Vuelta Stage 15: Oranje Boom gives Dutch cause for celebration

Image © Unipublic

Vuelta Stage 15: Jaén - Cordoba: 168KM

Lars Boom of Rabobank put in a great solo performance this afternoon to claim Stage 15 of the Vuelta in Cordoba. The 23-year-old Dutchman, the current world cyclo-cross champion, had figured prominently in breakaways during the race’s opening days in the Low Countries. He couldn’t give Dutch fans a home win then, but he managed the next best thing today.

After three very tough days in the mountains, and this being very much a transitional stage, the riders towards the top of the general classification unsurprisingly took it easy today, coming in 25 minutes after the stage winner.

Boom, whose performance today surely reinforce his credentials as a future classic winner, started the day an hour and twenty minutes down on the GC, but was one of 13 riders who had managed to break off the front of the peloton at the halfway point in today’s stage.

When the peloton finally came in, Columbia-HTC’s André Greipel, in the green sprinter’s jersey, was led out by his team to help consolidate his position at the top of the points classification. Alejandro Valverde of Caisse d’Epargne remains race leader in gold.

The race continues tomorrow with a 170-kilometre stage from Córdoba to Puertollano, including two Category 3 climbs early on. That’s unlikely to have an impact on the overall race as the leaders conserve themselves for Friday’s mountain stage and Saturday’s time trial.

Top 20 Stage 15

1) Lars Boom (Rabobank)                        04:12:56
2) David Herrero (Xacobeo-Galicia)             00:01:36
3) Dominik Roels (Milram)                      00:01:44
4) Leonardo Duque (Cofidis)                    00:02:04
5) Maxim Iglinsky (Astana)                     00:02:04
6) Alexander Kolobnev (Saxo Bank)              00:02:04
7) Martin Velits (Milram)                      00:02:04
8) Serafín Martínez Acevedo (Xacobeo-Galicia)  00:02:04
9) Alexander Efimkin (AG2R La Mondiale)        00:02:04
10) Matthieu Ladagnous (Francaise Des Jeux)    00:03:23
11) Vicente Reynes (Columbia-HTC)              00:03:23
12) Olivier Kaisen (Silence-Lotto)             00:03:23
13) Christian Meier (Garmin Slipstream)        00:05:18
14) André Greipel (Columbia-HTC)               00:25:01
15) Wouter Weylandt (Quick Step)               00:25:01
16) Javier Benitez (Contentpoli-Ampo)          00:25:01
17) Marcel Sieberg (Columbia-HTC)              00:25:01
18) Paul Voss (Milram)                         00:25:01
19) Fabio Sabatini (Liquigas)                  00:25:01
20) Stuart O'grady (Saxo Bank)                 00:25:01

Top 10 General Classification after Stage 15

1) Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne)      65:08:50
2) Robert Gesink (Rabobank)                   00:00:31
3) Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi)         00:01:10
4) Ivan Basso (Liquigas)                      00:01:28
5) Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto)                00:01:51
6) Ezequiel Mosquera (Xacobeo-Galicia)        00:01:54
7) Joaquin Rodriguez (Caisse d'Epargne)       00:05:53
8) Paolo Tiralongo (Lampre-NGC)               00:06:34
9) Thomas Danielson (Garmin-Slipstream)       00:08:28
10) Juan José Cobo (Fuji-Servetto)            00:10:45