Haedo wins confusing stage 16 finish in Vuelta
Vuelta a Espana 2011, stage 16 photo gallery by Graham Watson>>
Juan José Haedo (Saxo Bank) profited from a confusing run-in to win Tuesday's 16th stage of the 2011 Vuelta a Espana in Haro.
The Argentinean was practically gifted his winning margin when bunch sprint rivals Daniele Bennati (Leopard-Trek) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas) were duped by a roundabout with 300m to go.
While Bennati's leadout man Robert Wagner tried to take a line around the right hand side, Bennati himself veered left. Sagan was also caught up in the mess and took a line straight towards the traffic island.
While no one went down, the muddle created numerous splits in the bunch. Undisturbed by it all, Haedo stuck to a line on the left hand side of the roundabout and was almost able to freewheel across the line ahead of Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre) and Bennati.
Finishing in tenth place, two seconds back, climber Juan Jose Cobo (Geox) maintained his overall lead.
Because of the splits and his good positioning, Cobo gained marginal seconds on the two Brits immediately behind him in the general classification.
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Second placed Chris Froome (Sky) was 13th on the stage in a group two seconds behind Cobo. Finishing in 22nd, Bradley Wiggins lost an additional five seconds on Cobo and now sits 51 seconds behind.
Points classification leader Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) suffered a crash during the stage. Although he quickly re-mounted his bike, he struggled to continue riding and came home over 11 minutes behind Haedo, slipping to 23rd overall.
Results
Vuelta a Espana 2011, stage 16: Villa Romana La Olmeda (Palencia) to Haro, 203.6km
1. Juan Jose Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank
2. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-ISD
3. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard-Trek
4. Vicente Reynes (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto at same time
5. Leigh Howard (Aus) HTC-Highroad at 2 secs
6. Koen De Kort (Ned) Ski-Shimano
7. Lloyd Mondory (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale
8. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Quick Step
9. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky
10. Juan Jose Cobo (Spa) Geox-TMC at same time
Other
13. Chris Froome (GB) Sky at 4 secs
22. Bradley Wiggins (GB) Sky at 7 secs
Overall classification after stage 16
1. Juan Jose Cobo (Spa) Geox-TMC
2. Chris Froome (GB) Sky at 22 secs
3. Bradley Wiggins (GB) Sky at 51 secs
4. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank at 1-41
5. Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard-Trek at 2-40
6. Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC at 3-06
7. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard-Trek at 3-08
8. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale at 3-49
9. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto at 4-03
10. Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM at 4-18
Juan Jose Haedo wins the confusing finale
Even on today's flat stage, race leader Juan Jose Cobo gained time on his rivals
Vuelta a Espana 2011: Related links
Vuelta a Espana 2011: Cycling Weekly's coverage index
Vuelta a Espana 2011: Latest news
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Wiggins upbeat despite losing Vuelta lead on Angliru
Crunch time for Wiggins and Froome in Vuelta
Wiggins says he will give it 100 per cent to defend Vuelta lead
Vuelta tackles unknown mountain top finish today
Froome: "This lead is a big milestone"
Wiggins in Vuelta: "We're in an amazing position"
Dan Martin delighted with King of the Mountains jersey
Sky dominates in Vuelta a Espana
Martin delighted with first ever grand tour stage win
Wiggins: A fantastic finish
Interview: Wiggins looks ahead of crucial three days of Vuelta
Farrar taken to hospital after Vuelta crash
Arvesen quits Vuelta with crash injuries
Anton suffers again but Rodriguez becomes Spain's top contender
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Vuelta a Espana 2011: Teams, riders, start list
Vuelta a Espana 2011: Who's riding?
Vuelta a Espana 2011 team list
Vuelta a Espana 2011
: Stage reports
Stage 15: Wiggins loses race lead as Cobo stakes claim for overall on Angliru
Stage 14: Taaramae takes stage as Wiggins puts time into rivals
Stage 13: Albasini wins Vuelta stage 13 as Wiggins hangs on to lead
Stage 12: Sagan takes second 2011 Vuelta stage win
Stage 11: Wiggins takes overall lead as Moncoutie wins stage
Stage 10: Brit Froome moves into overall Vuelta lead after time trial
Stage nine: Martin wins as Wiggins moves further up GC
Stage eight: Rodriguez wins again to take overall lead
Stage seven: Kittel wins chaotic bunch sprint
Stage six: Sagan takes Vuelta stage win in controversial circumstances
Stage five: Rodriguez takes second win for Katusha but Chavanel holds on
Stage four: Moreno wins first mountain skirmish at Sierra Nevada
Stage three: Lastras solos to stage and takes red jersey
Stage two: Sutton grabs stage win to set things right for Sky
Stage one: Leopard-Trek win opening TTT to put Fuglsang in front
Vuelta a Espana 2011: Photo galleries
By Graham Watson
Stage 15 photo gallery
Stage 14 photo gallery
Stage 13 photo gallery
Stage 12 photo gallery
Stage 11 photo gallery
Stage 10 photo gallery
Stage nine photo gallery
Stage eight photo gallery
Stage seven photo gallery
Stage six photo gallery
Stage five photo gallery
Stage four photo gallery
Stage three photo gallery
Stage two photo gallery
Stage one photo gallery
Vuelta a Espana 2011: TV guide
Vuelta a Espana 2011: ITV4 TV schedule
Vuelta a Espana 2011: British Eurosport TV schedule
ITV to show 2011 Vuelta
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