Vuelta España Stage 16: Gijon > Pajares/Cuitu Negru, 183kms

As Daniel Teklehaimanot, champion of Eritrea, can testify, the pace for the first hour is brutal...

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Instead, it is Sergei Lugatin of Uzbekistan who is the first to be dropped..

Laurent Didier, the Luxemburg champion, is also getting dropped on the first hills...

The culprit is another national champion - Ian Stannard of Great Britain is setting a furious pace at the front..!

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Incredibly, despite the speed, Dario Cataldo and Thomas De Gendt have managed to escape...

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De Gendt and Cataldo start the first big climb with a fourteen-minute advantage..!

Saxo Bank is chasing on the same climb, but they have a lot of work to do if Contador wants to win the stage and take time-bonuses...

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My view of the world, and the Vuelta peloton, from inside an Asturian structure called a Horreo...

Philippe Gilbert has a different view - he's sweating in the hope of coming good for the Worlds...

Peter Weening and Simon Clarke are trying to get ahead of the peloton to gain climbing points on the following ascent...

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Saxo Bank and Euskatel are chasing hard, killing Clarke's plans, and shredding the peloton in the process...

Alberto Contador has gone to the back of the peloton on the Cobertorio - so he can keep an eye on Rodriguez, who's also back there...

Paulinho and Hernandez have been told to attack - to see if Rodriguez is having an off-day...

De Gendt and Cataldo are still seven minutes ahead halfway up the Pajares pass - one of them will win this Queen stage of the Vuelta...

Rafal Majka is once again setting a fantastic pace for Contador, reducing the main group to less than 20-riders...

Contador, Rodriguez and Valverde look comfortable enough in their leader's jerseys...

Hernandez has accelerated on the Pajares pass, leaving four men at the front...

Andrew Talansky has been dropped with Froome and Roche, but he's fighting hard to get back...

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Igor Anton is being dropped by Froome, not a good day for the Basque hero...

Contador makes an attack on the summit of the Pajares - it's starting to hurt Rodriguez..!

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Contador leads Rodriguez and Valverde as the final climb begins...

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Contador attacks again and again, but Rodriguez is strong enough to resist - and beat his rival in the sprint atop the Cuitu Negru..!

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Contador and Rodriguez approach the last kilometre of Cuitu Negru, cheered on by huge crowds...

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Some time later, Robert Gesink leads Talansky and Ten Dam towards the finish...

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Talansky has done enough to move up the G.C a little, he's doing alright for a 23-year-old..!

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Chris Froome has lost a few minutes to Valverde, ruining his hopes of a podium place in Madrid - he's still 4th overall...

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Nicolas Roche has had a very bad day, losing 6'58" on the stage - but he'll probably end this Vuelta in 10th overall...

Christophe Le Mevel has also had a tough day in Asturias...

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Richie Porte starts the final, for him lonely, kick to the summit...

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Gilbert finds it hard to resist the push of a fan, as will many other tired cyclists today...

Adrian Palomares needs his push - he's been in almost every escape in this tough Vuelta..!

Dario Cataldo won stage sixteen, kicking away from De Gendt in the last 200-metres...

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