Stage 18

The road

At the start

Peña Cabarga, at twenty per cent

Nibali leads Horner by twenty-eight seconds and Valverde by 1:14; Roche's day in the crosswinds moved him up to fifth. Today ends on Peña Cabarga, short and steep enough at the top to have settled Vueltas before. With bonuses at the line and at the intermediate sprints, twenty-eight seconds is not much of a lead at all.

How it was won

1. 1168 km to go

   Fifteen go, and the chase gives up

   The right move forms after eighteen kilometres, fifteen riders strong. Movistar and Cofidis have missed it and set off after it, then lose enthusiasm and sit up, and the gap starts climbing towards double figures.

2. 279 km to go

   Ten minutes, and then the turn

   Txurruka takes the points on the Estacas de Trueba, the highest of the day, with the break more than ten minutes clear. It is also the point at which the gap starts to fall: Movistar have decided to spend the afternoon setting up Valverde.

3. 339 km to go

   Kiryienka goes, twice

   The break shatters on the Alto del Caracol forty kilometres out. Kiryienka attacks with Clarke and Hansen, and then attacks again and leaves them — a lone Belarusian diving the descents and pacing the climbs perfectly.

4. 426 km to go

   The chasers argue instead of ride

   He carves out a minute and keeps it, because the riders behind him spend their time talking — and then arguing — about which of them should be doing the work. Nobody does.

5. 52 km to go

   Twenty per cent, and Nibali cracks

   The last two kilometres of Peña Cabarga touch one in five. Moreno and Rodríguez blow the group apart for Katusha and Horner goes with them; Nibali bangs shoulders with Valverde on a corner fighting to follow, hauls himself back to the trio once, and has nothing left when Horner accelerates again inside the final kilometre. His shoulders slump; the American rides out of sight.

6. 6At the line

   Kiryienka takes it, Horner takes the race

   Vasil Kiryienka holds twenty-eight seconds on Chris Anker Sørensen at the line for a deserved win. Behind, Nibali arrives with the red jersey intact by three seconds — and with the Naranco and the Angliru still to come.

The result