Haedo wins confusing stage 16 finish in Vuelta

Vuelta a Espana 2011, stage 16 photo gallery by Graham Watson>>

Juan José Haedo (Saxo Bank) profited from a confusing run-in to win Tuesday's 16th stage of the 2011 Vuelta a Espana in Haro.

The Argentinean was practically gifted his winning margin when bunch sprint rivals Daniele Bennati (Leopard-Trek) and Peter Sagan (Liquigas) were duped by a roundabout with 300m to go.

While Bennati's leadout man Robert Wagner tried to take a line around the right hand side, Bennati himself veered left. Sagan was also caught up in the mess and took a line straight towards the traffic island.

While no one went down, the muddle created numerous splits in the bunch. Undisturbed by it all, Haedo stuck to a line on the left hand side of the roundabout and was almost able to freewheel across the line ahead of Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre) and Bennati.

Finishing in tenth place, two seconds back, climber Juan Jose Cobo (Geox) maintained his overall lead.

Because of the splits and his good positioning, Cobo gained marginal seconds on the two Brits immediately behind him in the general classification.

Second placed Chris Froome (Sky) was 13th on the stage in a group two seconds behind Cobo. Finishing in 22nd, Bradley Wiggins lost an additional five seconds on Cobo and now sits 51 seconds behind.

Points classification leader Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) suffered a crash during the stage. Although he quickly re-mounted his bike, he struggled to continue riding and came home over 11 minutes behind Haedo, slipping to 23rd overall.

Results

Vuelta a Espana 2011, stage 16: Villa Romana La Olmeda (Palencia) to Haro, 203.6km

1. Juan Jose Haedo (Arg) Saxo Bank

2. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-ISD

3. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Leopard-Trek

4. Vicente Reynes (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto at same time

5. Leigh Howard (Aus) HTC-Highroad at 2 secs

6. Koen De Kort (Ned) Ski-Shimano

7. Lloyd Mondory (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale

8. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Quick Step

9. Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky

10. Juan Jose Cobo (Spa) Geox-TMC at same time

Other

13. Chris Froome (GB) Sky at 4 secs

22. Bradley Wiggins (GB) Sky at 7 secs

Overall classification after stage 16

1. Juan Jose Cobo (Spa) Geox-TMC

2. Chris Froome (GB) Sky at 22 secs

3. Bradley Wiggins (GB) Sky at 51 secs

4. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank at 1-41

5. Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard-Trek at 2-40

6. Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC at 3-06

7. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard-Trek at 3-08

8. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale at 3-49

9. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto at 4-03

10. Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM at 4-18

Juan Jose Haedo wins the confusing finale

Even on today's flat stage, race leader Juan Jose Cobo gained time on his rivals

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Vuelta a Espana 2011 team list

Vuelta a Espana 2011

: Stage reports

Stage 15: Wiggins loses race lead as Cobo stakes claim for overall on Angliru

Stage 14: Taaramae takes stage as Wiggins puts time into rivals

Stage 13: Albasini wins Vuelta stage 13 as Wiggins hangs on to lead

Stage 12: Sagan takes second 2011 Vuelta stage win

Stage 11: Wiggins takes overall lead as Moncoutie wins stage

Stage 10: Brit Froome moves into overall Vuelta lead after time trial

Stage nine: Martin wins as Wiggins moves further up GC

Stage eight: Rodriguez wins again to take overall lead

Stage seven: Kittel wins chaotic bunch sprint

Stage six: Sagan takes Vuelta stage win in controversial circumstances

Stage five: Rodriguez takes second win for Katusha but Chavanel holds on

Stage four: Moreno wins first mountain skirmish at Sierra Nevada

Stage three: Lastras solos to stage and takes red jersey

Stage two: Sutton grabs stage win to set things right for Sky

Stage one: Leopard-Trek win opening TTT to put Fuglsang in front

Vuelta a Espana 2011: Photo galleries

By Graham Watson

Stage 15 photo gallery

Stage 14 photo gallery

Stage 13 photo gallery

Stage 12 photo gallery

Stage 11 photo gallery

Stage 10 photo gallery

Stage nine photo gallery

Stage eight photo gallery

Stage seven photo gallery

Stage six photo gallery

Stage five photo gallery

Stage four photo gallery

Stage three photo gallery

Stage two photo gallery

Stage one photo gallery

Vuelta a Espana 2011: TV guide

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Vuelta a Espana 2011: British Eurosport TV schedule

ITV to show 2011 Vuelta