Although Joaquim Rodriguez was clearly the strongest on today’s dauntingly-steep climb to the summit at San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Michele Scarponi also showed that he in the sort of shape to fight for the final victory in the Vuelta a España.
The Giro d’Italia runner-up was next best of the riders in the peloton, chasing hard in pursuit of Rodriguez and finishing second to him.
Scarponi was nine seconds back at the line, one second ahead of Bauke Mollema (Vacansoleil) and Jurgen Van den Broeck (Omega Pharma Lotto). Of course, taking the stage victory would have been the best possible outcome, but he said that he was content with how things turned out.
"Even if I could not win, I'm quite satisfied with my performance,” he said afterwards. “On such hill, Rodriguez is very strong. I tried to approach the climb in the front, since I wanted to avoid dangers related to the cobblestones and to the size of the road. Niemiec was great in helping me to reach the front of the group. Then I tried to pedal in a regular way, but Rodriguez's action was too strong.”
While Scarponi has traditionally been strong on finishes like today’s, most expected Rodriguez to triumph. As his runner-up slots in Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastone-Liège and the Amstel Gold race have shown, he is one of the very best riders in the world on shorter, steeper climbs. His sub-60 kilo weight and diminutive build are ideally suited to those parcours, and he exploited that to the maximum today.
Scarponi is a taller, heavier rider and has a history of also riding well on longer climbs. He ended the day fifth overall, 51 seconds off the red jersey of race leader, and will hope to continue up the general classification in the days ahead.
Given that he fell on yesterday’s stage, today’s outcome was a very positive one for him. “I'm happy I gained some seconds’ advantage on some opponents for the overall classification,” he said. “As regards my health after yesterday crash, the bruises gave me some light pain in the early kilometres, but then everything disappeared.”
Compatriot Vincenzo Nibali won the race last year and finished behind Scarponi on the Giro podium. He fared less well today, placing only 23rd and losing 32 seconds. With Sylvain Chavanel cracking and the Italian starting the day third overall, he could have taken over the race lead with a better performance. However, after yesterday’s crash, the aim was to limit his losses if the legs weren’t there.
He acknowledged after the finish that the riders in the peloton were fearful of Rodriguez before the stage, and that those forecasts proved to be accurate. He said that the team strategy was to control things as best as possible.
“In addition to the finale, there was not a meter of flat and not wasting energy was the watchword. I chose to go at my own pace on the hill that led to the finish line, not overdoing it, because a crises there – however small – could have led to a substantial delay. Now I must think of rest as tomorrow will be another tough day.”
The defending champion is now 45 seconds off Rodriguez in fourth overall. However with the latter being a known poor time trialist, he is almost certain to gain time back on him in Monday’s 47 kilometre race against the clock.
The pressure is on Rodriguez to gain an adequate buffer over the other riders prior to the test, meaning he is likely to once again ride aggressively tomorrow.