Philippe Gilbert Wins Stage 19 of 2010 Vuelta a Espana
Philippe Gilbert wins stage 19 of 2010 Vuelta a Espana in Toledo; Vincenzo Nibali (Team Liquigas) increases overall 2010 Vuelta a Espana lead before tomorrow's final climbs of the 2010 Vuelta.
Philippe Gilbert wins stage 19 of 2010 Vuelta a Espana in Toledo; Vincenzo Nibali (Team Liquigas) increases overall 2010 Vuelta a Espana lead before tomorrow's final climbs ofthe 2010 Vuelta.
Philippe Gilbert of Belgium and Team Omega Pharma-Lotto won the 19th stage of the 2010 Vuelta a Espana, which Italian cyclist Vincenzo Nibali (Team Liquigas) still leads going into the penultimate leg.
Gilbert, who was overall leader for five days early in the race, won his second stage Friday after crossing the finish line in 5 hours, 43 minutes, 41 seconds. Tyler Farrar (Team Garmin-Transitions) of the United States finished second in the same time.
"I had big help from my team to take the position before the climb," Gilbert said. "And then there were some attacks from different riders but I stayed calm and focused everything on the sprint."
Filippo Pozzato of Italy led a group of seven riders who were a second behind, including Nibali. Liquigas-Doimo rider Nibali stretched his overall lead over Ezequiel Mosquera of Spain by 12 seconds for a 50-second lead going into Saturday's difficult day.
"I knew it wasn't going to be easy," Nibali commented after stage 19.
Tomorrow's penultimate ride is 107 miles and ends with a grueling climb to an altitude of 7,372 feet at the Bola del Mundo in the Navacerrada mountains outside Madrid.
"I'm very relaxed. I will face a great adversary tomorrow," said Nibali, who wears the overall leader's red jersey with a time of 80:30:48. "I don't know the climb [but] I'm not worried."
Mosquera lost time after getting caught up in a jam when Frank Schleck suffered a flat tire about two miles from the finish line of today's stage.
"He was a lot faster than me. I didn't have time to even take a breath over the last kilometer," Mosquera said. "All I can say is that we'll see how we regroup and I'll attack."
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