Vuelta a Espana 2015 Stage 17

photo credits @ La Vuelta

Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) set the fastest time during today’s individual time trial, to take over the leader’s jersey in the Vuelta a España.

Dumoulin rode a convincing race against the clock, beating his closest rival, Maciej Bodnar, by over a minute. 

The Dutch rider crossed the line in a time of 46:10-01, after covering the 38.7 course. 

Race Highlights

Tinkoff-Saxo‘s Bodnar was in the leader’s hotseat for most of the day, having been the 18th rider to roll down the ramp.

At one point, Bodnar’s teammate, Rafal Majka, was thought to be a threat in taking over the virtual race lead, but at the first checkpoint he began to fade considerably. 

In the meantime, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) put in a valiant effort, coming in just four seconds down on Bodnar.

However, moments later, Dumoulin stamped his authority on the course once more, passing the second checkpoint 38 seconds faster than Bodnar.

Meanwhile, Aru  passed the checkpoint 1:44 down on Dumoulin, while Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) struggling further back down the road – as his red jersey quickly began to slipping from his shoulders, when he crossed the second marker at 2:38 down on the Dutchman.

In the case of GC favorite, Nairo Quintana (Movistar), the Colombian rider put in a respectable performance, crossing the line just 30 seconds back on his teammate, Valverde.

Dumoulin now leads the race with a 3 second advantage over Aru, while Rodriguez trials at a mighty 1:15 back.

Stage 17 Results
NED 1 DUMOULIN, Tom (GIANT – ALPECIN) 46:01
POL 2 BODNAR, Maciej (TINKOFF – SAXO) + 1:04
ESP 3 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR) + 1:08
BLR 4 KIRYIENKA, Vasil (SKY) + 1:31
FRA 5 COPPEL, Jerome (IAM CYCLING) + 1:32
COL 6 QUINTANA ROJAS, Nairo Alexander (MOVISTAR) + 1:33
FRA 7 SICARD, Romain (EUROPCAR) + 1:36
POR 8 SANTOS SIMOES OLIVEIRA, Nelson Filipe (LAMPRE – MERIDA) + 1:38
GBR 9 CUMMINGS, Stephen (MTN – QHUBEKA) + 1:40
ITA 10 ARU, Fabio (ASTANA) + 1:53
BEL 11 DE CLERCQ, Bart (LOTTO SOUDAL) + 2:04
GBR 12 THOMAS, Geraint (SKY) + 2:28
FRA 13 ROSSETTO, Stéphane (COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS) + 2:31
ESP 14 SANCHEZ GIL, Luis Leon (ASTANA) + 2:35
BEL 15 VAN DEN BROECK, Jurgen (LOTTO SOUDAL) + 2:36
ESP 16 PLAZA MOLINA, Ruben (LAMPRE – MERIDA) + 2:38
POL 17 MAJKA, Rafal (TINKOFF – SAXO)
POR 18 GONÇALVES, José (CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA) + 2:41
POR 19 MACHADO, Tiago (KATUSHA)
COL 20 CHAVES RUBIO, Johan Esteban (ORICA GreenEDGE) + 2:43
NED 21 TERPSTRA, Niki (ETIXX – QUICK STEP)
ITA 22 POZZOVIVO, Domenico (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 2:46
FRA 23 CHAVANEL, Sylvain (IAM CYCLING)
ESP 24 MORENO FERNANDEZ, Daniel (KATUSHA) + 2:48
BEL 25 MONFORT, Maxime (LOTTO SOUDAL) + 2:52
CRC 26 AMADOR BAKKAZAKOVA, Andrey (MOVISTAR) + 2:58
ESP 27 IRIZAR ARANBURU, Markel (TREK FACTORY RACING) + 3:01
BEL 28 SERRY, Pieter (ETIXX – QUICK STEP) + 3:05
ITA 29 PUCCIO, Salvatore (SKY) + 3:06
ESP 30 RODRIGUEZ OLIVER, Joaquim (KATUSHA)
USA 31 WARBASSE, Lawrence (IAM CYCLING) + 3:09
AUT 32 ZOIDL, Riccardo (TREK FACTORY RACING)
ESP 33 MORENO BAZAN, Javier (MOVISTAR) + 3:13
FRA 34 BOUET, Maxime (ETIXX – QUICK STEP) + 3:14
ITA 35 BRAMBILLA, Gianluca (ETIXX – QUICK STEP) + 3:17
USA 36 ROSSKOPF, Joseph (BMC RACING) + 3:18
RSA 37 MEINTJES, Louis (MTN – QHUBEKA) + 3:20
LTU 38 BAGDONAS, Gediminas (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 3:21
ITA 39 VISCONTI, Giovanni (MOVISTAR) + 3:27
ESP 40 NIEVE ITURALDE, Mikel (SKY) + 3:29

General Classification after Stage 17
NED 1 DUMOULIN, Tom (GIANT – ALPECIN) 68:40:36
ITA 2 ARU, Fabio (ASTANA) + 3
ESP 3 RODRIGUEZ OLIVER, Joaquim (KATUSHA) + 1:15
POL 4 MAJKA, Rafal (TINKOFF – SAXO) + 2:22
COL 5 QUINTANA ROJAS, Nairo Alexander (MOVISTAR) + 2:53
ESP 6 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR) + 3:15
COL 7 CHAVES RUBIO, Johan Esteban (ORICA GreenEDGE) + 3:30
ESP 8 MORENO FERNANDEZ, Daniel (KATUSHA) + 3:46
ESP 9 NIEVE ITURALDE, Mikel (SKY) + 4:10
RSA 10 MEINTJES, Louis (MTN – QHUBEKA) + 6:51
ITA 11 POZZOVIVO, Domenico (AG2R LA MONDIALE) + 7:41
ITA 12 BRAMBILLA, Gianluca (ETIXX – QUICK STEP) + 10:47
FRA 13 JEANDESBOZ, Fabrice (EUROPCAR) + 12:32
BEL 14 DE CLERCQ, Bart (LOTTO SOUDAL) + 13:36
FRA 15 SICARD, Romain (EUROPCAR) + 14:03
FRA 16 ELISSONDE, Kenny (FDJ) + 15:48
POR 17 CARDOSO, Andre Fernando S. Martins (CANNONDALE – GARMIN) + 19:38
FRA 18 ROSSETTO, Stéphane (COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS) + 20:16
ESP 19 ARROYO DURAN, David (CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA) + 28:25
ESP 20 LANDA MEANA, Mikel (ASTANA) + 30:11