Stage 11

The road

At the start

Level on time, five climbs to Farrapona

Roglič won the uphill sprint in Suances and took red back — he and Carapaz are now level on time, with Dan Martin at 25 seconds and Hugh Carthy at 51. Today is the first of two summit finishes in a row, and each of its five climbs is higher than the one before it, ending at the Alto de la Farrapona above the Lagos de Somiedo, where Contador sealed his Vuelta in 2014.

How it was won

1. 174 km to go

   Asturias bites

   A relentless Asturian mountain stage grinds over the Alto de la Cobertoria, the break stretched thin as the GC teams marshal their leaders.

2. 233 km to go

   The climbs stack up

   Over the Puerto de San Lorenzo the day's accumulated climbing begins to tell, the favourites poised for the final haul to La Farrapona.

3. 34 km to go

   Gaudu attacks

   On the upper slopes of the Alto de la Farrapona David Gaudu jumps clear, the young Frenchman flying toward his first Grand Tour stage win.

4. 42 km to go

   Skirmish behind

   In the red jersey group Roglič and Carapaz trade digs, neither able to shake the other as Carthy hangs tough on the brutal ramps.

5. 5At the line

   Gaudu screams home

   Gaudu wins atop La Farrapona and roars with delight, a maiden Grand Tour victory carved out of one of the Vuelta's hardest days.

The result