Valerio Conti (Lampre-Merida) took the biggest win of his young career in the Basque Country, taking advantage of a lethargic peloton at the Vuelta a Espana and a day of grace to win alone after being part of the break of the day.
Conti proved he was strongest in the 12-rider attack. He jumped away from his rivals with 19km to go on the rolling roads to Urdaz. As they hesitated, he opened a 30-second gap and never look round. Several chasers eventually tried to work together to Conti pushed on and opened his lead, having enough time to celebrate and savour his first grand tour stage win and only the second won of his three-year career.
Danilo Wyss (BMC) won the sprint for second place, beating Sergey Lagutin (Katusha), 55 seconds behind Conti but the chasers had let Conti give them the slip.
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The peloton finished a massive 33:55 down on Conti, one of the biggest gaps in modern racing. Nairo Quintana's race lead was not under threat, and so the overall contenders were happy to save their legs for Saturday’s big terrible mountain stage in the Pyrenees to the Col d'Aubisque. They rode steady all day, struggling to beat an average speed of 36km/h.
Chris Froome (Team Sky) remains second overall, only 54 seconds down on Quintana as the Pyrenees loom large.
Conti is one of the talented young riders quietly being developed by the Lampre-Merida team. He paid the team back for their support with his win and by pointing to his blue-fuchsia jersey.
Video highlights
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