Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) had seen enough at the Vuelta a España to feel he might yet be able to discommode Chris Froome (Team Sky) at Sierra Nevada on Sunday. But after attacking on the long final haul towards the finish, his day ended in dispiriting fashion as he lost another six seconds to the red jersey. As the Vuelta breaks for its second rest day, Nibali finds himself second overall, 1:01 behind Froome.
Isolating Froome from his Team Sky teammates may be a logical plan of attack for a man trying to win the Vuelta but one that's proving easier said than done.
After watching stage winner Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) and Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) forge clear on the Alto del Purche, Nibali held his fire for the final climb towards the finish at Sierra Nevada, attacking from the red jersey group with a shade under 14 kilometres remaining.
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Nibali opened a gap of around 50 metres over the group of podium contenders, but never disappeared out of sight as Mikel Nieve and Wout Poels set a brisk tempo on behalf of Froome. After a couple of kilometres, he relented and was reabsorbed by the group. He explained afterwards that he had been hoping for some company on the raid.
“I never really pushed flat out because I was hoping [Ilnur] Zakarin or [Wilco] Kederman would come with me,” Nibali told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “The speed was high, Sky were still together, and I was caught a bit between a rock and a hard place. Continuing alone would have been a suicidal tactic because in this moment, Sky and Froome are unbeatable. For now, that's how it is, but nobody is ever unbeatable.
"This was a short stage, very fast and a bit strange. The climb didn’t really have very steep gradients. But the Vuelta isn’t finished. I’ll fight on."
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