Astana rider Fabio Aru became new leader of the Vuelta on Wednesday following a gruelling 11th stage in the Pyrenees. It was a disastrous stage four
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Astana rider Fabio Aru became new leader of the Vuelta on Wednesday following a gruelling 11th stage in the Pyrenees.
It was a disastrous stage four Tour de France winner Chris Froome however.
The Team sky leader who was hoping to become only the third man to win the Vuelta and the Tour de France crashed early on.
The British rider got back in the saddle and managed to limp home but lost almost nine minutes and with it lost any chances of winning the prestigious Grand Tour double.
Meanwhile out in front Spaniard Mikel Landa of the Astana team produced a stunning ride in the mountains.
The 25-year-old was part of the day’s early break.
He timed his attack to perfection and skipped away from his companions on the final climb of the 138km stage from Andorra la Vella to Cortals d’Encampto.
He took off with around 9km remaining and held on to take the win ahead of his fast-finishing Italian teammate Aru holds a 27 second lead over Spain’s Joaquim Rodriguez.