2013 Vuelta a España Stage 19 Results & Recap
Stage 19 of the 2013 Vuelta a España is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
The relentless pressure that Chris Horner (RadioShack-Leopard) has been piling on Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) finally saw the veteran American take the Vuelta leader's red jersey on the Alto del Naranco.
Having gone into the stage with a three-second deficit on the Italian, Horner attacked in sight of the finish and came out of it three seconds ahead of Nibali. With one final summit finish on the fearsome Angliru to come on Saturday, 41-year-old Horner has momentum on his side and is the favourite to take overall victory.
The stage was marked by a breakaway but Joaquim Rodriguez's Katusha did much of the chasing and he paid them back with a powerful attack in the final kilometre and a solo victory.
After a long attack by Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen and Argos-Shimano's Georg Preidler had been reeled in on the approach to Oviedo, which lies at the foot of the Naranco, there was a flurry of attacks, which were neutralised by Nicolas Roche's Saxo-Tinkoff teammates.
Halfway up the final climb, Roche made the first move from the red jersey group, but the Irishman could not get clear of the rampaging Rodriguez, who sailed away in the final kilometre to claim victory and edge himself a few seconds closer to the race leader.
He was followed in by Diego Ullisi (Lampre-Merida), Dani Moreno (Katusha) and local icon Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), with Horner 14 seconds down in fifth place. Crucially, though, the American was half a dozen seconds clear of Nibali, enough to the overall lead.
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