Spanish cyclist Eladio Jimenez joined a breakaway of 12 other bicyclists some 16 miles into Saturday's Vuelta a Espana stage.
He clung to the lead all the way to the finish of the 107-mile race, keeping up his pace as the others dropped off the 9-mile climb up the average 6.5% grade — tilting to 13% in places — to Lagos de Covadonga, according to the CyclingNews live report.
As Jimenez, a cyclist for Comunidad Valenciana, finished first, another breakaway bicyclist — Inigo Cuesta (Saunier Duval) — finished second.
Meanwhile, three-time Vuelta winner Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) could not shake overall leader Denis Menchov (Rabobank), who hung onto Heras' rear wheel all the way up the climb to keep his 47 second edge over the Spaniard. Menchov and Heras finished 5th and 6th on the day, given the same time of 1-minute and 44 seconds behind Jimenez.
The bicycle race's 3rd-place finisher — Gilberto Simoni — hasn't been heard from much in the Vuelta, starting the day in 46th overall. Fourth place went to Carlos Sastre, who moved up from 4th to 3rd overall, displacing Francisco Mancebo, who finished 10th in the stage.
American Tom Danielson (see his racing diary), the highest placed US rider, fell from 6th to 9th place overall after finishing about 3 minutes and 46 seconds behind the winner. Full results are posted at CyclingNews.
The cyclists face another mountainous stage on Sunday, finishing atop Valgrande Pajares after 118 miles of riding. After that, there are just two more hilly days until the three-week Grand Tour ends Sunday in Madrid.
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