Stage 21
Matthews in Madrid, Horner in red
- Sunday 15 September 2013
- 110 km
- 741 m climbed
- Won by Michael Matthews
The road
At the start
Madrid, and thirty-seven seconds
Chris Horner rides to Madrid leading Vincenzo Nibali by thirty-seven seconds and Alejandro Valverde by 1:36, having taken second on the Angliru at forty-one years old. What is left is a hundred and ten kilometres, a circuit in the centre of the city, and the last bunch sprint of the Grand Tour season.
How it was won
- 31 km to go
Aramendia will not sit still
The Caja Rural rider breaks the ceremonial peace on the Madrid circuit and Alessandro Vanotti joins him with thirty-one kilometres left. Forty seconds, two laps of chasing, and they are caught with five to go.
- At the line
Matthews in Madrid, Horner in red
Three weeks have wrecked the lead-out trains: Tyler Farrar, isolated, has to open the sprint early, and Michael Matthews comes over him for a second stage of this Vuelta. Behind them Chris Horner rides in as the winner of the 2013 Vuelta a España, at forty-one, after three weeks of refusing to be dropped.
The result
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Matthews | Orica GreenEDGE | 2:44:00 |
| 2 | Tyler Farrar | Garmin Sharp | +0:00 |
| 3 | Nikias Arndt | Team Argos - Shimano | +0:00 |
The route on real terrain, every moment pinned to the kilometre it happened on — and the GPX to ride it yourself.