Vuelta a España: Simon Yates goes for victory in decisive stage 20 - live!
15 September 2018 10:55
Live updates from the penultimate and decisive stage in AndorraSimon Yates on verge of Vuelta victory as Pinot takes stage 19Feel free to email James here or tweet @piercy360 11.55am BST For some recommended reading, Richard Moore was in Andorra to watch Simon Yates increase his lead in what proved a disastrous day for Alejandro Valverde and Movistar. Related: Simon Yates on verge of Vuelta victory as Thibaut Pinot takes stage 19 Related: Vuelta a España: Simon Yates set to complete British cycling grand slam 11.45am BST Let the good people of the Vuelta guide you through the stage Etapa 20 | Stage 20 #LaVuelta18 Escaldes-Engordany ?? La Gallina. Santuario de Canolich Montaña | Mountain 97.3 km - 3,280 m++info ?? https://t.co/MXsHzhJGQg Descubre el recorrido gracias a @relivecc Discover the route thanks to Relive pic.twitter.com/Q16I40i5Ed 1.52pm BST Simon Yates is just 97.3km from his first Grand Tour victory, with tomorrow’s stage into Madrid a traditional procession, which will also create the rather bizarre scenario – given the fact before 2012 there had been precisely zero – of the last five winners of cycling’s biggest stage races all being British. Thankfully, for the Mitchelton–Scott rider today’s jaunt is something of a home stage for him. No, the Vuelta hasn’t briefly been relocated to Bury but Yates bases himself in Andorra and has trained this route and these climbs countless times. That being said, despite this being the shortest stage of the race bar the opening day time trial, this is a particularly brutal ride from Escaldes-Engordany to Coll de la Gallina with six “hellish” categorised climbs.Yates’ 1min 38secs advantage on Alejandro Valverde is sizeable, especially as he was able to put more than a minute on the veteran Spaniard yesterday with the pressure on, but the demanding nature of the stage and the quality of the Movistar team snapping at his heels means it’s far from inconceivable that this could go horribly wrong and spectacularly right for the 2009 champion. Continue readingread full article
