ITALIAN KRISTIAN SBARAGLI claimed his first Grand Tour victory in a sprint finish to Monday’s 10th stage of Spain’s Vuelta, while Ireland’s Nicolas Roche remains fourth overall after finishing 39th today.
The MTN Qhubeka rider beat the pre-stage favourite, Germany’s John Degenkolb, into second place with Spain’s Jose Joaquin Rojas third to win the 146.6km ride from Valencia to Castellon in a time of 3hr 12min 43sec.
There were no major changes in the fight for the general classification so the Netherlands’ Tom Dumoulin maintains the red jersey by 57 seconds from Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez with Colombia’s Esteban Chaves two seconds further back in third.
“I tried to get in front of Degenkolb because he is stronger and had passed me on other stages,” said Sbaragli.
“I have to take a risk to win and it is a dream for me to get the first win of my career.”
Chris Froome, who is aiming to become just the third man to win the Tour de France and the Vuelta in the same year, remains 1min 18sec off the lead in eighth.
However, it wasn’t an easy day for his Team Sky team-mates as Roche and Sergio Henao both suffered crashes.
Roche, though, recovered to remain fourth in the overall standings.
Henao had been part of a 40-man breakaway group, but his presence forced Dumoulin’s Giant-Alpecin team to push the pace in the peloton to prevent the breakaway gaining too much ground.
With the peloton grouped together after the day’s major climb up the category two Alto del Desierto de Las Palmas, the stage seemed set for Degenkolb, who won four stages at last year’s Vuelta.
Australian Caleb Ewan, winner of the fifth stage, had abandoned the race earlier in the day joining the likes of Nacer Bouhanni and Peter Sagan as potential threats already to Degenkolb to have already withdrawn.
However, Sbaragli held off a late push for the line by the German to seal a first win at the Vuelta for MTN Qhubeka to go with their debut win at the Tour de France last month thanks to Steve Cummings.
After the first rest day of the race on Tuesday, Wednesday’s daunting 138km 11th stage through Andorra includes six categorised climbs with the threat of rain making for an even more eventful stage than planned.
“It is maybe the hardest stage I am ever going to do,” said Dumoulin.
“It will be very hard, but I will try my best. I don’t mind the rain but hopefully it is not too bad.”
Results:
1. Kristian Sbaragli (ITA/MTN) 3hr 12min 43sec, 2. John Degenkolb (GER/GIA) at same time, 3. Jose Joaquin Rojas (ESP/MOV) s.t., 4. Tosh Van der Sande (BEL/LOT) s.t., 5. Jose Goncalves (POR/CJR) s.t., 6. Matteo Montaguti (ITA/ALM) s.t., 7. Jens Keukeleire (BEL/ORI) s.t., 8. Daryl Impey (RSA/ORI) s.t., 9. Pieter Serry (BEL/ETI) s.t., 10. Valerio Conti (ITA/LAM) s.t., 11. Julien Simon (FRA/COF) s.t., 12. Timo Roosen (NED/LNL) s.t., 13. Maxime Bouet (FRA/ETI) s.t., 14. Gianluca Brambilla (ITA/ETI) s.t., 15. Jempy Drucker (LUX/BMC) s.t., 16. Daniele Bennati (ITA/TIN) s.t., 17. Cyril Gautier (FRA/EUC) s.t., 18. Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA/ALM) s.t., 19. Eduard Vorganov (RUS/KAT) s.t.., 20. Rafal Majka (POL/TIN) s.t.
Selected others:
23. Fabio Aru (ITA/AST) s.t., 24. Esteban Chaves (COL/ORI) s.t., 25. Chris Froome (GBR/SKY) s.t., 26. Tom Dumoulin (NED/GIA) s.t., 34. Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP/KAT) s.t., 36. Nairo Quintana (COL/MOV) s.t., 37. Alejandro Valverde (ESP/MOV) s.t., 39. Nicolas Roche (IRL/SKY) s.t.
Overall:
1. Tom Dumoulin (NED/GIA) 38h34min 56sec, 2. Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP/KAT) at 0:57sec, 3. Esteban Chaves (COL/ORI) 0:59, 4. Nicolas Roche (IRL/SKY) 1min 07sec, 5. Fabio Aru (ITA/AST) 1:13, 6. Alejandro Valverde (ESP/MOV) 1:17, 7. Nairo Quintana (COL/MOV) 1:17, 8. Chris Froome (GBR/SKY) 1:18, 9. Rafal Majka (POL/TIN) 1:47, 10. Domenico Pozzovivo (ITA/ALM) 1:52, 11. Mikel Nieve (ESP/SKY) 2:17, 12. Louis Meintjies (RSA/MTN) 2:25, 13. Daniel Moreno (ESP/KAT) 2:26, 14. Gianluca Brambilla (ITA/ETI) 3:46, 15. Samuel Sanchez (ESP/BMC) 4:04, 16. Bart De Clercq (BEL/LOT) 4:28, 17. Andre Cardoso (POR/CAN) 4:43, 18. Romain Sicard (FRA/EUC) 4:47, 19. Daniel Navarro (ESP/COF) 5:07, 20. Fabrice Jeandesboz (FRA/EUC) 5:26.
Ah but GAA we have planning laws which need to be respected.
Lets hope that the days of “sure it will be grand” and the ” nod and a wink” attitude is gone forever.
Garth Brooks has taken up too much of the journals articles
and it’s getting boring now.
Stop clicking on them so!
Everyone keeps saying this yet they’re still getting a tonne of views.
Why don’t the rubberneckers move along, nothing to see here.
Time to build another stadium and not in f@&king Dublin.
Time to build another stadium and not on Feckin Dublin.
would be a godsend to be honest
Bertie bowl
Yeah I agree because when it comes to gaa only the Dubs fill it
If bertie had been allowed build his bertiebowl we might have all been saved this fiasco
i wonder why
Lets give the croker residents the same five nights of Daniel o Donnell in the O2 and they’ll give us Garth
So they conveniently forgot the agreement they made on the number of concerts they would hold did they?
No Reg, they figured if they sold enough tickets no one would have the balls to stand up to them. And fair play to Mr Keegan, he did.
There’s no show.
Like a Garth Brooks show….
327 people ruined it. And in there logic .. Since they don’t like being “prisoners in there own homes” during these events… sure lets pull all the All Ireland’s out of it too… If they big and brave enough to ruin it for 400,000 people, name and shame please…. And no I didn’t have a ticket, no did I want 1.
No it was dublin city council that made the decision. Croke park made an agreement to hold 3 events per year. People have a right to make objections on any matter, it’s called democracy!!
Sporting events are completely different to a concert. Matches are held during the daytime, at weekends, with a lot less noise in a stadium designed to hold sporting events.
According to the Mirror newspaper, over 100 of the written objections were very similar and it is believed that they were submitted fraudulently. I feel for the fans, they’re the real losers in all of this
They made the decision on the protest of 327 people from the “alleged residents ass” the debate was on telly about 2 weeks ago, some fat lad with a bad stripe suit and an even worse moustache… Saying they won’t be bribed and don’t want the other 2 gigs !!!
Shirley there is a big difference between one All Ireland and the equivalent of 5 All Irelands on consecutive nights. The residents have every right to protest, and even though I would have been in favour of all the concerts going ahead, that is democracy in action. Accusations can be thrown at the DCC manager, the promoters, the GAA and Garth Brooks as well as the residents groups. The main blame has to go to the GAA and Aiken promotions as they knew there was an agreement in place that only a certain number of concerts were to take place each year and they went ahead and decided to break this agreement. We now have a sorry state of affairs where no group comes out looking good and the economy loses tens of millions and all the fans lose out.
Lastly what do Garth Brooks fans think of what he has done, a man of principle or a stubborn uncompromising grump.
Oh please GAA, pull the other one. You are the biggest culprit of all. Knowing full well the requirements for permission and that you had already reached the three concert limit agreed with the 1D concerts. The two extra weeknight concerts rang the death knell on this. Sheer greed.
Aiken Promotions are just as culpable as The GAA.
I was looking at this online last night . Soccer matches have been held in croke park . These normally kick off in the evening. I have said it many times the stadium is in a ludicrous location for anything . No parking , no public transport .
Shirley. YOU ARE WRONG. GAA made an agreement with these residents and they renaged on it. That gave them the right to object. Surley anyone who gives their word should stick to it
GAA & Croke park are the “true cowboys”. Fell off their horses this time.
Stephen it is clear you either have a major issue with the GAA or you clearly haven’t a clue because the GAA had nothing to do with this other than renting out their stadium to a promoter. And don’t give me any oul’ schite about an agreement. DCC should have told Aikens the concerts would not get permission on the basis of the One Direction concerts and Keegan should have done it as soon as the concerts were announced, not last week.
Evening Stephen . How are things ? Aiken Promotions are the ones who sold the tickets. They are just as culpable as The GAA if not more so. Their saddles are empty too.
Alan – you are clearly a GAA apologist. They not Aitken are the licence holder, and the GAA as licencee could have told Aitken Promotions straight off the bat that the venue wasn’t available under the terms of their licencing agreement for more than two or three nights….
Crooks has shown his true colours and exactly what he thinks of his Irish fans. By my calculations he would still gross €18 Million from the three nights, more than enough profit to be made for even one average musician….
So Ronan, Aiken Promotions are the wide eyed innocents in all of this entirely unaware of the potential ramifications of pushing ahead with five concerts . Pull the other one . They knew exactly what they were doing .
Did I say they were Richie, anywhere? But Aitken’s don’t own the stadium, and they didn’t negotiate the stadium licence when the ground was redeveloped. They were absolutely complicit in this folly, once Aitken’s wafted the promise of a big cheque at them they lost the run of themselves. The stadium events manager and any committee overseeing the events team should get the bullet for this fiasco….
Aiken knew exactly what the story was with the stadium. He knew about the agreement . Three gigs were slated originally . It was then pushed to five . Everybody saw the dollars including Croke Park . But the buck stops with Aiken and Brooks . They pushed five concerts. Yes The GAA facilitated it . However Aiken sold the tickets and Brooks threw his toys out of the pram and refused to run with what had been the original plan . And spare me the default drivel of “sack the manager”. Croke Park is highly profitable and has already grossed €1.2 million in concert fees this year . The people who run Croke Park do very well.
Right so you agree then, GAA agreed use for three nights and when Aiken went back for five instead of the GAA saying “sorry we can’t offer the stadium as it falls outside our events licence and agreement with residents.
And sure why should Brooks get any special treatment, July last year, Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band played Thomond Park on the 16th, moved on to Pairc Uí Chaoimh on the 18th, then Belfast on the 20th, finishing up with two concerts in Kilkenny on the 27th/28th. And this is an artist who has greater record sales in Ireland than Brooks, but unlike Brooks and his entourage actually has some humility about him and respect for his audience!
GAA could and should have straight up told Aiken and Brooks to feck right off for the extra nights, but didn’t because they chose to gamble and chase the buck instead.
And tell me seeing as you’re quoting some figures, how much do you reckon the GAA’s cut of the €18m Gross was given what we know from the Rugby use of the ground. And what organisation wouldn’t fire an employee who lost them a huge amount of money due to gross negligence?
Good man. You agree that Brooks is wrong. Where you are wrong is blaming the GAA for the cancellation of the concerts . Three was the initial agreement . Five came about as a result of the collective actions of Aiken, Croke Park and Brooks . Any or all could and should have shouted stop. None did . To say The GAA is primarily responsible for the cancellation of the concerts is wrong. Aiken is the businessman and promoter . He has spent a life time at this . He sold the tickets and he gambled . The primary responsibility for the loss of all concerts tests with that petulant tosser Brooks as he has cancelled the remaining three .
The cut was € 400,000 per concert. That means that losing the fourth and fifth concerts cost €800,000. Brooks petulence has caused the loss of the other concerts. Your knee jerk reaction in relation to the stadium directors position is typical of the spoiled brat post Celtic Tiger mentality of the malcontents. “Sack the manager”, they shrilly scream. Peter McKenna has done an excellent job. The stadium is paid for and debt free. It is highly profitable and under his stewardship will continue to be so. Keep your post Celtic Tiger contrariness to yourself . It’s no good to anyone . By your reckoning Ryanair should have sacked Michael O Leary after he cost them tens of millions on ill judged fuel purchasing policy and buying Aer Lingus shares . Thankfully Ryanair’s knees don’t jerk like yours .
“Your knee jerk reaction in relation to the stadium directors position is typical of the spoiled brat post Celtic Tiger mentality of the malcontents. ”
Really Richie, and how do you figure that?
Despite being Irish, I don’t live in Ireland and haven’t since before the Celtic Tiger period thankfully as it seem to have bred a certain new type of pompous ego in sections of the populus.
And god bless you if you think MIchael O’Leary is ultimately responsible for managing hedging fuel purchases for Ryanair, (he’ll certainly step forward to claim the credit if there’s an upside, that’s for sure). But no, they actually employ humans who deal with all their suppliers (including aviation fuel) and it’s they who would get the bullitt not Saint Michael.
http://www.supplymanagement.com/news/2009/fuel-hedging-to-fly-higher-at-ryanair
Also given there has been a five year gain in Aer Lingus shares regardless of whether the endgame of taking over Aer Lingus is off the table so Ryanair are in profit (to the tune of €100m) anyway on their investment, regardless of any short term fluctuation on their own share price after the UK Competition Commission decision forcing them to reduce their shareholding they are quids in.
But I’m glad you agree that all three parties, GAA/ Aiken and Brooks are equally culpable, my point was that the GAA could have avoided this fiasco right from the start by telling the promoter “NO”. If they had given a clear message to Aiken then he would not have risked selling tickets to to the poor mugs who are likely to lose some of their hard earned money….
Joe Duffy will be busy tomorrow
We will have a new stadium in cork in a couple of years for concerts,never mind them dubs and come do buisness in the real capital !
I presume you mean the Capital of Munster?
Yet they were of a different kind,
The names that stilled your childish play,
They have gone about the world like wind,
But little time had they to pray
For whom the hangman’s rope was spun,
And what, God help us, could they save?
Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone,
It’s with O’Leary in the grave.
Hay, O’Leary’s died.
And all the Journal can report is Garth fc Brooks
Can we have a few more Garth Brooks stories, you haven’t had one for ages
How many articles is that today
Greedy promoter, greedy GAA and useless DCC manager, they should have let all 5 go ahead, no concerts in Croaker for the next three years and a big surcharge on the promoter. They would have observed the planning conditions, licencing laws and local residents opinions the next time.
No uproar like this for events in Thomond Park. Then again most Limerick people worship at the church of Thomond Park lol
Red tape is killing Ireland and it’s small business’s
What an absolute joke. Laughing stock of Europe once more. Couldn’t organize a piss up in a brewery.
Laughing stock of Europe? Get a grip. Nobody outside of these shores gives two shits about this fiasco.
It is one of the top trending stories on BBC website
|Oh yes it was on our TV news this evening, Ireland in great shape when thats all they have to worry about.
Fooking resadence! hope they are happy,spoilsports.
I’d like you to meet my friend Ary, Diction Ary.
Dublin City Council & Mr Keegan hang your heads in shame! Where is the government of the country ? This decision has long term effects that are very damaging for Ireland.
Not the residence fault! Greedy gaa
Can Pat Kenny rejoin RTE please. Only Pat can end these Garth Brooks articles. We need you Pat. Save us.
Where’s Big Tom and the Mainliners when ya want them.
Let them adhere to their planning conditions. They should have assumed they couldn’t go above the 3 permitted gigs rather than assume they could do whatever they wanted.
But he didnt mean to cause a big scene…
Are they really that naive? So lads are we good to go? Yeah dont worry boss just a couple of I’s to be dotted and t’s to crossed.
I also blame SOME of the fans …. no way was there 400,000 individual people going, there was a lot of people holding tickets for 2 or possibly more nights , pumping up demand leading to a need for 5 nights
No, the other residents (some 25,000) who didn’t bother submitting their support to DCC ruined it.
Pretty much like those who don’t bother voting in elections – they then come out and moan about the result.
The GAA knew it had had it’s quote of concerts, to now say they “had no indication” that there would be an issue are talking out of their “($£)$*£$ – 360 odd residents were very clear from the get go.
There was no support from the community – only objections from a group that represented the “area”.
Sticking signs outside your window now – is pretty much too late.
What have Garth Brooks and the Cork football team in common.Neither get to play Croke park this summer.
Peter aitken flew to the states and met garth Brooks kids today. Nickels. Dimes. Cents. Buck and dollar are said to have told him there dad loves them more than ireland
I don’t know how an organisation that is party to an agreement can be surprised when the terms of that agreement are enforced.
In my view, the GAA went into this process with the view that the weight of money on the line would push the matter through. This way precedent would be set and the next time they exceed the agreement they would be able to point to the Brooks decision and get it through on that grounds. They fully deserve this result, but in many ways it was a free bet for the GAA as they had Aiken Promotion to pick up the tab if it didn’t come off.
For once, someone has done the right thing in this country and not bowed to the pressures of the money men. If GAA want to hold more concerts, let them go and negotiate a new agreement with the residents and not try and bully it through like they did.
Can someone explain to me who in the name of Jaaysus Garth Brooks is?
Cheers, ta.
Surely common sense could have told them that there would be a problem with 5 nights! The local residents told them that from day 1, but sure when did The GAA ever respect their wishes?
How are ye? Can you bring me home a pint of milk and a ring of black pudding cheers.
Sorry that wasn’t meant for you.
That’s £600 in wasted ferry and hotel fees. Cheers Ireland!
You mean cheers Dublin!
You’re welcome, you should come over anyway even going to the Ilac centre has better than listening to Garth Brooks who btw cancelled his own concerts because he’s greedy. I can’t imagine being a resident of Croke Park and listening to a man who looks like Homer Simpson wearing a cowboy hat for 5 nights.
Wasted? So you’re just going to let the money go to waste and no longer come to Ireland because a concert isn’t going ahead? More money than sense if that’s the case.
Well said. Why should anybody trust any new agreement? They squirmed out of the last one. Respect to the little guys, you won this one. David 5, Goliath Nil. We can be proud we live in a country where due process trumps big business, and understands that’s what’s right is not always popular; and what’s popular is not always right! Residents, take a bow.
Oh course there disappointed look at all the millions there losing out on while all the players get jack sh**e
What do Bert and Ernie think of all this?
Please just f off garth brooks