Conti turns up heat in Vuelta

FUN IN THE SUN: FROOME 55SEC BEHIND QUINTANA

Daunting Pyrenees awaits riders after a leisurely day.

Urdax, Spain

Italy’s Valerio Conti won the longest stage of the Vuelta a Espana yesterday as the main favourites enjoyed a leisurely ride in the blazing sun. The 213.4km course from Bilbao to Urdax near the French border was dominated by a 12-strong breakaway, with Conti pulling clear in the final 20km to come home alone.

Colombia’s Nairo Quintana retained the race leader’s red jersey ahead of Tour de France winner Chris Froome, who is 54 seconds behind.

Switzerland’s Danilo Wyss triumphed in the sprint for second ahead of Russia’s Sergey Lagutin, 55 seconds behind the stage winner.

But with tough mountain stages to come, including today’s first trip into the Pyrenees, the overall contenders essentially took the day off.

Riding at a pedestrian pace, the peloton came over the finishing line almost 34 minutes behind the winner.

Saturday’s 14th stage is 196km long from Urdax to Aubisque and includes three first category climbs before the final hors category ascent to the finish.

It is highly likely to provoke some serious skirmishing among the overall contenders, with Quintana looking to gain time on Froome.

There is a 37km individual time-trial in a week in which Froome is expected to make significant gains on Quintana’s lead. –