Stage 12

The road

At the start

One second, and a wall at the end

Rodríguez rode the time trial of his life and kept the red jersey by a single second from Alberto Contador, with Froome fifteen back and Valverde at fifty-eight. Today is flat for a hundred and ninety kilometres and then stands on end: the Mirador de Ézaro, under two kilometres long and touching thirty per cent, already called harder than Valdepeñas de Jaén.

How it was won

1. 1118 km to go

   Four go, and are given seven minutes

   Moinard, Meyer, Astarloza and De Weert get away after seventy-five kilometres of attacking, and Katusha, policing rather than chasing, let the gap run out past seven minutes with eighty to ride.

2. 230 km to go

   A crash, and Zandio goes home

   Inside the last thirty kilometres the bunch comes down; Xabier Zandio abandons. The lull lasts a few minutes and then the chase finds its rhythm and the gap collapses towards two and a half.

3. 32 km to go

   Onto the Ézaro

   The Mirador de Ézaro is one thousand nine hundred metres long and touches thirty per cent. Flecha leads them onto it and blows; Stannard blows; and Igor Antón, who has lost time every day of this Vuelta, attacks because there is nothing else left to do.

4. 41 km to go

   Rodríguez first, Contador second

   The red jersey is the only man quick enough to react to Antón, and Contador tracks him. A gap opens behind them to Valverde and Froome that will never close. Henao drags them to within a metre — and then Contador attacks.

5. 5At the line

   Two hundred metres at thirty per cent

   Rodríguez follows him, waits, and kicks with two hundred metres left on a gradient where kicking should not be possible. Contador is left standing, holding on for second; the lead goes out to thirteen seconds, and Froome is fifty-one down.

The result