Vuelta a España: Iturria wins stage 11

Image 1 of 39

Mikel Iturria (Euskadi-Murias) claimed a spectacular breakaway victory on stage 11 of the Vuelta a España, going solo from some 25km out and holding off an ever-changing chase group as the general classification contenders enjoyed a quiet day in the saddle.

Iturria was part of a 14-rider break that formed in the first hour of racing on the rugged 180km route from Saint-Palais to Urdax and finished nearly 20 minutes clear of the peloton. His victory was a combination of brute strength and opportunism, as he picked an early moment to attack and then leant on a lack of cooperation from his former companions.

The disappointment etched on the face of Lawson Craddock (EF Education First) said it all. The American finished in second place, pipping Jonathan Lastra (Caja Rural) and Damien Howson (Mitchelton-Scott) to the line a mere five seconds behind the jubilant Iturria.

Iturria had gained nearly a minute in the early phase of his attack, which was made as soon as he made it back to the front of the race following the last of the three categorised climbs. However, he was pegged back to 10 seconds inside the final 10km after Lastra kicked off the responses from the rest of the group.

Howson soon joined the chase, along with Amanual Ghebreigzabhier (Dimension Data), Francois Bidard (AG2R La Mondiale), and – a little later – Craddock. However, no one wanted to shoulder too much responsibility, and the pace constantly ebbed and flowed from the chase.

Even so, with the gap barely above 10 seconds for much of the last several kilometres, it looked a tall order for the lone leader, and it appeared all over with 1,500m to go as they got within touching distance. Somehow, however, they failed to finish the job and let him slip away again, the Spaniard shaking his head as he crossed the line for his first victory as a professional.

“When I was asked in the pre-race presentation which stage I wanted to win, I said this one – with my family here,” said Iturria. “I’ve always dreamed of something like this, because I’m a worker not a winner. Before the Vuelta I had come to recon the stage. I dedicate it to those who were with me.

“The breakaway was going well, but I’m a diesel and I dropped out of the group. When I went, I pretended to be dead. Then I gave it my all. At 2km to the finish I saw I had a gap but then they threw themselves at me. I didn’t look back very much because even when I’m fresh I’m slow in the sprint, and in that situation I wouldn’t have had any chance.”

It was a big win for his Euskadi-Murias team, too - close to their native Basque Country and at a time where their future is under threat. After stepping up to Pro Continental level last year, it's their second win in two Vueltas, following Oscar Rodriguez's triumph at La Camperona last year.

They're the third wildcard team to win a stage at this Vuelta after Angel Madrazo's win for Burgos-BH on stage 5 and Jesus Herrada's win for Cofidis on stage 6. It's just Caja Rural who are yet to taste success, although they came close on Wednesday through Lastra and Alex Aranburu, who was aggressive in the break on the climbs.

After Tuesday's pivotal time trial, it was a quiet day for the general classification riders. The rugged terrain meant no sprinters showed a genuine interest in chasing the breakaway, whose advantage grew and grew as race leader Primoz Roglic's Jumbo-Visma teammates calmly led the bunch to the finish.

How it unfolded

The 180km stage was always likely to suit a breakaway, with rugged terrain and three categorised climbs: Col d'Osquich (Cat-3, km77), Col d'Ispéguy (Cat-2, km123), Col de Otxondo (Cat-3, km142).

Joining Iturria, Craddock, Howson, Ghebreigzabhier, Aranburu, and Bidard in the early break were: Ángel Madrazo (Burgos-BH), Jorge Arcas (Movistar), Matteo Fabbro (Katusha-Alpecin), Gorka Izagirre (Astana), and Ben O'Connor. They were joined a little later by Lastra, Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step) and Benjamin Thomas (Groupama-FDJ), but Cyril Barthe (Euskadi-Murias) was unable to bridge the gap despite a long effort.

By the time the break had become 14, the gap back to the peloton was up at seven minutes. Once over the Col d'Osquich, where Madrazo added to his lead in the mountains classification, the gap began to balloon as it became clear there'd be no chase from the bunch.

The break started racing against each other on the  Col d'Ispéguy, the hardest climb of the day. O'Connor kicked off the hostilities but paid for his effort and was dropped before the top, along with Madrazo. Izaguirre attacked near the summit and Aranburu was quick to join in and collaborate. They led over the top, while Craddock set off behind and joined them on the descent to make it three out front.

The lead group grew on the Col de Oxtondo (7.6km at 4.7 per cent), with Ghebreigzabhier and Howson first making it across, and then Fabbro and Bidard making it seven out front. Over the top of the climb it split again - Aranburu, Howson and Craddock going clear – but by the bottom of the descent they were seven again.

The road then flattened out and the second group on the road, containing four riders, came back to the front of the race. Among them was Iturria, and no sooner had contact been made than the Spaniard was ripping out of the front of the group under the 25km-to-go banner.

It was an audacious move and the others seemed to think it innocuous as he carved out a lead of more than 50 seconds with just over 14km to go.

It was at that point that Lastra kicked off the response. Arcas responded at first but it was Cavagna, on the back of a puncture repair, who went off to join him. Ghebreigzabhier was the next to go and when he reached them and went through off the front with 10km to go, an exhausted Cavagna sat up and fell away.

As Lastra sat behind Ghebreigzabhier, Howson and Bidard made it across as the rest of the break scrambled to drag themselves into contention. With 8km to go, Craddock attacked and made it five in the chase behind Iturria.

At that point, the gap came down to 10 seconds, but they began to look at each other, all reluctant to burn their own matches and drag a rival to the line. Accelerations were short-lived before the impetus waned and, as such, the gap to the rather-more-steady Iturria hovered just above the 10-second mark for much of the run-in.

With just under 2km to go, Howson launched a more concerted acceleration and rode away with Ghebreigzabhier. They closed in to such an extent they could almost tough Iturria, but still they eased up. Behind, they continued to quabble before Craddock dragged them back to a quintet.

By then, however, Iturria had several seconds once again, along with a tailwind and a false flat downhill to carry him to the line. It was a mixture of disbelief and jubilation for the 27-year-old – frustration and recrimination for everyone else.