Robert Kiserlovski might have been around for less than 3 season so far but he has made a big impact so far. The Croatian rider joined Lotto - Belisol in 2012 and has been there ever since. Kiserlovski joined the Belgian team as a domestique where Jelle Vanendert and Bjorn Leukemans were the leaders for the season but, luckily for him, the team they sent to the Tour Down Under was rather weak. That allowed him to grab a top 10 in his first World Tour Race.
Kiserlovski did not do much else that season but his progression was steady. Lotto did not have a great season that year and the managers made a risky decision in giving Kiserlovski a leading role even ahead of Jelle Vanendert. Their gamble paid off big time in the Tour de Suisse, one of the most reputable one week races. He won 4 consecutive stages and only lost the leader's jersey in the last stage to Frank Schleck. He was second only 57 seconds behind the Luxembourgish.
2014 has been the season that has seen Kiserlovski being much more consistent. He won his first stage in the Tour de France and got the white jersey in the French race. He also took the final 4th place in the Volta a Catalunya and 8th in the Eneco Tour. At the end of the year he will probably be in the top 20 of the World Tour standings.
Given his good performances, the Croatian has become one of the target riders in the upcoming transfer season. His 3 year contract finishes in December and it is yet unknown whether he will remain in the Lotto team.
Best results:
Tour de France
1 stage (2014), Young (2014)
Tour de Suisse
2nd (2013), 4 stages (2013), Points (2013), Young (2013)
The Vuelta is drawing to an end but the stages remaining will still be relevant for the GC. The mountainous last section of the race starts today with a hilly stage between Burgos and Peña Cabarga. The riders will have to face no less than 5 categorized climbs today, but they are not too demanding. The favorites will probably leave the battle for the last climb, a short but very demanding one.
There was surprisingly not much fight to form the break of the day. Only four riders attacked in the early kilometers of the stage and they soon built a gap. They reached the first intermediate sprint of the day, in Valdenoceda, 6' 30'' ahead of the main bunch. The group of 4 was formed by Bjorn Leukemans (Lotto), Rinaldo Nocentini (Katusha), Kanstantsin Siutsou (Cannondale) and Michele Scarponi (Lampre). Nocentini is the best placed in the GC, 20 minutes behind the leader.
The main bunch crossed the limit to Cantabria through the climb of Estacas de Trueba, 72 kilometers to go. It looked like they were going to let the break win the day, as the gap had grown to 11' 30'' and BMC was setting an easy pace at the front. The weather had turned from bad to worse and this could be a very long day in the saddle. The riders will have to be especially careful in the twisty descent that all the upcoming climbs have.
The break reached the penultimate climb, the Alto del Caracol, knowing that the stage would be for one of them. Their gap had grown to 12 minutes with 36 kilometers remaining. Rinaldo Nocentini is also taking advantage to accumulate points in the KoM classification and has provisionally moved to the 4th place. The bad news came from Bauke Mollema, as the Vacansoleil rider crashed in one of the descents. It seems like he joined the main group with no serious injuries.
The peloton surprisingly broke apart in the last kilometers of the climb to the Alto del Caracol, especially considering that there are a few flat kilometers to the last climb. Matthias Frank was the first rider to attack and that started a chain reaction. Peter Stetina was not very patient and lost all the support of his teammates without making it to the front group of attackers. With 15 kilometers remaining Matthias Frank is alone at the front, losing 8' 30'' to the break; a group of 7, including Emanuele Sella, Mikel Nieve and Jelle Vanendert is losing 9 minutes; Bauke Mollema is 9' 40'' behind while the group of the leader is losing 10' 20''.
Michele Scarponi decided that he could not wait for the last climb and attacked shortly before. He reached the climb to Peña Cabarga with a few seconds over the rest of the break. It will probably be not enough. There has been some regroupings in the chasing groups but Peter Stetina had to do a lot of the chasing himself. The loser right now is David Lopez, who is 1 minute behind his rivals for the podium. The Spaniard seems to be losing the important move every day lately.
Peter Stetina joined the group of attackers along with Bauke Mollema, Rob Ruijgh and Andrew Talansky just as the main favorites started the last climb of the day. However, Jelle Vanendert did not want any rest for the other riders and attacked straight away. Mikel Nieve joined him and they opened a gap. David Lopez's group was losing 1' 10'' at the start of the climb, so things did not look particularly well for the leader of the KoM classification.
The men from the break managed to bring back Michele Scarponi but the important events were happening among the favorites. Vanendert and Nieve had opened a gap of 30 seconds on the group of the leader and were increasing their chances of getting to the podium. Meanwhile, the group of the leader was losing riders like Bauke Mollema, Andrew Talansky and Matthias Frank. It seems like the race is starting to be too long for the young American, even though a top 10 result seems almost guaranteed for him.
Rinaldo Nocentini and Kanstantsin Siutsou left Scarponi and Leukemans behind as the riders from the break enter the last kilometer of the stage. The Italian seems to be the strongest in the group and could well repeat only two days after his first win in the Vuelta. Meanwhile, a very important attack from Rob Ruijgh took place in the group of the leader, as he has opened a gap with Peter Stetina that the American has been unable to close. David Lopez is also gaining places and he has caught up with the leader.
Rinaldo Nocentini wins in Peña Cabarga! The Italian had no rival in the final kilometer today and he managed to put quite sizable differences with the rest of the riders from the break, 17 seconds to Siutsou and 45 seconds to Leukemans. It is the fifth win of Katusha this season, what puts them on par with Discovery Channel and Lotto, and the third straight win by an Italian rider in the Vuelta.
Rob Ruijgh's attack was enough to cut 40 seconds off the lead that Peter Stetina had in the general classification. The Dutch is now only 17 seconds behind the American with two mountain-top finishes yet to be climbed. Nevertheless, Ruijgh was not the first among the favorites to cross the line, as Jelle Vanendert took the sixth place ahead of Mikel Nieve and they also recovered 40 seconds on David Lopez as they threaten his podium place.
David Lopez's climb was not bad nevertheless, as he came from behind to finish 8th in the stage leaving Stetina 27 seconds behind. Bauke Mollema also suffered from his earlier crash and could only be 21st in the finish line, crossing the line 3 minutes behind Vanendert and Nieve. It will be interesting to see if Stetina's weaknesses continue tomorrow in the hilly stage finishing in the Naranco or, more likely, in the climb to the Angliru on Saturday.
Stage 19: San Vicente de la Barquera - Alto del Naranco
The Vuelta enters the region of Asturias for the last couple of important stages. The first one will probably be not so relevant, as it is more of a hilly stage finishing in the Alto del Naranco, next to Oviedo. The type of rider that could win this stage is wider than the typical climber, as either a break, a late attack or a sprint of a reduced group could be the outcome of the stage.
BMC was not keen at all on letting the break of the day go away, as it had 14 riders. However, they couldn't either bring them back. They reached the intermediate sprint in Villaviciosa (86 kilometers to go) with a gap of only 1 minute. Among those in the break were Philippe Gilbert (Radioshack), Michael Matthews (Garmin), Johan Vansummeren (Quickstep), Rigoberto Uran (Lotto), Alberto Contador (Movistar), Enrico Gasparotto (Astana) and Michael Rogers (Saxo - Tinkoff). With such a small gap it was going to be difficult for them to resist the late attacks by the riders from the bunch.
BMC stopped the chase for a few kilometers but as the climbs started in the second half of the stage they put Tony Gallopin and Michael Albasini to work in order to reduce the gap. At the Alto de Santo Emiliano, 33 kilometers to go, the gap was 2' 45'', down from a maximum advantage of more than 3 minutes. It does not look enough of a gap but the size of the break could give them a chance.
The attacks in the main bunch started in the uncategorized Alto del Padrun. Bauke Mollema was the first rider to try to attack, now that he has some room to move given the time he has lost in the GC. Two Quickstep riders, Denis Menchov and Andy Schleck, soon followed the move by the Dutch. BMC was unpanicked because they are far behind Peter Stetina. Meanwhile, the gap to the break steadily decreased to 2' 25''.
Alberto Contador, Carlos Barredo and Francesco Gavazzi tried to open a gap from the break in the penultimate climb, the Alto de Manzaneda. However, the rest of the break group reacted quickly and by the time they were at the top they had already been reeled back in. Behind them, a group of 6 riders, including Mikel Nieve, Jelle Vanendert and Bauke Mollema, has opened a gap of 30 seconds. It seems like the Spaniard and the Belgian have a better form with every day that passes.
The stage win was going to be difficult for the break today and they were reeled back in the streets of Oviedo. With everyone back on the same group Bauke Mollema felt like attacking again and as soon as the climb to the Naranco started he attacked again. It was only 5 kilometers to go by that time. The slopes of the climb are not too demanding, so once the favorites have made it together to the start of the climb it is difficult that significant gaps will open at the finish.
Mikel Nieve and Jose Serpa have attacked and are only 10 seconds behind Bauke Mollema with 3 kilometers remaining. Francesco Gavazzi is the only rider ahead of the peloton. Meanwhile, Denis Menchov is setting the pace for Quickstep in the main bunch but if other of the favorites want to take advantage of the hilly stage they should attack now. The gap to the bunch is already up to 40 seconds.
David Lopez was the rider who attacked in the bunch with a bit less than 3 kilometers and it was spectacular. The Spaniard had no response from the bunch and got past everyone else to enter the last kilometer of the stage on his own. Bauke Mollema and Mikel Nieve, 10 seconds behind, are the only ones that could threaten his stage win. Meanwhile, Rob Ruijgh has also attacked and has a tiny gap of 10 seconds over the bunch while Peter Stetina does not look good. The Dutch could cut a few more seconds off the gap they have in the GC.
David Lopez wins in the Alto del Naranco! The Euskaltel rider wins for the second time in this Vuelta and almost guarantees his podium place before tomorrow's decisive stage. However, that was not the most important change in the stage as Rob Ruijgh managed to finish in the group with Bauke Mollema and Mikel Nieve. He put 20 seconds on Peter Stetina and is the new leader of the race by only 3 seconds.
It is difficult to think of a better scenario than the first couple of riders only separated by 3 seconds ahead of the last mountain stage of the Vuelta but David Lopez could potentially still contend for the overall win, as he reduced the gap with the leader to 1' 08''. The Angliru will be the judge of the race tomorrow. If I had to name a favorite for the overall win that would have to be Rob Ruijgh, as Peter Stetina seems to be past his best form and losing time every day. Today he didn't even manage to be in the top 10 of the stage.
It is difficult to think of a better way to finish the Vuelta than with a very close general classification and a mountain-top finish in the Angliru. Rob Ruijgh has battled his way in the last couple of days towards the top of the GC but he only has a 3 seconds advantage over Peter Stetina, who had held the red jersey for more than a week. Now the American has to respond with a performance in the toughest climb in Spain. As usual, the run to the Angliru will be preceded by the Alto del Cordal but the main battle will surely take place in the 20%+ slopes in Asturias.
The break of the day was only 5 minutes ahead at the second climb of the day, the Alto de Tenebredo. That is surprising, because it would be beneficial for Belkin to leave the break take the stage and the bonus seconds. Among the group of 8 that led the race were Geraint Thomas (HTC), Michele Scarponi (Lampre), Mark Renshaw (Discovery) and Miguel Angel Rubiano (Ag2r). With 60 kilometers remaining and a good portion of flat until the climb to the Cordal it did not look too promising for them.
Roman Kreuziger an Denis Menchov tried a crazy attack at the top of the Tenebredo but they were quickly reeled back in by mainly Sky and Movistar. It was not until the start of the climb to the Cordal that the first serious attack occurred. It was Jurgen van den Broeck, who has been rather inconsistent in this Vuelta. Halfway through the climb he had a gap of 30 seconds over a main group led by Hubert Dupont. The Belgian was not dangerous in the GC but Belkin wanted to keep a good pace for Ruijgh.
Steven Kruijswijk substituted Hubert Dupont at the front of the bunch for the last kilometers of the climb to the Cordal and at the top of the climb they already had the early break less than 1 minute ahead. Van den Broeck was still 15 seconds ahead of the bunch when Denis Menchov attacked again. The Russian has been much below what was expected from him in this year. It is going to be difficult for him to solve it here in the Angliru.
Denis Menchov was still ahead with 10 kilometers to go but the rest of the break riders had already being caught and his gap to the bunch was a mere 15 seconds. Steven Kruijswijk, Hubert Dupont and Tom Danielson are proving that Belkin has a super team for the mountains. Meanwhile, Peter Stetina is marking Rob Ruijgh closely and David Lopez is right behind the two of them.
Denis Menchov did not last long ahead and it was the turn of Juanjo Cobo. The Spaniard attacked in the easier area of Viapara and started the difficult part of the climb 15 seconds ahead of the bunch. The group of the favorites was decreasing in size progressively and was down to less than 30 men. Among those who lost contact was Roman Kreuziger.
The climb was completely blocked by Belkin and Cobo did not last long ahead. However, that changed completely in the Cueña les Cabres. Mikel Nieve attacked in the hardest section of the climb and dragged with him Peter Stetina. Obviously, Rob Ruijgh had to follow swiftly behind the second placed rider. It looked like the overall win in the Vuelta would be decided in the last 4 kilometers in a face to face between them. Before that attack, David Lopez had tried to attack without much luck.
Peter Stetina reached Mikel Nieve's position and continued on his own without anyone else being able to follow. With 2 kilometers remaining he had built a small 10 seconds gap over Rob Ruijgh and Mikel Nieve, more than enough to recover the leader's jersey if he maintained the lead at the top of the climb. David Lopez had been left behind and was losing 45 seconds, while the next group on the road, 55 seconds behind Stetina, included Hubert Dupont, Jelle Vanendert and Andrew Talansky.
Peter Stetina reached the last kilometer with the red jersey in his sights as he had 15 seconds on his chasers and the last kilometer is downhill. Rob Ruijgh had showed good legs in the recent days but today was unable to respond to Stetina's increase in pace in the last kilometers of the climb. The chasers were now 3 instead of only Ruijgh and Nieve, as David Lopez had miraculously recovered and reached the chasers late in the climb.
Peter Stetina wins in the Alto L'Angliru! The fitness of the American was in doubt lately but he responded today with a magnificent win that will most likely hand him the overall win in the Vuelta. Stetina has showed some character here to be able to regain the leader's jersey. Rob Ruijgh finished the stage 3rd, 25 seconds behind Stetina and falls to the 2nd place in the GC 28 seconds behind the leader.
David Lopez finished on a high and even left Mikel Nieve and Rob Ruijgh behind in the last kilometer. He will be the only Spaniard in the podium tomorrow in Madrid. He has also secured the mountains' jersey today. Elsewhere, it is worth noting the big gaps that appeared among the rest of the riders, as Jelle Vanendert, 5th in the stage, lost almost 2 minutes. The other most important change of positions in the GC is that Andrew Talansky climbed to the 6th place ahead of Emanuele Sella.
I was actually quite surprised to see Stetina taking the stage. He had been quite poor in the last section of mountains, but maybe it was only because in truth they were not big mountains.
The last stage of the Vuelta is normally a party that ends in a circuit in the center of Madrid. The stage is quite short in this occasion, at less than 100 kilometers from Cercedilla, in the northern mountains, to the Paseo de la Castellana. The only interesting point of the stage today will be the stage winner, as the rest of the classifications are already settled.
A group of 9 riders broke away from the main bunch on the early stages of the day, including Simon Gerrans (Radioshack), Greg van Avermaet (Vacansoleil), Luca Paolini (Quickstep), Julien Simon (Ag2r) and Sebastian Langeveld (Movistar). They reached the second intermediate sprint of the day in Pozuelo (47 kilometers to go) with a small gap of only 2 minutes over a main bunch led by Sky, HTC and Lampre.
Sebastian Langeveld, Robbie McEwen and Alexandre Serebryakov tried to make the break last longer but with 8 kilometers remaining they were finally reeled back in by the main bunch. The teams of the sprinters did a good job of controlling the gap, especially with Geraint Thomas working for HTC to give Jose Joaquin Rojas a chance to take another victory in the Vuelta.
The sprint trains are already well set up with 3 kilometers remaining. HTC is not surprisingly the leading team with Borut Bozic leading Jose Joaquin Rojas. The Spaniard had Tyler Farrar right behind him. The second sprint train was Lampre's, where Marco Marcato is going to lead out Yauheni Hutarovich followed by Michael Matthews. Meanwhile, Sky has lost a lot of track but Gregory Rast is trying to make Ben Swift progress. Simone Ponzi is trying to take advantage of that and be well positioned.
Borut Bozic is again doing an extremely good job to lead Jose Joaquin Rojas to the last kilometer in the best possible position. Tyler Farrar took Rojas' wheel and it was a good decision by the American as he is in the best position to try to attack for the win. Meanwhile, Sky is progressing next to the left hand side barriers. Gregory Rast is trying to bring Ben Swift closer but it seems a bit too late.
Jose Joaquin Rojas did a late sprint but with 500 meters remaining he led the sprint ahead of his teammate Rojas. However, it seems that Tyler Farrar is gaining terrain on Rojas and he is third on the road. Behind them, Ben Swift and Yauheni Hutarovich are trying to make up some ground but they seem too far behind to be able to contend for the win.
Jose Joaquin Rojas wins in Madrid! The Spaniard completes his dream Vuelta by taking his fifth stage win and going to the final podium to get the green jersey. It has to be said that Rojas owes a lot to HTC's perfect sprint trains. They have delivered the sprinters in the best position for him to take win after win. Today's second place went to Tyler Farrar, who seemed like winning at some point during the last meters but run out of strength in the end. The top 5 was completed by Ben Swift, Kenny van Hummel and Yauheni Hutarovich.
The celebrations in the podium started as soon as the stage finished. Peter Stetina, Rob Ruijgh and David Lopez were in the podium, Rojas took the green jersey, Lopez was the best climber, Talansky the best young rider and Lotto - Belisol the best team.
Ruijgh just wasn't strong enough. deserved winner 
