Spanish cyclist Imanol Erviti of Caisse d’Epargne won the 18th stage of the Tour of Spain on Thursday while overall leader Alberto Contador moved closer to a historic victory.
Erviti overtook Irish rider Nicolas Roche of Credit Agricole in the final moments to take the 167.4km stage from Valladolid in 3 hours, 53 minutes, 17 seconds.
Spanish rider David Herrero of Xacobeo-Galicia was one second behind for third ahead of Belarusian rider Vasili Kiryienka of Tinkoff Credit Systems. Dutch rider Karsten Kroon of Team CSC was 10 seconds behind Erviti to round out the top five.
PHOTO: AFP
Contador is on the verge of joining a short list of cyclists to have won the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and the Tour of Spain.
The Spanish cyclist finished 7:29 back of Erviti in 26th but maintained his lead of 1:17 over Astana teammate Levi Leipheimer of the US.
Only three more stages of the Spanish classic remain before Contador can claim his place alongside Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi and Bernard Hinault to have swept cycling’s three premiere races.
Contador won last year’s Tour and this year’s Giro, and a Vuelta victory would see him claim the three titles within 15 months, which would beat Hinault’s record of 26 months.
Belgian rider Tom Boonen, who won his second stage on Wednesday for QuickStep, and Francaise des Jeux rider Philippe Gilbert of France both withdrew on Thursday to focus on the upcoming world championship.
The riders faced a 145.5km ride to Segovia for yesterday’s 19th stage, which includes two mountain climbs.
Only today’s time-trial then remains before the final ride into Madrid tomorrow.
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