Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) won the first mountain top stage at the Vuelta a Espana while Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) both finished in the same time as Valverde, in second and third respectively.
Sergio Pardilla. Photo: Supplied
Team MTN-Qhubeka’s Sergio Pardilla put in a solid ride to take 12th and ultimately shot up the GC rankings to 12th place overall.
Unfortunately Merhawi Kudus crashed hard on a descent, ripping up his hip, back and elbow quite badly. He was able to fight on to the end and is currently receiving treatment.
With 2.5km’s to go there were only 25 riders left, this group included both Pardilla and Louis Meintjes.
“It was a really hard and hot day. It was the first mountain stage and the team worked really hard for me. When it came to the final, the top guys were really fast.
“The climb was a short climb and an explosive climb which doesn’t suit me but at least I could still do a decent result. I will look for the stages where there is more climbing and longer climbs as well but for now I am happy,” said Pardilla.
