Katusha team leader Joaquin Rodriquez secured the overall lead at the Vuelta Espana as the stage race hits the mid-point of its three weeks. Rodriquez, riding a team issue Ridley Helium, secured a 2-second time bonus during an early intermediate sprint. The high tempo of team Katusha maintained a stranglehold on the peloton throughout the early hours of the mostly flat stage as it wound from Tarragona to Vilanova i la Geltru with the sole intention of placing their leader in the perfect location at the sprint time bonus line.
Rodriguez was overjoyed as he pulled on the red jersey that had so narrowly eluded him for much of the first week and he was rightly proud to wear it in his home region of Catalunya. “It’s sensational,” he said. “The value of this jersey is even higher because of the hard work we’ve done to get it.”

General Classification after 10 Stages
1 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 42:11:49
2 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:00:02
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:00:04
4 Xavier Tondo (Spa) Cervélo Test Team 0:00:44
5 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:00:54