabobank). The top actual sprinter is Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale), 3rd place on the stage.
Polka Dot Jersey (King of the Mountains) – Matteo Montaguti (Ag2r La Mondiale) was in the breakaway and took points on the early climbs. He now leads the competition by one point over stage winner Moncoutie. Former leader Dan Martin (Garmin-Cervelo) was not in the break and therefore scored no points.
White Jersey (Allround) – Mollema is still the leader in this competition. In a rarity, the person leading this competition doesn't have another jersey and therefore doesn't need 2nd (or 3rd) to wear it. Daniel Moreno (Katusha) is second followed by Rodriguez.
Biggest surprise: Team Sky didn't have Froome try and protect the red leader's jersey. Wiggins is the leader of the team and assumed the race lead, but it was still surprising to see Froome pacing the peloton for Wiggins just as it was to see Thor Hushovd leading a sprint out for this teammate at the Tour de France.
Biggest disappointment: The peloton didn't respond quick enough. I'm all in favor of breakaways despite my usual proclamations on twitter that they are doomed. That said, this was a stage where the breakaway getting reeled in would have made the attacks that much more desperate with the time bonuses at the top.
Other items of note: The team competition continues to be in full swing. Radio Shack leads Rabobank by 2'08” and Leopard-Trek by 2'23”... The race is headed towards consecutive summit finishes with the crown jewel Angliru stage on Sunday before the Monday rest day.
What is coming tomorrow? Sprint stage, probably in the rain. The Galicia region where the race is currently at is known for raining quite a bit, so the expected field sprint could be interesting.
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