Anthony Roux Wins Stage 17 of Vuelta, Valverde Still in Gold

France’s Anthony Roux survived one of the most pulse-pounding finishes of a stage of the Vuelta a Espana yet. The 22-year-old was part of a breakaway that the peloton was chasing right to the very end of the race and had the race been maybe even 20 meters longer, the peloton might’ve caught Roux. Roux wasn’t happy that some of the breakaway riders attacked with about 5 kilometers to go.

"I refused to think about them catching us, so I gave it 100 percent and hoped it would work out for the best," Roux said. "I kept a bit back for the end, although I was annoyed with the other guys when they started attacking with 5km to go when we had such a small advantage. The run-in was good for us with that downhill. This is my first grand tour, so I wasn’t sure of my condition, but the good thing is I’ve been recovering well every day."

There was also pretty nasty crash during the stage today that involved second-place rider Robert Gesink of Rabobank. He did continue despite having some cuts and bruises. Gesink might pose one of the biggest threats to golden jersey holder Alejandro Valverde. Andre Greipel, owner of the green jersey, finished third and has come close to solidifying a finish in that green jersey. Podium Cafe wonders if this jersey would be Greipel’s greatest accomplishment in his career.

As for Roux, he quickly went from gentleman to pig after the race. Roux handed a flower from his victory bouquet to the first couple of podium girls and then when popping open his celebratory champagne, he doused the next two girls who I imagine were representing the champagne company with a healthy bath. Nothing like turning the podium of the grand tour into the Tropicana. To the models' credit, neither of them broke their pose and basically retained their smiles.

Stage 18 heads back to the mountains tomorrow. So it should be the last couple of chances for someone to challenge the golden jersey of Valverde.