Daniele Ratto (Cannondale), 24, claimed the second victory of his pro career – after the GP Larciano in 2010 – in unexpected circumstances. It was a cold and wet day with continuous rain on the way to the col de La Gallina in Andorra.

Daniele Ratto hat die Etappe gewonnen

The Italian rider stayed away after he escaped early with world champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and Luis Leon Sanchez (Belkin). The latter pulled out due to hypothermia, so did Ratto’s team captain Ivan Basso while race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) consolidated his red jersey as he crossed the line in second position.
Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) was a non starter after a MRI evidenced a hairline fracture of his pelvis as a consequence of his crash on stage 3. His team-mate Sam Bewley also called it a quit before the start.
Five riders escaped at km 3: Steve Chainel (AG2R-La Mondiale), Graeme Brown and Luis Leon Sanchez (Belkin), Philippe Gilbert (BMC) and Daniele Ratto (Cannondale). Their maximum advantage was 12.35 when Gilbert won the hot spot sprint at Canillo (km 70), where the front group was reduced to three men as Chainel and Brown got dropped in the Port d’Envalira. The Katusha team rode behind Ratto who remained solo at the head of the race.
Eight riders moved away from the peloton in the col d’Ordino: Jose Herrada (Movistar), Amets Txurruka and David Arroyo (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Igor Anton, Egoï Martinez and Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel), Alex Howes (Garmin-Sharp) and Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM). Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr) joined them but they got caught in the downhill while Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) lost contact with the group of the favorites.

Nicholas Roche

Nicolas Roche (Saxo-Tinkoff) also got dropped with 6km to go. Horner attacked 4km from the finish. Only Nibali managed to stay with him. The race leader even gained some time and time bonus on all his rivals as he finished second behind Ratto. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) crossed the line in fourth place 18 seconds after Nibali. Valverde limited the loss at 50 seconds but former runner up Roche conceded 3.29.
A total of fourteen riders pulled out, mainly Basso but also Wouter Poels and Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM), Nick Nuyens (Garmin-Sharp) Jürgen Van de Walle, Jelle Vanendert and Greg Henderson (Lotto-Belisol), Roman Kreuziger (Saxo-Tinkoff), Chainel and Sanchez.
Stage 15 from Andorra to Peyragudes is 224.9km long and includes four 1st category climbs, the last two being on the French side of the Pyrenees in homage to the 100th anniversary of the Tour de France.

Interview nit dem Etappensieger:

Daniele Ratto : “My victory is a poor consolation price”

Your victory reminds the one of your team-mate Alessandro De Marchi at the Dauphiné. Is your long lasting breakaway something you planned as a team?
No, the idea was that I’d be away to help Ivan [Basso] in some downhills when the favorites would catch us. But the peloton let a lot of time to the breakaway. I was feeling good for a couple of days. Unfortunately I got to know after the finish that Ivan had pulled out. He was very lean while I’m the opposite. The extra fat I carry has helped me resisting to the cold today. But my victory is a poor consolation price for Ivan’s withdrawal. I’m sure he was going to finish on the podium.

When have you realized you were going to win?
I didn’t believe much in my chances. When I remained alone in the lead, there were two climbs left. I’ve made a difference on the wet downhills. Riding a motorbike has made me used to putting my foot out as I did today to avoid crashing. At the bottom of the last one, I knew that I had eight minutes lead. At that point, it was clear that except if I got a serious hungerflat, I could win the stage. I’ve been scared as I felt I was cramping a bit but I’ve managed to deal with that. It’s a special moment for me to succeed in the mountains.

What kind of rider are you?
Normally I’m a sprinter. The other days at the Vuelta I was taking part in the sprints (9th in stage 5, 15th in stage 12) and now I’m the king of the mountains! But don’t worry, I’ll wear the polka dot jersey for one day only.

Ergebnis 14. Etappe:

Bagá – Andorra. Collada de la Gallina 155,7 kms. 07/09/2013 18:41:44
1º 77 RATTO, Daniele ITA CAN 4:24:00 14″
2º 31 NIBALI, Vincenzo ITA AST a 3:53 6″
3º 184 HORNER, Christopher USA RLT a 3:55 4″
4º 121 RODRIGUEZ, Joaquin ESP KAT a 4:11
5º 91 SÁNCHEZ, Samuel ESP EUS a 4:19
6º 1 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP MOV a 4:43
7º 101 PINOT, Thibaut FRA FDJ a 4:46
8º 11 POZZOVIVO, Domenico ITA ALM a 4:46
9º 94 LANDA, Mikel ESP EUS a 5:17
10º 151 KONIG, Leopold CZE TNE a 5:21
11º 36 KANGERT, Tanel EST AST a 5:27
12º 96 NIEVE, Mikel ESP EUS a 5:33
13º 61 ARROYO, David ESP CJR a 5:33
14º 63 CARDOSO, Andre POR CJR a 5:40
15º 51 GILBERT, Philippe BEL BMC a 6:14 4″
16º 127 MORENO, Daniel ESP KAT a 6:19
17º 92 ANTON, Igor ESP EUS a 6:27
18º 186 KISERLOVSKI, Robert CRO RLT a 6:44
19º 33 FUGLSANG, Jacob DEN AST a 7:05
20º 205 ROCHE, Nicolas IRL TST a 7:22

Gesamtergebnis:

Bagá – Andorra. Collada de la Gallina 155,7 kms.
2146,6 kms.
07/09/2013 18:29:16
1º 31 NIBALI, Vincenzo ITA AST 53:56:49 64 12″
2º 184 HORNER, Christopher USA RLT a 50 85 24″
3º 1 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP MOV a 1:42 12 16″
4º 121 RODRIGUEZ, Joaquin ESP KAT a 2:57 51 8″
5º 11 POZZOVIVO, Domenico ITA ALM a 3:43 66 4″
6º 205 ROCHE, Nicolas IRL TST a 4:06 62 16″
7º 101 PINOT, Thibaut FRA FDJ a 4:34 62
8º 151 KONIG, Leopold CZE TNE a 5:42 6 10″
9º 127 MORENO, Daniel ESP KAT a 6:28 97 32″
10º 36 KANGERT, Tanel EST AST a 6:45 80
11º 91 SÁNCHEZ, Samuel ESP EUS a 7:10 69
12º 61 ARROYO, David ESP CJR a 11:14 97
13º 56 NERZ, Dominik GER BMC a 11:40 24 2″
14º 96 NIEVE, Mikel ESP EUS a 11:50 71
15º 131 SCARPONI, Michele ITA LAM a 12:26 96 3″
16º 2 CAPECCHI, Eros ITA MOV a 12:37 66
17º 92 ANTON, Igor ESP EUS a 12:45 37
18º 5 HERRADA, José ESP MOV a 13:28 33
19º 191 HENAO, Sergio Luis COL SKY a 15:47 97
20º 186 KISERLOVSKI, Robert CRO RLT a 16:15 28

Purito und Sanchez

Pinot und Pozzovivo

Nibali und Horner