Nibali matches Mosquera

Ezequiel Mosquera gave it everything he had on the penultimate stage of the Vuelta a España but couldn't shake off Vincenzo Nibali

Liquigas star closing on Spanish success

Ezequiel Mosquera gave it everything he had on the penultimate stage of the Vuelta a España but couldn't shake off Vincenzo Nibali on the Bola del Mundo. In scenes reminiscent of Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck's epic battle on the Col du Tourmalet during the Tour de France, the two race leaders went head-to-head on the final climb of the tour as Mosquera attempted to haul back a 50-second deficit. At one point it looked as though the Spaniard might have achieved that goal but Nibali dug deep during the final kilometre to finish just one second behind his nearest rival, who had to be content with the stage win. The result means Nibali now holds a 41-second advantage over Mosquera going into the final day of action, and the pan-flat profile in Madrid should ensure the Italian claims the first grand tour victory of his career. Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) ended the day in third position and sits fourth in the general classification behind HTC-Columbia rider Peter Velits, who could only manage eighth. Velits' team-mate Mark Cavendish leads the green jersey battle with 136 points, 12 ahead of nearest challenger Tyler Farrar (Garmin), as the Manxman seeks to become the first Briton since Malcolm Elliot in 1989 to win the points competition on Sunday.