Vuelta: Quintana Leads after stage 8

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Sergey Lagutin wins stage 8 with Scott Thwaites 7th after break stays clear, Nairo Quintana now leads after GC battle on final climb

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Vuelta: Quintana Leads after stage 8

Team Press Release
For a third day in a row Team KATUSHA riders were eager to animate the race by going in strategic breaks and working toward the goal of a stage win. Today’s efforts paid off in spades with Sergey Lagutin able to out-sprint his two breakaway companions to win atop the super steep Alto de La Camperona.

LagutinWinsVueltastage8

Photo © Tim De Waele

“Finally the dream came true. I was dreaming about this since I was little, about winning a stage in a grand tour like the Vuelta. Now it has happened and I still can’t believe it has happened to me. I’m 35 years old and in some ways I was thinking this was probably it, but I hope this makes things start all over for me. Without a big leader here we start with new goals and we’re all free to try something for ourselves when we see the opportunity. We are still competitive and looking forward in this Vuelta. I will be happy and proud of this stage win for the rest of my life. This win gives me more confidence and for sure I will look for other stages. We’ve just started – we have another two weeks ahead of us, – said stage winner Sergey Lagutin.

Part of an original 11-man break that went clear after only 10km of racing on Saturday’s 181.5km stage 8 starting in Villapando, initially teammate Jhonatan Restrepo took a chance to steal a stage win, but was brought back early on the narrow finishing climb. An attentive Lagutin seized the moment to surge ahead, joined by two others, and the trio managed to fight for the finish among themselves. Lagutin showed his patience and experience by waiting for the closing 100m to sprint around Axel Domont (AG2R La Mondiale) to easily distance the others and win the stage in the 71st Vuelta a España by 10-seconds. It was a first grand tour stage win for Lagutin and the blue polka dot jersey of the best climber is now his.

“I honestly didn’t expect this. The finish didn’t really fit me. I just caught the right breakaway with some strong climbers and I was able to win the stage. This is the most important victory of my entire career. I’m happy it finally happened to me. We kind of planned our move on the climb. I could see that Restrepo was excited when he attacked and he showed he had good legs. I was able to sit in the wheel of the breakaway, not work and save my energy. All the little things came together for us. All thanks to our sports directors who were talking to us on the radios and telling us what to do. I will try to keep this climbing jersey for the next few days, – said Lagutin. Last week in stage two Lagutin was in a crash that required two left fingers to be taped together for racing. He also suffers from rib pain but has battled on day-after-day and was rewarded for his perseverance with today’s stage win.

For his efforts and time in the lead today, teammate Jhonatan Restrepo, 21, earned the daily honor of most aggressive rider and took ninth of the stage at 1:30. “This day was very, very hard. Spending the day in the breakaway with Sergey was crazy. The feeling in my legs was good, but the last climb was so hard. I felt good when I attacked, and in the end my work was good for Sergey. I am very happy for this win for Team KATUSHA and for winning the most aggressive rider today, – said Jhonatan Restrepo.

With a late attack of his own, Nairo Quintana (Movistar) moved into the race lead by 19-seconds ahead of Movistar teammate Alejandro Valverde. Chris Froome of Team Sky remains in third place at +.27. … continued after advert

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OTHER QUOTES
Nairo Quintana (1st overall, Movistar) “The smile I carried through the finish line was just a grimace of pure suffering. But happily, we achieved our goal of the day. This was my main expectation for the day: trying and putting some time on our rivals. We started, however, those steep slopes of La Camperona with much caution; we were waiting for Froome’s attack, which obviously came, and we had energy enough to respond to it. I was coming to this Vuelta with lots of ambition, like in every single GT I start, but it always boosts your confidence to see you’re a little bit ahead of your rivals for one day.

“It’s never soon to get a leader’s jersey: it’s better to be ahead with a few seconds than trying desperately to make them up from behind. The GC is looking quite sorted out, which is reasonable, taking into account that we’ve raced really fast over the week, with demanding stages which take its toll in finishes like today’s. From now onwards, with such a strong team that we have, I’m sure I’ll defend myself well, starting off with tomorrow, when we will wait and see how things go.”

Alejandro Valverde (2nd overall, Movistar): “What else can I ask for in this race? I’ve spent many days on the fight, I’m still in 2nd overall after a demanding finish, I’ve contested the stage wins many times… and now we’ve got Nairo in the lead, and should he need any help, he’ll find it from myself. I’m super happy with the result up to this point. It was actually a bit of my task into the steepest part of the climb, pulling so the pace didn’t stop into the first kilometer. We really hit the front hard in the beginning of the ascent, as we tried to avoid any crashes nor troubles.

“Froome upped the pace at a certain point – he’s one who really develops a plan, riding by his own pace and knowing where he can go full-gas – and Nairo reacted really well, countered and grabbed some nice seconds. He rode really well. Some interesting days are ahead for us. I’ll try to profit from any chances I find, while I help Nairo chase his goal. I’m satisfied with the fact that I’m here, in this Vuelta, after two GTs, in such a good position. And while it lasts, I won’t stop going.”

Alberto Contador (7th on GC, Tinkoff): Looking back at the race, Alberto said: “There is no doubt today’s result is important for my morale. It is also important for the morale of the staff and my teammates that work their fingers to the bone for me. After yesterday’s crash thousands of thoughts were in my head but I didn’t want to think I would again go back home, even if it was a possibility.”

“We managed to save the day today and my only thought was to make it alive to the finish. We lost time to Nairo Quintana and this is a problem because he’s one of my direct adversaries. But looking at the positive, we gained a few seconds on other riders. Now the most important is to recover as much as possible, thinking about tomorrow’s stage, which could even be harder for me than today. Quite often, the second day after a crash is the worst one.”

“It hurt during the stage today but it hurts even more when I get off the bike. When you ride there isn’t as much tension on the calf as when you walk. The sensations I have aren’t the best but I remain optimistic. Riding the final kilometers of the race, cheered by the spectators who were urging me not to give up was extraordinary. My motto is ‘querer es poder’, where there is a will there is a way. We will take the rest of the Vuelta day-by-day and see what we can achieve.”

Scott Thwaites (7th on stage): “I am not a real climber like you need to be for a stage like this. Our plan was to get into the break with Bartosz or Silvio, but when I was up there and it seemed to be the right group, we decided to give it a go. Steffen, our DS, told me to try something before the final climb, but I was not sure and if you go too long in the red zone already in the flat you really can blow in the steep parts. I decided to go my own pace then and I think that worked out pretty good. I am happy to have a top ten result in such a hard stage like today.”

Racing continues on Sunday for the second of 3 stages in the mountains. Stage 9 at 164,5km begins in Cistierna and ends in Oviedo on the Alto del Naranco.

STAGE 8
1 LAGUTIN Sergey TEAM KATUSHA 04h 09′ 30”
2 DOMONT Axel AG2R LA MONDIALE @ 00′ 10”
3 QUEMENEUR Perrig DIRECT ENERGIE @ 00′ 17”
4 CATTANEO Mattia LAMPRE – MERIDA @ 00′ 24”
5 SERRY Pieter ETIXX – QUICK STEP @ 00′ 40”
6 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Jacques DIMENSION DATA @ 00′ 55”
7 THWAITES Scott BORA-ARGON 18 @ 01′ 11”
8 SMUKULIS Gatis ASTANA PRO TEAM @ 01′ 30”
9 RESTREPO Jhonatan TEAM KATUSHA @ 01′ 30”
10 CHETOUT LOÏC COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS @ 01′ 44”
11 WAEYTENS ZICO TEAM GIANT ALPECIN @ 02′ 38”
12 QUINTANA Nairo MOVISTAR TEAM @ 04′ 41”
13 CONTADOR Alberto TINKOFF @ 05′ 06”
14 PARDILLA Sergio CAJA RURAL – SEGUROS RGA @ 05′ 14”
15 FROOME Christopher TEAM SKY @ 05′ 14”
16 VALVERDE Alejandro MOVISTAR TEAM @ 05′ 14”
17 KONIG Leopold TEAM SKY @ 05′ 23”
18 TALANSKY Andrew CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM @ 05′ 30”
19 MORENO FERNANDEZ Daniel MOVISTAR TEAM @ 05′ 35”
20 CHAVES Johan Esteban ORICA BIKEEXCHANGE @ 05′ 38”
21 YATES Simon ORICA BIKEEXCHANGE @ 05′ 38”
40 KENNAUGH Peter TEAM SKY @ 06′ 34”
41 CARTHY Hugh CAJA RURAL – SEGUROS RGA @ 06′ 34”

OVERALL
1 QUINTANA Nairo MOVISTAR TEAM 29h 55′ 54”
2 VALVERDE Alejandro MOVISTAR TEAM @ 00′ 19”
3 FROOME Christopher TEAM SKY @ 00′ 27”
4 CHAVES Johan Esteban ORICA BIKEEXCHANGE @ 00′ 57”
5 KONIG Leopold TEAM SKY @ 01′ 16”
6 ATAPUMA Darwin BMC RACING TEAM @ 01′ 36”
7 CONTADOR Alberto TINKOFF @ 01′ 39”
8 MORENO FERNANDEZ Daniel MOVISTAR TEAM @ 01′ 44”
9 BRAMBILLA Gianluca ETIXX – QUICK STEP @ 01′ 46”
10 SANCHEZ GONZALEZ Samuel BMC RACING TEAM @ 01′ 46”
11 YATES Simon ORICA BIKEEXCHANGE @ 01′ 47”
12 TALANSKY Andrew CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM @ 02′ 24”
13 KENNAUGH Peter TEAM SKY @ 02′ 29”
14 SCARPONI Michele ASTANA PRO TEAM @ 02′ 36”
15 DE LA CRUZ David ETIXX – QUICK STEP @ 02′ 46”
16 FORMOLO Davide CANNONDALE-DRAPAC PRO CYCLING TEAM @ 02′ 58”
17 PARDILLA Sergio CAJA RURAL – SEGUROS RGA @ 03′ 17”
18 ELISSONDE KENNY FDJ @ 03′ 27”
19 HERMANS Ben BMC RACING TEAM @ 03′ 30”
20 BENNETT George LOTTO NL -JUMBO @ 03′ 37”

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