2014 Vuelta a España

69th Edition: August 23 - September 14, 2014

Stage 18 Results

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Stage 18, Thursday, Sept 11: A Estrada - Monte Castrove. Meis, 157 km

Stage 18 live updates | Stage 18 photos | Stage 18 map and profile |

Fabio Aru wins stage 18. Photo ©Sirotti

The Race: It took a while before a breakaway that the peloton could accept was allowed to ride up the road. Johan Le Bon (FDJ), Hubert Dupont (Ag2r) and Luis Leon Sanchez (Caja Rural) got clear about 82 km into the stage. Movistar kept their lead under three minutes, making it unlikely they would make it to the end. For Luis Leon Sanchez, the current KOM, getting in the break did allow him to win the points for being the first over Monte Castrove, solidifying his hold on the mountains classification.

With 18 kilometers remaining and a hilltop finish waiting at the end of a second ascent of the Castrove, all the breakaway riders had been absorbed by the Sky-led peloton. Then, Chris Froome jumped ahead of the pack to take the San Xoan de Poio intermediate sprint and gain a couple of bonus seconds. Surprisingly, Alejandro Valverde wasn't there to contest the sprint.

On the final climb, the first big move came with three km to go. Fabio Aru attacked and drew Joaquin Rodriguez, Daniel Martin, Alejandro Valverde, Alberto Contador and Chris Froome. They did not catch Aru.

But then Froome jumped and bridged up to Aru while Valverde, Contador and Rodriguez chased. Froome hammered away and built a serious gap while Aru looked to be hanging on to Froome's wheel for dear life. The road flattened and near the end, Aru jumped to take the stage win with Froome just a second behind.

Valverde led in the chasing trio thirteen seconds after Aru had crossed the line, too late to save his second place. Contador remains the overall leader with Froome now in second, 1min 19sec down. Valverde is third, 1min 32sec behind Contador.

Complete Stage 18 results:

Winner's average speed: 41.4 km/hr

1	Fabio Aru	Astana Pro Team	3hr 47min 17sec
2	Christopher Froome	Team SKY	@ 1 second
3	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	+ 13''
4	Joaquin Rodriguez	Team Katusha
5	Alberto Contador	Tinkoff - Saxo
6	Samuel Sánchez	BMC Racing Team	+ 17''
7	Daniel Navarro	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	+ 33''
8	Daniel Moreno	Team Katusha	+ 48''
9	Damiano Caruso	Cannondale Pro Cycling
10	Warren Barguil	Team Giant - Shimano
11	Sergio Pardilla	MTN - Qhubeka
12	Daniel Martin	Garmin Sharp
13	Dominik Nerz	BMC Racing Team	+ 1' 12''
14	Jerome Coppel	Cofidis Solutions Crédits
15	Peio Bilbao	Caja Rural Seguros RGA
16	Romain Sicard	Team Europcar
17	Giampaolo Caruso	Team Katusha
18	Mikel Nieve	Team SKY
19	Maxime Mederel	Team Europcar	+ 1' 15''
20	Jacques Van Rensburg	MTN - Qhubeka	+ 1' 35''
21	Angel Mate Luis	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	+ 1' 36''
22	Oliver Zaugg	Tinkoff - Saxo	+ 2' 04''
23	Maxime Monfort	Lotto Belisol	+ 2' 24''
24	Wilco Kelderman	Belkin Pro Cycling Team
25	Jesús Hernández	Tinkoff - Saxo	+ 2' 27''
26	Christophe Le Mevel	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	+ 2' 45''
27	Paolo Tiralongo	Astana Pro Team	+ 2' 54''
28	Przemyslaw Niemiec	Lampre Merida	+ 3' 25''
29	David Arroyo	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	+ 3' 32''
30	Chris Anker Sörensen	Tinkoff - Saxo	+ 4' 05''
31	Cadel Evans	BMC Racing Team	+ 4' 17''
32	Eduard Vorganov	Team Katusha
33	Alessandro De Marchi	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 4' 39''
34	Andrey Zeits	Astana Pro Team	+ 4' 53''
35	Bart De Clercq	Lotto Belisol
36	Andre Fernando Cardoso	Garmin Sharp
37	Danilo Wyss	BMC Racing Team	+ 5' 49''
38	Hubert Dupont	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 6' 39''
39	Laurens Ten Dam	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 7' 10''
40	Andrey Amador	Movistar Team
41	Gorka Izagirre	Movistar Team
42	Ryder Hesjedal	Garmin Sharp
43	Kanstantsin Siutsou	Team SKY	+ 8' 11''
44	Dario Cataldo	Team SKY
45	Philip Deignan	Team SKY
46	Sergio Miguel Paulinho	Tinkoff - Saxo
47	Alberto Losada	Team Katusha	+ 10' 46''
48	Jonathan Castroviejo	Movistar Team
49	Yury Trofimov	Team Katusha
50	Dmitry Kozontchuk	Team Katusha
51	Luis León Sánchez	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	+ 11' 55''
52	Philippe Gilbert	BMC Racing Team	+ 13' 57''
53	Guillaume Levarlet	Cofidis Solutions Crédits
54	Vicente Reynes	IAM Cycling
55	Stef Clement	Belkin Pro Cycling Team
56	Winner Anacona	Lampre Merida
57	Geoffrey Soupe	FDJ.fr
58	Johan Le Bon	FDJ.fr
59	Merhawi Kudus Ghebremedhin	MTN - Qhubeka
60	Daniel Teklehaimanot	MTN - Qhubeka
61	Alexandr Kolobnev	Team Katusha
62	Damiano Cunego	Lampre Merida
63	Paul Martens	Belkin Pro Cycling Team
64	Cédric Pineau	FDJ.fr
65	Chad Haga	Team Giant - Shimano
66	Louis Meintjes	MTN - Qhubeka
67	George Bennett	Cannondale Pro Cycling
68	Pieter Serry	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step
69	Vincent Jerome	Team Europcar
70	Sergei Chernetski	Team Katusha
71	Natnael Berhane	Team Europcar	+ 16' 11''
72	Dan Craven	Team Europcar
73	Amets Txurruka	Caja Rural Seguros RGA
74	Mikel Landa	Astana Pro Team
75	Francisco Javier Aramendia	Caja Rural Seguros RGA
76	Carlos Verona	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step
77	Johannes Fröhlinger	Team Giant - Shimano
78	Jerome Cousin	Team Europcar
79	Martijn Keizer	Belkin Pro Cycling Team
80	Tobias Ludvigsson	Team Giant - Shimano
81	Matthias Krizek	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 16' 15''
82	Rinaldo Nocentini	AG2R La Mondiale
83	Alexey Lutsenko	Astana Pro Team	+ 17' 34''
84	Sébastien Hinault	IAM Cycling	+ 20' 49''
85	Nikias Arndt	Team Giant - Shimano
86	Yauheni Hutarovich	AG2R La Mondiale
87	Filippo Pozzato	Lampre Merida
88	Carlos Alberto Betancur	AG2R La Mondiale
89	Kristof Vandewalle	Trek Factory Racing
90	Ramon Sinkeldam	Team Giant - Shimano
91	Adam Yates	Orica GreenEdge
92	Robert Wagner	Belkin Pro Cycling Team
93	Valerio Conti	Lampre Merida
94	Mitchell Docker	Orica GreenEdge
95	Laurent Mangel	FDJ.fr
96	Yaroslav Popovych	Trek Factory Racing
97	Gregory Henderson	Lotto Belisol
98	Adam Hansen	Lotto Belisol
99	Andrea Guardini	Astana Pro Team
100	Javier Moreno	Movistar Team
101	Romain Hardy	Cofidis Solutions Crédits
102	Matteo Tosatto	Tinkoff - Saxo
103	Manuel Quinziato	BMC Racing Team
104	Marcel Aregger	IAM Cycling
105	Martin Velits	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step
106	Bob Jungels	Trek Factory Racing
107	Romain Zingle	Cofidis Solutions Crédits
108	Jonathan Fumeaux	IAM Cycling
109	Lawrence Warbasse	BMC Racing Team
110	Nikolas Maes	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step
111	Patrick Gretsch	AG2R La Mondiale
112	Kristian Sbaragli	MTN - Qhubeka
113	Luis Mas Bonet	Caja Rural Seguros RGA
114	Sander Armee	Lotto Belisol
115	Maximiliano Ariel Richeze	Lampre Merida
116	Fabio Felline	Trek Factory Racing
117	Jose Rodolfo Serpa	Lampre Merida
118	Vasil Kiryienka	Team SKY
119	Wouter Poels	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step
120	Koldo Fernández	Garmin Sharp
121	Esteban Chaves	Orica GreenEdge
122	Johan Van Summeren	Garmin Sharp
123	Francesco Lasca	Caja Rural Seguros RGA
124	Imanol Erviti	Movistar Team
125	José Herrada	Movistar Team
126	Jacopo Guarnieri	Astana Pro Team
127	Jesse Sergent	Trek Factory Racing
128	Sam Bewley	Orica GreenEdge
129	Pirmin Lang	IAM Cycling
130	Sébastien Turgot	AG2R La Mondiale
131	Jay Robert Thomson	MTN - Qhubeka
132	Yohan Bagot	Cofidis Solutions Crédits
133	Pim Ligthart	Lotto Belisol
134	Antonio Piedra	Caja Rural Seguros RGA
135	Karol Domagalski	Caja Rural Seguros RGA
136	Guillaume Boivin	Cannondale Pro Cycling
137	Maciej Bodnar	Cannondale Pro Cycling
138	Jasper Stuyven	Trek Factory Racing
139	Michael Valgren Andersen	Tinkoff - Saxo
140	Adriano Malori	Movistar Team
141	Daniil Fominykh	Astana Pro Team
142	Paolo Longo Borghini	Cannondale Pro Cycling
143	Jaco Venter	MTN - Qhubeka
144	Jens Debusschere	Lotto Belisol
145	Maarten Tjallingii	Belkin Pro Cycling Team
146	Nathan Haas	Garmin Sharp
147	Gerald Ciolek	MTN - Qhubeka
148	David Millar	Garmin Sharp
149	Andrew Talansky	Garmin Sharp
150	Jimmy Engoulvent	Team Europcar
151	Gert Joeaar	Cofidis Solutions Crédits
152	Elia Favilli	Lampre Merida
153	Nathan Brown	Garmin Sharp
154	Yannick Martinez	Team Europcar
155	Vegard Breen	Lotto Belisol
156	Rohan Dennis	BMC Racing Team
157	Daniele Bennati	Tinkoff - Saxo
158	John Degenkolb	Team Giant - Shimano
159	Luke Rowe	Team SKY
160	Damien Gaudin	AG2R La Mondiale
161	Michael Matthews	Orica GreenEdge
162	Roberto Ferrari	Lampre Merida
163	Simon Clarke	Orica GreenEdge	+ 21' 02''
164	Peter Kennaugh	Team SKY

GC after Stage 18:

1	Alberto Contador	Tinkoff - Saxo	71hr 38min 37sec
2	Christopher Froome	Team SKY	@ 1min 19sec
3	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	+ 1' 32''
4	Joaquin Rodriguez	Team Katusha	+ 2' 29''
5	Fabio Aru	Astana Pro Team	+ 3' 15''
6	Daniel Martin	Garmin Sharp	+ 6' 52''
7	Samuel Sánchez	BMC Racing Team	+ 6' 59''
8	Warren Barguil	Team Giant - Shimano	+ 9' 12''
9	Daniel Navarro	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	+ 9' 44''
10	Damiano Caruso	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 9' 45''
11	Daniel Moreno	Team Katusha	+ 12' 49''
12	Mikel Nieve	Team SKY	+ 14' 15''
13	Romain Sicard	Team Europcar	+ 18' 15''
14	Wilco Kelderman	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 20' 05''
15	Giampaolo Caruso	Team Katusha	+ 21' 55''
16	Maxime Monfort	Lotto Belisol	+ 22' 10''
17	Sergio Pardilla	MTN - Qhubeka	+ 22' 33''
18	Luis Angel Mate	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	+ 30' 16''
19	Dominik Nerz	BMC Racing Team	+ 31' 51''
20	Winner Anacona	Lampre Merida	+ 36' 54''
21	David Arroyo	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	+ 39' 03''
22	Christophe Le Mevel	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	+ 44' 26''
23	Oliver Zaugg	Tinkoff - Saxo	+ 46' 09''
24	Jesús Hernández	Tinkoff - Saxo	+ 50' 23''
25	Ryder Hesjedal	Garmin Sharp	+ 53' 39''
26	Przemyslaw Niemiec	Lampre Merida	+ 54' 22''
27	Andre Fernando Cardoso	Garmin Sharp	+ 57' 32''
28	Mikel Landa	Astana Pro Team	+ 1h 03' 31''
29	Chris Anker Sörensen	Tinkoff - Saxo	+ 1h 08' 54''
30	Gorka Izagirre	Movistar Team	+ 1h 11' 53''
31	Esteban Chaves	Orica GreenEdge	+ 1h 13' 20''
32	José Herrada	Movistar Team	+ 1h 16' 14''
33	Jerome Coppel	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	+ 1h 16' 54''
34	Andrey Amador	Movistar Team	+ 1h 19' 58''
35	Wouter Poels	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step	+ 1h 20' 12''
36	Paolo Tiralongo	Astana Pro Team	+ 1h 21' 47''
37	Laurens Ten Dam	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 1h 27' 17''
38	Danilo Wyss	BMC Racing Team	+ 1h 27' 38''
39	Pieter Serry	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step	+ 1h 28' 23''
40	Bart De Clercq	Lotto Belisol	+ 1h 28' 35''
41	Maxime Mederel	Team Europcar	+ 1h 29' 47''
42	Alexandr Kolobnev	Team Katusha	+ 1h 31' 24''
43	Philippe Gilbert	BMC Racing Team	+ 1h 32' 25''
44	Philip Deignan	Team SKY	+ 1h 33' 16''
45	Amets Txurruka	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	+ 1h 39' 22''
46	Alberto Losada	Team Katusha	+ 1h 42' 18''
47	Kanstantsin Siutsou	Team SKY	+ 1h 42' 29''
48	Eduard Vorganov	Team Katusha	+ 1h 43' 38''
49	Cadel Evans	BMC Racing Team	+ 1h 46' 05''
50	Daniel Teklehaimanot	MTN - Qhubeka	+ 1h 47' 28''
51	Adam Hansen	Lotto Belisol	+ 1h 49' 32''
52	Andrey Zeits	Astana Pro Team	+ 1h 50' 11''
53	Guillaume Levarlet	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	+ 1h 50' 56''
54	Luis León Sánchez	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	+ 1h 52' 26''
55	Hubert Dupont	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 1h 55' 12''
56	Louis Meintjes	MTN - Qhubeka	+ 1h 59' 47''
57	Peio Bilbao	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	+ 2h 02' 15''
58	Andrew Talansky	Garmin Sharp	+ 2h 02' 22''
59	Sergio Miguel Paulinho	Tinkoff - Saxo	+ 2h 02' 35''
60	Alessandro De Marchi	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 2h 02' 39''
61	Paul Martens	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 2h 03' 02''
62	Jacques Van Rensburg	MTN - Qhubeka	+ 2h 03' 34''
63	Vicente Reynes	IAM Cycling	+ 2h 07' 18''
64	Tobias Ludvigsson	Team Giant - Shimano	+ 2h 08' 40''
65	Manuel Quinziato	BMC Racing Team	+ 2h 09' 26''
66	Jonathan Castroviejo	Movistar Team	+ 2h 13' 46''
67	Chad Haga	Team Giant - Shimano	+ 2h 16' 16''
68	Dario Cataldo	Team SKY	+ 2h 17' 16''
69	Imanol Erviti	Movistar Team	+ 2h 20' 01''
70	Carlos Verona	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step	+ 2h 24' 48''
71	Johan Le Bon	FDJ.fr	+ 2h 25' 12''
72	Bob Jungels	Trek Factory Racing	+ 2h 26' 10''
73	Stef Clement	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 2h 26' 19''
74	Lawrence Warbasse	BMC Racing Team	+ 2h 27' 17''
75	Romain Hardy	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	+ 2h 29' 30''
76	Cédric Pineau	FDJ.fr	+ 2h 30' 55''
77	Rohan Dennis	BMC Racing Team	+ 2h 32' 18''
78	Simon Clarke	Orica GreenEdge	+ 2h 32' 35''
79	Peter Kennaugh	Team SKY	+ 2h 32' 59''
80	Michael Matthews	Orica GreenEdge	+ 2h 34' 33''
81	Martijn Keizer	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 2h 37' 23''
82	Jerome Cousin	Team Europcar	+ 2h 37' 40''
83	Yannick Martinez	Team Europcar	+ 2h 38' 29''
84	Kristof Vandewalle	Trek Factory Racing	+ 2h 40' 27''
85	Yury Trofimov	Team Katusha	+ 2h 40' 55''
86	Damiano Cunego	Lampre Merida	+ 2h 41' 07''
87	Romain Zingle	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	+ 2h 41' 09''
88	Javier Moreno	Movistar Team	+ 2h 41' 19''
89	Nathan Brown	Garmin Sharp	+ 2h 41' 35''
90	Koldo Fernández	Garmin Sharp	+ 2h 41' 42''
91	George Bennett	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 2h 41' 45''
92	Adam Yates	Orica GreenEdge	+ 2h 42' 54''
93	Jasper Stuyven	Trek Factory Racing	+ 2h 46' 24''
94	Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez	Lampre Merida	+ 2h 47' 49''
95	Johannes Fröhlinger	Team Giant - Shimano	+ 2h 51' 25''
96	Filippo Pozzato	Lampre Merida	+ 2h 51' 55''
97	Merhawi Kudus Ghebremedhin	MTN - Qhubeka	+ 2h 53' 00''
98	Dmitry Kozontchuk	Team Katusha	+ 2h 53' 07''
99	Vincent Jerome	Team Europcar	+ 2h 57' 27''
100	Francisco Javier Aramendia	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	+ 2h 57' 59''
101	Fabio Felline	Trek Factory Racing	+ 3h 02' 23''
102	Geoffrey Soupe	FDJ.fr	+ 3h 03' 03''
103	Elia Favilli	Lampre Merida	+ 3h 03' 06''
104	Daniele Bennati	Tinkoff - Saxo	+ 3h 03' 13''
105	Kristian Sbaragli	MTN - Qhubeka	+ 3h 03' 49''
106	Paolo Longo Borghini	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 3h 04' 06''
107	Rinaldo Nocentini	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 3h 04' 22''
108	Jens Debusschere	Lotto Belisol	+ 3h 05' 09''
109	Nikias Arndt	Team Giant - Shimano	+ 3h 05' 40''
110	Antonio Piedra	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	+ 3h 05' 40''
111	Sander Armee	Lotto Belisol	+ 3h 06' 16''
112	Alexey Lutsenko	Astana Pro Team	+ 3h 06' 28''
113	Valerio Conti	Lampre Merida	+ 3h 06' 51''
114	Vasil Kiryienka	Team SKY	+ 3h 07' 30''
115	Adriano Malori	Movistar Team	+ 3h 08' 29''
116	Sébastien Hinault	IAM Cycling	+ 3h 09' 49''
117	Yohan Bagot	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	+ 3h 10' 42''
118	Matteo Tosatto	Tinkoff - Saxo	+ 3h 11' 26''
119	Nikolas Maes	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step	+ 3h 12' 36''
120	Sergei Chernetski	Team Katusha	+ 3h 15' 22''
121	Maciej Bodnar	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 3h 16' 26''
122	Yaroslav Popovych	Trek Factory Racing	+ 3h 18' 04''
123	Marcel Aregger	IAM Cycling	+ 3h 19' 27''
124	Johan Van Summeren	Garmin Sharp	+ 3h 19' 37''
125	Karol Domagalski	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	+ 3h 19' 45''
126	John Degenkolb	Team Giant - Shimano	+ 3h 20' 58''
127	Luis Mas Bonet	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	+ 3h 21' 44''
128	Matthias Krizek	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 3h 21' 49''
129	Jaco Venter	MTN - Qhubeka	+ 3h 23' 47''
130	Michael Valgren Andersen	Tinkoff - Saxo	+ 3h 26' 11''
131	Vegard Breen	Lotto Belisol	+ 3h 30' 58''
132	Pim Ligthart	Lotto Belisol	+ 3h 33' 02''
133	Damien Gaudin	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 3h 33' 08''
134	Patrick Gretsch	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 3h 33' 24''
135	Jesse Sergent	Trek Factory Racing	+ 3h 34' 44''
136	Gregory Henderson	Lotto Belisol	+ 3h 36' 34''
137	Sam Bewley	Orica GreenEdge	+ 3h 37' 13''
138	Martin Velits	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step	+ 3h 39' 42''
139	Ramon Sinkeldam	Team Giant - Shimano	+ 3h 40' 27''
140	Yauheni Hutarovich	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 3h 43' 22''
141	Gerald Ciolek	MTN - Qhubeka	+ 3h 44' 36''
142	David Millar	Garmin Sharp	+ 3h 46' 34''
143	Jonathan Fumeaux	IAM Cycling	+ 3h 47' 42''
144	Luke Rowe	Team SKY	+ 3h 48' 13''
145	Maximiliano Ariel Richeze	Lampre Merida	+ 3h 48' 26''
146	Roberto Ferrari	Lampre Merida	+ 3h 48' 37''
147	Maarten Tjallingii	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 3h 49' 58''
148	Dan Craven	Team Europcar	+ 3h 50' 58''
149	Nathan Haas	Garmin Sharp	+ 3h 51' 32''
150	Pirmin Lang	IAM Cycling	+ 3h 54' 48''
151	Mitchell Docker	Orica GreenEdge	+ 3h 56' 28''
152	Guillaume Boivin	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 3h 57' 18''
153	Natnael Berhane	Team Europcar	+ 3h 59' 07''
154	Daniil Fominykh	Astana Pro Team	+ 3h 59' 34''
155	Gert Joeaar	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	+ 4h 04' 27''
156	Jacopo Guarnieri	Astana Pro Team	+ 4h 05' 40''
157	Robert Wagner	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 4h 05' 55''
158	Sébastien Turgot	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 4h 08' 23''
159	Jay Robert Thomson	MTN - Qhubeka	+ 4h 08' 28''
160	Francesco Lasca	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	+ 4h 10' 19''
161	Laurent Mangel	FDJ.fr	+ 4h 11' 53''
162	Jimmy Engoulvent	Team Europcar	+ 4h 16' 03''
163	Carlos Alberto Betancur	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 4h 34' 19''
164	Andrea Guardini	Astana Pro Team	+ 4h 37' 17''

Points Classification:

1	John Degenkolb	Team Giant - Shimano	149 points
2	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	130
3	Alberto Contador	Tinkoff - Saxo	120
4	Christopher Froome	Team SKY	117
5	Joaquin Rodriguez	Team Katusha	103
6	Michael Matthews	Orica GreenEdge	93
7	Fabio Aru	Astana Pro Team	91
8	Daniel Martin	Garmin Sharp	80
9	Jasper Stuyven	Trek Factory Racing	56
10	Ryder Hesjedal	Garmin Sharp	55
11	Daniel Navarro	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	53
12	Damiano Caruso	Cannondale Pro Cycling	49
13	Samuel Sánchez	BMC Racing Team	48
14	Daniel Moreno	Team Katusha	44
15	Roberto Ferrari	Lampre Merida	44
16	Alessandro De Marchi	Cannondale Pro Cycling	43
17	Wilco Kelderman	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	35
18	Vicente Reynes	IAM Cycling	34
19	Przemyslaw Niemiec	Lampre Merida	29
20	Winner Anacona	Lampre Merida	28
21	Alexandr Kolobnev	Team Katusha	28
22	Warren Barguil	Team Giant - Shimano	28
23	Philippe Gilbert	BMC Racing Team	26
24	Alexey Lutsenko	Astana Pro Team	25
25	Paul Martens	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	24
26	Damiano Cunego	Lampre Merida	21
27	Pim Ligthart	Lotto Belisol	20
28	Yannick Martinez	Team Europcar	20
29	Oliver Zaugg	Tinkoff - Saxo	20
30	Cadel Evans	BMC Racing Team	20
31	Bob Jungels	Trek Factory Racing	20
32	Jacopo Guarnieri	Astana Pro Team	20
33	Hubert Dupont	AG2R La Mondiale	18
34	Yauheni Hutarovich	AG2R La Mondiale	18
35	Jerome Coppel	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	16
36	Peio Bilbao	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	16
37	Imanol Erviti	Movistar Team	16
38	Kristian Sbaragli	MTN - Qhubeka	16
39	Gregory Henderson	Lotto Belisol	16
40	Danilo Wyss	BMC Racing Team	15
41	Elia Favilli	Lampre Merida	14
42	Valerio Conti	Lampre Merida	14
43	Javier Moreno	Movistar Team	14
44	Luis Mas Bonet	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	13
45	Sergio Pardilla	MTN - Qhubeka	12
46	Louis Meintjes	MTN - Qhubeka	12
47	Francesco Lasca	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	12
48	Romain Sicard	Team Europcar	11
49	David Arroyo	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	11
50	Bart De Clercq	Lotto Belisol	11
51	Geoffrey Soupe	FDJ.fr	11
52	Vasil Kiryienka	Team SKY	11
53	Mikel Nieve	Team SKY	10
54	Pieter Serry	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step	10
55	Koldo Fernández	Garmin Sharp	10
56	Robert Wagner	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	10
57	Jacques Van Rensburg	MTN - Qhubeka	9
58	Esteban Chaves Rubio	Orica GreenEdge	9
59	Matthias Krizek	Cannondale Pro Cycling	8
60	Adam Hansen	Lotto Belisol	8
61	Wouter Poels	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step	7
62	Rohan Dennis	BMC Racing Team	7
63	Carlos Verona	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step	7
64	Jesse Sergent	Trek Factory Racing	7
65	Guillaume Boivin	Cannondale Pro Cycling	7
66	Giampaolo Caruso	Team Katusha	6
67	Francisco Javier Aramendia	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	6
68	Fabio Felline	Trek Factory Racing	6
69	Ramon Sinkeldam	Team Giant - Shimano	6
70	Johan Le Bon	FDJ.fr	5
71	Jerome Cousin	Team Europcar	5
72	Gerald Ciolek	MTN - Qhubeka	5
73	Gorka Izagirre	Movistar Team	4
74	Amets Txurruka	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	4
75	Daniel Teklehaimanot	MTN - Qhubeka	4
76	Stef Clement	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	4
77	Nikias Arndt	Team Giant - Shimano	4
78	Sébastien Turgot	AG2R La Mondiale	4
79	Romain Hardy	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	4
80	Jens Debusschere	Lotto Belisol	4
81	Sébastien Hinault	IAM Cycling	4
82	Christophe Le Mevel	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	3
83	Laurens Ten Dam	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	3
84	Daniele Bennati	Tinkoff - Saxo	3
85	Michael Valgren Andersen	Tinkoff - Saxo	3
86	Maximiliano Ariel Richeze	Lampre Merida	3
87	Jimmy Engoulvent	Team Europcar	3
88	Angel Mate Luis	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	2
89	León Sánchez Luis	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	2
90	Romain Zingle	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	2
91	Paolo Longo Borghini	Cannondale Pro Cycling	2
92	Damien Gaudin	AG2R La Mondiale	2
93	Gert Joeaar	Cofidis Solutions Crédits	2
94	Jay Robert Thomson	MTN - Qhubeka	2
95	Jonathan Castroviejo	Movistar Team	1
96	José Herrada	Movistar Team	1
97	Eduard Vorganov	Team Katusha	1
98	Sergio Miguel Paulinho	Tinkoff - Saxo	1
99	Kristof Vandewalle	Trek Factory Racing	1
100	Adriano Malori	Movistar Team	1

Mountains Classification:

1	Luis León Sánchez	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	58 points
2	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	30
3	Alberto Contador	Tinkoff - Saxo	24
4	Przemyslaw Niemiec	Lampre Merida	20
5	Luis Mas Bonet	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	20
6	Winner Anacona	Lampre Merida	18
7	Alessandro De Marchi	Cannondale Pro Cycling	18
8	Christopher Froome	Team SKY	18
9	Ryder Hesjedal	Garmin Sharp	16
10	Fabio Aru	Astana Pro Team	15
11	Jerome Cousin	Team Europcar	13
12	Joaquin Rodriguez	Team Katusha	13
13	Peio Bilbao	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	11
14	Damiano Cunego	Lampre Merida	11
15	Oliver Zaugg	Tinkoff - Saxo	8
16	Rohan Dennis	BMC Racing Team	8
17	Javier Moreno	Movistar Team	7
18	Amets Txurruka	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	7
19	Danilo Wyss	BMC Racing Team	7
20	Yannick Martinez	Team Europcar	6
21	Alexey Lutsenko	Astana Pro Team	6
22	Hubert Dupont	AG2R La Mondiale	5
23	Pim Ligthart	Lotto Belisol	5
24	Wouter Poels	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step	4
25	Bart De Clercq	Lotto Belisol	4
26	Imanol Erviti	Movistar Team	4
27	Johan Le Bon	FDJ.fr	4
28	Adriano Malori	Movistar Team	4
29	Vasil Kiryienka	Team SKY	3
30	Nathan Haas	Garmin Sharp	3
31	Jacques Van Rensburg	MTN - Qhubeka	3
32	Kristof Vandewalle	Trek Factory Racing	3
33	Adam Yates	Orica GreenEdge	3
34	Sergio Pardilla	MTN - Qhubeka	2
35	Alexandr Kolobnev	Team Katusha	2
36	Elia Favilli	Lampre Merida	2
37	Kristian Sbaragli	MTN - Qhubeka	2
38	Jay Robert Thomson	MTN - Qhubeka	2
39	Jimmy Engoulvent	Team Europcar	2
40	Samuel Sánchez	BMC Racing Team	1
41	Romain Sicard	Team Europcar	1
42	Alberto Losada	Team Katusha	1
43	Adam Hansen	Lotto Belisol	1
44	Louis Meintjes	MTN - Qhubeka	1
45	Dario Cataldo	Team SKY	1
46	Bob Jungels	Trek Factory Racing	1
47	Stef Clement	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	1
48	Francisco Javier Aramendia	Caja Rural Seguros RGA	1
49	Valerio Conti	Lampre Merida	1

Team Classification:

1	Team Katusha	214hr 54min 51sec
2	Movistar Team	@ 26min 32sec
3	Tinkoff - Saxo	+ 32' 55''
4	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	+ 34' 05''
5	Team SKY	+ 53' 45''
6	Astana Pro Team	+ 54' 08''
7	BMC Racing Team	+ 1h 01' 25''
8	Garmin Sharp	+ 1h 03' 27''
9	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 1h 29' 32''
10	Omega Pharma - Quick-Step	+ 1h 52' 59''
11	Lampre - Merida	+ 2h 00' 16''
12	Lotto Belisol	+ 2h 17' 23''
13	Caja Rural - Seguros RGA	+ 2h 24' 30''
14	MTN - Qhubeka	+ 2h 31' 03''
15	Team Europcar	+ 2h 42' 51''
16	Team Giant - Shimano	+ 3h 02' 49''
17	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 3h 22' 13''
18	Orica GreenEdge	+ 4h 15' 02''
19	Trek Factory Racing	+ 4h 29' 02''
20	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 5h 00' 11''
21	FDJ.fr	+ 5h 28' 17''
22	IAM Cycling	+ 7h 25' 07''

Stage 18 photos:

Luis Leon Sanchez on the first time up Monte Castrove. Photo ©Sirotti

Sky leads the charge up Monte Castrove. Alberto Contador in his red jersey follows closely. Photo ©Sirotti

Ryder Hesjedal. Photo ©Sirotti

Panorama shot of Monte Castrove. Photo ©Sirotti

Hubert Dupont. Photo ©Sirotti

Chris Froome and Fabio Aru on the attack. Photo ©Sirotti

Alejandro Valverde leads Alberto Contador and Joaquin Rodriguez as they chase Froome and Aru. Photo ©Sirotti

Samuel Sanchez finished 6th today. Photo ©Sirotti

Daniel Navarro. Photo ©Sirotti

Warren Barguil leads Dan Martin and Damiano Caruso. Photo ©Sirotti

Fabio Aru puts some distance between himself and Chris Froome. Photo ©Sirotti

Fabio Aru wins stage 18. Chris Froome can be seen behind him. Photo ©Sirotti

Alejandro Valverde gets third place in front of Joaquin Rodriguez and a trailing Contador. Photo ©Sirotti

Stage winner Fabio Aru. Photo ©Sirotti

Stage 18 live updates:

Weather at Pontevedra at 2PM local time: 27C (80F), wind from the south at 10 km/hr (6 mph), partly cloudy. No rain forecast.

The Start: The riders have finished signing in and there are three non-starters. Robert Gesink, though sitting seventh in the GC, has abandoned to be with his ailing wife. Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara have also quit the Vuelta to optimize their preparations for the world championships later this month.

Late note, Cameron Meyer (Orica-GreenEdge) did not start today. That leaves 165 riders in the Vuelta peloton.

The judges weighed several bikes to make sure they meet the UCI minimum of 6.7 kg (14.99 lbs).

Km 14: We already have a break of nine riders 12 seconds off the front

Km 21: Movistar and Lotto-Belisol went to the front of the peloton and chased down the break. The pack is unified at this point.

Giant-Shimano rider Koen de Kort has abandoned.

Km 39: Johan Le Bon tried to get away, but Movistar dragged the peloton up to the FDJ rider. Le Bon has tried again, this time with Jacques van Rensburg and Amets Txurruka. Average speed of the stage so far is a blistering 55.2 km/hr.

Km 51, 106 km to go: Johan Le Bon has been joined by others and we've now got ten riders 12 seconds ahead of the fast-moving peloton.

Km 55: The Lampre/Orica-led peloton has caught the twelve escapes.

Km 62: Johan Le Bon is a determined racer. He has jumped clear again, this time with Hubert Dupont and Luis Leon Sanchez. The trio have a small, though untimed, gap.

Km 83: It looks like we have a break the peloton can live with. Le Bon (FDJ), Dupont (Ag2r) and Sanchez (Caja Rural) had built a gap of 1min 50sec, though it had been 2min 47sec a few kilometers ago.

Km 95: The trio have a 2min 15sec lead. They will probably not survive to the finish. But Sanchez, the current KOM, has a good chance of getting the points for at least the first ascent of Monte Castrove.

Km 106: The results of the intermediate sprint at Sanxenxo: 1st Johan Le Bon, 2nd Luis Leon Sanchez, 3rd Hubert Dupont. The trio has passed through the feed zone and is currently riding 1min 40sec ahead of the Movistar-led peloton.

46 km to go: Movistar has lots of muscle at the front of the pack, riding 2min 11sec behind the break of three riders.

36 km to go: Movistar has the peloton lined out. The gap to the break is down to 1min 14sec

29 km to go: We're at the first ascent of Monte Castrove. Sky leads the pack with Tinkoff-Saxo right behind. The lead trio has just 27 seconds.

Guillaume Levarlet and Alberto Losada are trying to bridge up to the Le Bon break.

26 km to go: Luis Leon Sanchez has has dropped the others in search of the KOM points at the top of Monte Castrove. Johan Le Bon has been caught by the pack. Sanchez is 31 seconds ahead of the peloton.

18 km to go: Sanchez did snag the first-place KOM points. After cresting Monte Castrove he sat up and let himself get caught by the Sky-led pack. Sky also caught Dupont, Levarlet and Losada. It's all together.

Order over Monte Castrove: 1st Luis Leon Sanchez, 2nd Hubert Dupont, 3rd Alberto Losada

9 km to go: Chris Froome and Alejandro Valverde went for the two intermediate sprint bonus seconds. Couldn't tell who got it.

7 km to go: Valverde wasn't in that sprint. Froome got the time bonus. The Vuelta reports that Froome has moved into second place.

6 km to go: We're on the final climb, the second ascent of Monte Castrove. The big GC men are moving to the front.

Bam! Warren Barguil attacks. After some hesitation, the GC men close up to him. Katusha has a three men up front of the now very reduced pack.

4 km to go: Jerome Coppel (Cofidis) has jumped away and has a good gap, 9 seconds.

3 km to go: Fabio Aru attacks and quickly catches and drops Coppel.

Here comes Rodriguez, Martin, Valverde, Contador and Froome, closing in on Aru.

2 km to go: Froome has dropped the others and catches Aru. Contador and Rodriguez sit in on Valverde, 15 seconds behind Froome.

1 km to go: Froome is pounding and Aru hangs on to his wheel. Rodriguez attacks Contador and Valverde, but can't drop them.

Aru and Froome are on a downhill section. It looks like they have the stage.

The finish: Aru outsprints Froome for the stage win and Valverde gets third place.

Stage 18 map and profile:

Stage 18 map

Stage 18 profile

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