Anton attacks, gets revenge at Vuelta

Today's Stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana featured the first summit finish this year's race, and indeed the day's action was front-loaded into the final kilometers. Who would claw his way to the top of the climb first? Would Joaquin Rodriguez be able to keep his red jersey? Most importantly, how many drinks did Andy Schleck and Stuart O'Grady really have the other night? The peloton would learn the answers to two out of three of these questions at the finish line in Andorra.

While a two-man escape hit the climb first, the decisive move of the day occurred when Ezequiel Mosquera launched an attack more blistering than a new pair of dress shoes. Only Joaquin Rodriquez and Vincenzo Nibali were able to follow him, while Stage 4 winner and prior red jersey wearer Igor Anton was gapped and Frank Schleck kept repeating "I wish my brother Andy was here" into his race radio as he tried vainly to join the leaders. It seemed almost certain that Mosquera, Rodriguez and Nibali would contest the win, but Mosquera was setting an unrelenting pace and he soon dropped both Rodriguez and Nibali.

Of course, yesterday's stage saw Rodriguez snatch the red jersey from Anton by winning a small time bonus, a move only slightly more gallant than stealing it out of his laundry hamper. So, perhaps motivated by revenge, Anton sprang into action again as Rodriguez slid down the road like a cartoon character who's been fired out of a canon into a brick wall. Not only did Anton overtake both Rodriguez and Nibali, but he also passed a nonplussed Mosquera and won the stage. Anton is now first overall by 45 seconds over Vincenzo Nibali. Carlos Sastre's helper-turned-de-facto-team-leader Xavier Tondo finished third and now sits in third overall, and Rodriguez is currently lurking in fourth place where he will continue to scheme until the next laundry day.

Also, 22 year-old American revelation Tejay van Garderen of HTC-Columbia moved down slightly from 11th to 15th place overall, while 32 year-old American erstwhile revelation Tom Danielson of Garmin-Transitions moved up slightly from 15th to 12th.