Vuelta a Espana: Philippe Gilbert earns 10th stage win at a Grand Tour

5th Sep 2019 | Source: BBC

Philippe Gilbert took stage 12 by three seconds

Belgium's Philippe Gilbert won a first Grand Tour stage since 2015 as his late break proved decisive on stage 12 of the Vuelta a Espana.

For the second day in a row the general classification riders allowed a breakaway to go clear, albeit late on.

Deceuninck-Quick-Step's Gilbert, 37, attacked on the final climb with 10km to go and held off Alex Aranburu and Fernando Barcelo by three seconds.

"It's special. It's my 10th victory on a stage on a Grand Tour," said Gilbert.

"It was a long fight to get into the breakaway. When we went away I saw good climbers with me so I was not very confident."

Aranburu - who rides for Caja Rural - and Euskadi-Murias rider Barcelo tried desperately to catch Gilbert during the closing stages but the Spanish duo were unable to get on terms with the 2012 world champion.

Slovenia's Primoz Roglic, riding for Team Jumbo-Visma, maintained his lead of one minute and 52 seconds in the general classification, with none of the time gaps changing between the top 10 competitors as they rolled in together in a select group.