Bradley Wiggins moved into the red leader’s jersey at the Vuelta a Espana after a powerful performance from the team on stage 11.
Team take top two spots on leaderboard
Bradley Wiggins moved into the red leader’s jersey at the Vuelta a Espana after a powerful performance from the team on stage 11.
The Brit claimed the race lead by seven seconds over team-mate Chris Froome as Team Sky ensured a superb 1-2 at the top of the general classification.
In scenes that resembled those of stage nine on La Covatilla where the combination of Wiggins and Froome took the fight to the favourites, the duo were once again on the offensive as action resumed after the rest day.
With a breakaway up the road to contest the stage win a group of elite contenders, led by overnight leader Froome, were left to fight it out on the run up to Estacion de Montana Manzaneda.
Resplendent in his red jersey, Froome kept a cool head and set a strong tempo on the front in aid of Wiggins as a number of riders launched attacks on the final climb.
For the second mountaintop finish in succession Wiggins then came to the fore and put in a considerable effort on the front, 13th home, stringing out the group with a burst that dropped the man who had split the Team Sky riders going into the rest day, Jakob Fuglsang (Leopard Trek).
Despite being distanced temporarily by the powerful effort, Froome dug in to produce a gutsy final two kilometres and clung on to second overall on the leaderboard after a selfless display.
With the duo now occupying the top two spots on GC, Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) remains a threat 11 seconds back on Wiggins, while Fuglsang slipped back to fifth on the day, 19 seconds off the British National Champion.
New leader
At the finish Wiggins was the first to pay tribute to the work of his team throughout the stage and his climbing counterpart Froome in the final kilometres.
He said: “I'm absolutely delighted to be in red and cannot thank my team-mates enough - they looked out for me and Froomey right the way through the stage and did a fantastic job.
“It was chilly out there on that final climb but I felt comfortable right the way to the finish. When Rodriguez attacked there was no point in trying to follow him and as always, I just kept a steady pace and worked my way to the top. To have Team Sky one and two on the podium is about as good as it gets really.
“Froomey rode tremendously well, as he seems to be doing every stage at the moment, and it was a really nice touch that he rode straight over to me and congratulated me at the end there."
Attention now turns to defending the jersey, with a likely sprint stage on Thursday first up as Wiggins explains: “From now on, as it was today, it’s going to be all about defending this jersey and trying to hold on to it for as long as possible. It's been a tough old race so far but hopefully things will be a little easier tomorrow and I can keep myself out of trouble.”
Action-packed finale
While the battle for the race lead was being fought out David Moncoutie timed his attack to perfection to take an impressive solo victory as the race entered Galicia.
The Cofidis rider made his way into the day’s break before attacking his fellow escapees on the final climb, powering clear to win by a margin of one minute and 18 seconds at the line.
Benat Intxausti (Movistar) held on out of the break to claim second place with Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank) narrowly edged into third as escapees filled out much of the top 10.
The final climb always looked likely to be decisive, with Team Sky hitting the 1750m test at the front of the bunch after controlling the peloton for much of the day.
Thomas Löfkvist set a strong tempo on the early slopes of the ascent before Morris Possoni took over the pace-setting duties on the front.
Froome saw off a number of dangerous attacks before Wiggins again showed his climbing form, stringing out the bunch on the steep final ramps in a move that saw him power into red, his second leader’s jersey in Team Sky colours after the 2010 Giro d'Italia.
Team performance
At the finish line we spoke to Sports Director Steven de Jongh who was understandably happy with how the day had panned out.
He said: “It was a really good day today for the team. They dropped Fuglsang there at the end and have some seconds now on him for GC. Brad is up there and I must say it was a really impressive ride today from the team.
“They took control when the group was away and they kept the time gaps controllable so it was a really impressive ride from the guys.”
De Jongh was also quick to pay tribute to the work done by outgoing race leader Froome, adding: “Hat’s off to Chris. He was in the lead but nothing changed with the position of Brad of course. He is our leader and he still was after the time trial. Chris was 100-per-cent happy with that and he did an amazing ride. Bradley will thank him for that I’m sure.
“It was a good stage to take control. It was a hard stage but there were a lot of small and twisty roads so it was better to ride at the front rather than sitting in the back that’s for sure. But the team rode great I’m really happy.”
