After riding well on some of the hillier stages, three of the Vuelta a España’s strongest climbers yesterday had to battle on other riders’ terms and lost time in the Salamanca race against the clock. Lampre ISD rider Michele Scarponi, former race leader Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and King of the Mountains leader Dan Martin (Garmin-Cervélo) all slipped further away from the red jersey of race leader, now being worn by Chris Froome (Sky Procycling), but choose to look to the upcoming mountains rather than worrying about the lost minutes.
Scarponi fared best of the three, placing 53rd in test. “I’ve done my best,” he said after conceding exactly four and a half minutes to the victorious German rider Tony Martin (HTC Highroad). “I expected to ride on more or less one hour. I think I went pretty well today. It’s yesterday that I could have done better. Never mind, there are many climbs to come and I haven’t said my last word.”
As was the case last year, Rodriguez had another difficult time trial, placing 71st. However it was a better performance relative to twelve months ago as he lost five minutes 24 seconds rather than the six minutes 12 seconds he conceded to fastest rider Peter Velits (HTC Highroad) in 2010. He was only 104th there.
“The time I’ve lost today is pretty much what I calculated before the start of the Vuelta. The time I lost yesterday [on the climb to La Covailla, where he conceded the race lead] wasn’t part of the plan but all the coming difficulties are in my favour now,” he said.
Once crucial difference to last year is that the race is only at the halfway point now; twelve months ago, the time trial came close to the end and there was very limited scope to make up lost time. There are many more climbing stages to go and with no further races against the clock, the Catalan is still in with a chance of winning the race.
Irish rider Dan Martin went from an emotional high to relative disappointment, finishing only 98th in the test. He dropped six minutes five seconds to namesake Tony Martin and went from 12th to 24th overall. He’s now four minutes 58 seconds back, but has the consolation of the King of the Mountains jersey plus the prospect of many more climbs ahead to keep him fired up.
“I was going really bad when Bradley Wiggins passed me,” he admitted afterwards. “It doesn’t matter because I’m trying to be a climber and not a GC rider.
“There are nice mountains to come, and they’ll suit me more than a time trial.”