(Reuters) – Jesus Herrada was strongest at the end of a climbing finish to win stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana, a 163.5 kilometre ride from Lerma to La Laguna Negra, on Wednesday.
The stage was characterised by numerous early breakaway attempts, all foiled by the peloton. With almost 50 kilometres gone, a 26-man group, including Spaniard Herrada, made the break which counted.
Romain Gregoire finished second, three seconds behind Herrade, with Andreas Kron third.
The main contenders for the overall lead all came in almost six minutes behind the winner. American Sepp Kuss retained the leader’s red jersey.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Ed Osmond)
