Winter is Coming

Vuelta Stage 14, Vitoria - Gasteiz:

Significant Abandon: Sammy Sanchez. Bet some guys are jealous.

So we've got a break with 8 and a half minutes here which includes De Marchi (again!) and Puccio (among others).

God Carlton Kirby is such a dickhead. Why is he totally unnecessarily shitting all over Cyril Gautier?? Let's get you out on a bike doing the Tour and the Vuelta you massive shit.

Thank you, Universal Sports.

Like no pressure on this upcoming time trial Tom Dumoulin. Apparently everyone needs to get 30 minutes on you in the mountains to even be in with a CHANCE on this Grand Tour.

Gap over 9 minutes now.

Astana and Movistar at the front of the peloton en masse.

JJ Rojas at the buffet here, picking out a selection of bars at the team car in the breakaway.

He likes his choice. Chewing and smiling and waving at the camera.

What a renaissance man. But seriously, sad face. Also, toenail? Yeeesh, what does that entail? Doesn't sound nice. Poor Sammy; It's impossible to pedalling.

Just waiting for this forecast explosion on the last climb today.

Otherwise just rollin' along with 25k to go and the gap at 9 and a half minutes.

What the eff is goin' down over at Brussels Cycling Classic??

The break is onto the climb up ahead.

Nothing crazy going on, no attacks, everyone just rolling through.

Peloton onto the climb.

Looks like some business from a Caja Rual.

An attack from the front of the peloton.

Ah John, leading the Gruppetto with a Lotto-Jumbo. Stay strong.

Woah straight up talking about diarrhoea on air. Graphic.

Like probably second to Mrs Coach, I just think this is the most fabulous hair.

Movistar on the front, but nothing going.

LL Sanchez and some Astanas now back onto the front, some people falling off the back now.

This Caja Rual is about to be caught. Real weird move, that was.

I don't want to be a snob, but when did we decide 'moulin' was going to be pronounced 'moo-lon'.

Hoooooooo and we're off!

Mikel Cherel attacks the break at 4k to go.

Bit of track standing and De Marchi shoots from the back!

No immediate response but JJ and a Columbia catch on.

Puccio left behind.

No pressure De Marchi, they're all ganging up on him and not working.

Little snack for Dario as Astana drills it on the front of the peloton.

Oh hello Salvatore! Caught back onto this group.

Mikel goes again

They're taking the piss out of De Marchi and making him do all the chasing

Back together again.

Wooooooaaaaah into the creepy-ass fog.

Strung out at the back of the peloton.

JJ Rojas off into the mist!

Where did he go?

De Marchi going!

Mikel can't seem to close it

De Marchi BOMBS past JJ!

Landa 'leads' (?) Aru.

Aru accelerates!

Puccio almost onto De Marchi now!

PUCCIO AHEAD

Aru away with the Witch Doctor

Puccio losing steam

or is he?!!

De Marchi is ahead

De Marchi into the last 700m, looking back

Stop talking about diarrhoea.

De Marchi looks like he's gonna vom but at the moment he's alone

Looking back

Nieve attacks from that little peloton.

You can't even see what's happening here up ahead

De Marchi looks back and knows he's done it.

BOOM.

This is an amazing finish line. It's completely obscured. Who will come out next?

Aru and the Witch Doctor have now been joined by Purito, Chavez, possibly Majka, Nieve trying to chase on

Tom is in a group behind

Quintana attacks, Aru tries to follow but can't

Purito gets to him though

Aru really fighting his bike here

Silhouettes cross the line

There's Tom.

Not crazy changes presumably then.

Lawson Craddock doesn't even look winded.

Oh Nico with his wee bandages.

Puccio finished second on the stage, they confirm. Yay Sky!

They're having a pow-wow at the summit.

Gonna make for some weird victory pictures, everything's like seen through a cheese cloth.

Little neck-warmer chic a la Leo on the podium here for De Marchi.

Looks pretty darn cold up here, wherever we are.

Like Alberta cold.

Something about the colour combo maybe makes Aru look like a figure skater.

Aww De Marchi is like giddy on Vuelta Extra (obvs, I mean it's the default setting of the programme), cute!

A touch of the apres ski about Vuelta Extra in these temperatures.

Man alive it looks fucking freezing.

I hope you understand at home, it is freezing out here.