Live Ponteareas - Pontevedra : Stage - Vuelta a España 2011 - Cycling

- 0km
- Superb win from the Liquigas youngster Peter Sagan, who wins by a bike length. Petacchi took fourth, with Haedo in fifth and Boonen, despite his horrible-sounding injury to his nether regions, taking sixth.
- 0km
- But it's the Slovak sensation who comes through now, and Sagan powers ahead to take the win from Degenkolb and Bennati!
- 0.4km
- Cancellara now leading out Bennati onto the final straight...
- 0.5km
- Martin is leading out Degenkolb, with Petacchi right in the young German's wheel...
- 1km
- Under the one-to-go banner...
- 1.5km
- The pace is 66km/h as HTC come to the front. They round a tight roundabout without any ado. Game on.
- 2km
- Skil Shimano and Liquigas are there - just tucked back a little. Now the Skil train makes its presence known...
- 3km
- BMC have two men on the front now alongside Leopard-Trek. Still not sure if Marcel Kittel is back in the bunch.
- 4km
- Fouchard is swept back up by the Leopard-led peloton, and now it's just the Italian Anza up front. He's caught pretty promptly as Operacion Bennati gets under way.
- 5km
- It's Julien Fouchard - he and Mate seem to work in tandem! The Frenchman is caught by another counter attack, this time from a Vacansoleil man. It's Santo Anza.
- 6km
- Mate and Pidgornyy are caught and straight away there's a counter-attack from a Codifis man!
- 7km
- Liquigas and Peter Sagan keeping a low profile at the moment, and theres' no sign of Lampre's Alessandro Petacchi. The two leaders have just six seconds now.
- 8km
- The other teams on the front of the bunch smell blood with this absense of Skil Shimano. It's Ag2R setting the pace now, probably for their man Lloyd Mondory.
- 10km
- Roldan has thrown in the towel, but Mate and Pidgornyy are still going. They have 16 seconds on the bunch. Martin Kittel must have had a mechanical problem, because he's being paced back by his Skil Shimano team-mates.
- 12km
- Sky's Chris Sutton is right on the back of the peloton, so we can probably discount him for the win today. It's no predominantly HTC on the front, with Martin Velits setting the pace. The official race site said Velits had withdrawn from the race yesterday - that's clearly not the case, unless he's been allowed back in.
- 14km
- The three leaders have sat up. They have 35 seconds, but they know the carrots are cooked.
- 14km
- The peloton is a real snake now - it must be about 400m long and a maximum of two riders wide! Red jersey Bradley Wiggins is just three riders back on the front, keeping out of trouble. He said today he's aiming to wear the red jersey all the way to Madrid now - that would be a huge achievement.
- 15km
- The gap is down to one minute now as the three leaders start to play games and look at each other. The clouds look extremely thunderous up ahead now that they have left the coast.
- 17km
- Slight mishap from the US national champion Matthew Bushe of RadioShack, who finds himself the wrong side of a temporary barrier on the side of the road and has to climb over back onto the road before he can ride on.
- 19km
- The three leaders pass some vineyards as they continue to defy the peloton. It's quite a lumpy finish to the stage, despite the graphic on the top of this live page. The gap is 1:30 now.
- 21km
- Despite the efforts of the combined chase on the front of the peloton, the lead is no longer dropping that quickly. 1:55 at the latest check.
- 24km
- The pace is really much quicker now. There are five or six teams all with men with realistic chances tonight - so it's going to be a very competitive finish. The peloton still has two minutes to make up, while Hansen is now 30 seconds behind the three leaders.
- 26km
- Hansen has been caught by Mate, Roldan and Pidgornyy. The gap back to the peloton is 2:18. In fact, the three other escapees not only catch the Australian, they pass him by straight away, leaving him for dead. They're clearly a bit offended that he attacked them so early. A reason for Hansen's attack could have been the second intermediate sprint - he took maximim points ahead of Mate and Pidgornyy.
- 30km
- CRASH? It looks like Adam Hansen has had a spill. The Australian is riding alone and he has black tarmac marks on his back... He's in pursuit of the other three escapees. We didn't get any images of that though. Hang on, he's not in pursuit - he's ahead. Somehow, the Omega Pharma-Lotto man has broken clear of the others despite an apparent spill.
- 32km
- Garmin now come to the front for their man Heinrich Haussler. It's a real spread of teams on the front - even Movistar have some men there.
- 35km
- Skil-Shimano are putting all their eggs in Kittel's basket tonight after the fatigued German admitted this morning he will quit the race after stage 12 in a bit to rest and recover before the World Championships in Copenhagen on 25 September.
- 40km
- The pace is pretty high as the peloton is really strung out. It's been an easy day for Team Sky - they don't really have to do any work to protect the lead of Bradley Wiggins. What's more, their sprinter Chris Sutton gets a free ride to the finish...
- 42km
- The gap is down to 2:30 so it looks pretty certain that they'll be a bunch sprint today. At the moment, it's HTC's Michael Albasini on the front, working for the young German John Degenkolb and the Australian Leigh Howard.
- 46km
- Read the full story about BMC's swoop for HTC pair Marco Pinotti and Tejay van Garderen
  here.
- 48km
- The four leaders have 3:20 over the peloton now. No withdrawal's to announce today - and there shouldn't be now we're on to the run-in of today's not-so-demanding stage 12.
- 55km
- The peloton is now very strung out as it rides alongside the coast. The weather is a real pick and mix: the sun is out over the sea, but there are some heavy thunder clouds lurking in the hills inland. The temperature is in the early 20s.
- 58km
- Other men to watch today are Garmin's Heinrich Haussler and Liquigas' Peter Sagan. Haussler likes the slightly colder conditions, and now Tyler Farrar has withdrawn, the German-born Australian will be Garmin's main man for the sprints. As for Sagan, he's a real all-rounder - and will relish the chance to get a less subdued win than his first Vuelta scalp last week, when he took the stage ahead of four team-mates in quite bizarre circumstances. Have your say below on your tip for victory...
- 60km
- The Leopard, Lampre and Skil riders on the front are presumably doing their bit in the chase for the benefit of their sprinters Daniele Bennati, Alessandro Petacchi and Marcel Kittel. The peloton is getting close to Pontevedra, but they will by-pass today's finish town for a loop around the coastal road as far as the town of Vilarino before turning back inland and returning to the finish.
- 62km
- Red jersey Bradley Wiggins is fifth to the front of the peloton. Ahead of him there is one Sky team-mate, then riders from Skil Shimano, Leopard and Lampre. Behind him is the remainder of the Sky team. The gap is 4:18 as the clouds begin to clear to reveal some blue sky.
- 66km
- NEWSFLASH: HTC pair Marco Pinotti and Tejay van Garderen will join BMC next season. Full story coming up...
- 70km
- The four leaders are being reeled in. Their gap was at four minutes at the latest check. Sky are on the front, but there are also riders from Leopard Trek and Lampre. /// Some rather painful news to bring you: Tom Boonen has revealed that he has been riding through excruciating pain in this year's Vuelta a Espana due to an open wound between his scrotum and anus.
  Report: Boonen riding despite perineum injury
- 75km
- The race is LIVE NOW on British Eurosport 2 and is also available on your PC via the Eurosport Player:
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- 80km
- Positions over the Cat.3 Alto Ponte Caldeas: 1. Ruslan Pidgornyy (Vacansoleil), 2. Adam Hansen (Omega Pharma-Lotto), 3. Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis). So, for a second time today, the Ukrainian veteran picks up maximum points over a Cat.3 climb.
- 85km
- The four leaders - Spaniards Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis) and Jose Luis Roldan (Andalucia), Ukraine's Ruslan Pidgornyy (Vacansoleil) and Adam Hansen (Omega Pharma-Lotto) - reach the second and final climb of the day, the Cat.3 Alto Ponte Caldeas. They have been ahead out since the 13-km mark of today's stage, although Pidgornyy joined a little later. The gap is now 5:20.
- 90km
- The average speed for the second hour of racing today was 39.5 km/h.
- 95km
- The four leaders approach the feeding zone with a little over six minutes' advantage over the bunch. Leopard Trek's Stuart O'Grady suffered a puncture but he's now back with the bunch.
- 100km
- We have a little uncategorised climb up ahead, followed by the the feeding zone and then the second and final Cat.3 climb of the day. The four leaders have just under seven minutes on the peloton.
- 105km
- "Nice guy, David Moncoutie. That's what everyone says. But you wouldn't want him at a dinner party - he'd probably bring his own food and eat it in a separate room. Still, the Frenchman's love affair with the Vuelta continues: the veteran climber has now won a stage in every race since 2008, plus he's on course for a fourth successive King of the Mountains title too. It would be cause for celebration, but Moncoutie doesn't look like the kind of guy who does celebrations..."
  Blazin' Saddles: The postman delivers
- 110km
- Leopard Trek and Sky have come to the front with Skil Shimano to help lead the chase on the descent. The gap has dropped a little to 7:20.
- 115km
- Order over the Cat.3 Alto de Moscoso: 1. Ruslan Pidgornyy (Vacansoleil), 2. Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis), 3. Jose Luis Roldan (Andalucia). Italy's Matteo Montaguti is still wearing the polka dot jersey but yesterday French stage winner David Moncoutie (Cofidis), the winner of the KOM competition for the past three years, moved within a point of the summit.
- 120km
- The lead is 8:37 as the four escapees arrive at the foot of the Cat.3 Alto de Moscoso. Back in the bunch, it's Skil Shimano leading the chase - thinking about their man Marcel Kittel, no doubt.
- 124km
- The fourth rider in this group is Australian Adam Hansen, who joined Omega Pharma-Lotto last winter from HTC, where he came through the ranks as a T-Mobile junior. A comparative Vuelta veteran of two previous editions, the 30-year-old Hansen has four minor UCI wins to his name and is a former Australian national time trial champion.
- 126km
- Also Spanish, the unheralded 25-year-old Jose Luis Roldan (Andalucia) is in his third year as a pro and rides his debut Vuelta as well. He has no UCI wins to his name. Vacansoleil's Ruslan Pidgornyy is the old man of this break: the 34-year-old may have experience, but he too is making a debut in the Vuelta. His last of five minor UCI wins came back in 2008.
- 128km
- Spain's Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis) was involved in that long break in stage seven, which was thwarted before Marcel Kittel took his debut Grand Tour victory. The 27-year-old is a cycling journeyman, having ridden at a different team each year since turning pro back in 2007. This is Mate's debut Vuelta. Renowned for his rat's tail hairstyle, Mate has four professional wins to his name, including stage four in this year's Route de Sud back in June.
- 130km
- The gap has increased further to seven minutes. Let's take a closer look at the four riders in this break.
- 135km
- A reminder of how the GC is looking: just 47 seconds split Bradley Wiggins in red from sixth-place Bauke Mollema. Wiggins leads his Sky team-mate Chris Froome by 7 seconds, with defending champion Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) in third at 11 seconds. Fourth we have Fredrik Kessiakoff (Astana), at 14, and fifth we have Jakob Fuglsang (Leopard) at 19.
  Vuelta standings and results
- 140km
- The lead has grown to five minutes on this flat section ahead of the first of two Cat.3 climbs. We have seen all of these riders - with the exception of Roldan - in breaks already in this year's race.
- 145km
- Pidgornyy has caught the leaders so we have a group of four out ahead. The gap is currently 3:20 over the bunch - but with Mate the best-placed rider in the GC, at a huge 45:53 down on red jersey Brad Wiggins, this one will no doubt be left to go... until the team's of the sprinters come forward to have their say.
- 150km
- Vacansoleil's Ruslan Pidgornyy is riding in pursuit of the three leaders. The Ukrainian is 15 seconds down, with the peloton another 55 seconds back.
- 155km
- BREAK: We have three riders out in front: Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis), Jose Luis Roldan (Andalucia) and Adam Hansen (Omega Pharma-Lotto) have a handful of seconds over the pack.
- 160km
- The first intermediate sprint today came after just 7km on the road. Dutchman Bauke Mollema (Rabobank) took the points ahead of Portugal's Nelson Oliveira (RadioShack) and HTC's Kanstantsin Sivtsov. We're very close to the Portuguese border here in Galicia and so there's quite a lot of support for the Portuguese contingent, such as Oliveira and his team-mates Sergio Paulinho and Tiago Machado..
- 165km
- Early break attempts are thwarted by Rabobank and RadioShack. Vacansoleil look particularly active in these opening kilometres.
- 167km
- They're off! The remaining 183 riders in this year's Vuelta get today's stage under way. Ponteareas is being used as a start town for the second time in the race's history - the first time was back in 1987. Oscar Pereiro, the 2006 Tour de France champion, is a local here and he's turned out to see the start. The small town has had three Grand Tour winners in its time - brothers Delio and Emilio Rodriguez (Vuelta 1945 and 1950) and Alvaro Pino (Vuelta 1986).
- 12:35
- Yesterday, French veteran David Moncoutie won the fourth Vuelta stage of his career as Britain's Bradley Wiggins moved into the race lead in Galicia. The 36-year-old Cofidis climber soloed his way to a trademark win in the empty ski station of Manzaneda after attacking his fellow escapees on the final of four climbs in the 167km stage 11. Team Sky's Wiggins finished the stage in a select group three minutes and eight seconds down on Moncoutie.
  Report: Moncoutie on song as Wiggins takes red
- 12:30
- For the first time in this year's Vuelta, we have a little rain. It's spitting at the start in Pontereas as the riders make their way through the neutral zone. The temperature is 20 degrees.
  Weather report for Ponteareas
- 12:25
- Welcome to live coverage of stage 12 of the Vuelta a Espana, a 167km relatively flat ride from Ponteareas to Portevedra in north-west Spain. There are two third category climbs in the mid-section of this stage, but the finish is flat and should provide a rare chance for the sprinters to contest for the win.

	Competitors	Time	Diff
1	J.Cobo (ESP)	84:59:31
2	C.Froome (ENG)	+13	+
3	B.Wiggins (ENG)	+1:39	+
4	B.Mollema (NED)	+2:03	+
5	D.Menchov (RUS)	+3:48	+

Vuelta a España

Ponteareas - Pontevedra

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