Gilbert wins Vuelta leg; Valverde gains on leader

SEGOVIA, Spain: Philippe Gilbert won the 19th stage of the Spanish Vuelta yesterday ahead of Alejandro Valverde, who managed to shave valuable seconds off overall leader Alberto Contador’s advantage before the deciding penultimate leg.
The Belgian cyclist held off Spanish trio Valverde, Daniel Moreno and Joaquin Rodriguez on the slight climb to the finish line to take the 178-kilometer (111-mile) ride in 4 hours, 56 minutes, 25 seconds.
Contador crossed the line 3-seconds later in 10th for Valverde to cut the leader’s overall advantage by 17-seconds to 1:35. Rodriguez is now 2:21 behind in third before today’s mountain stage.
Valverde, the 2009 winner, will need an impressive performance to claim his second Vuelta and keep Contador from his second career win when the Spanish classic ends tomorrow.