Giro d'Italia 2011: Mikel Nieve makes it two in a row for Euskaltel-Euskadi after climber wins queen stage
Mikel Nieve of Spain won stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia after the Euskaltel-Euskadi rider dropped Stefano Garzelli on the final ascent of the day on the epic 229-kilometre stage from Conegliano to Gardeccia-Val di Fassa.
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On top: Mikel Nieve won his first ever stage in the Giro d'Italia after the climber won stage 15 Photo: AP
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Thake the high road: stage 15 of the Giro was considered the toughest of the three-week race Photo: REUTERS
By Telegraph staff and agencies 5:26PM BST 22 May 2011
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Nieve, 26, won the second grand tour stage of his career just 24 hours after Basque team Euskaltel-Euskadi celebrated their first ever stage win at the Giro after Igor Antón, another climbing specialist, won on Monte Zoncolan.
Garzelli, a former winner of the Giro, finished second 1 minute 41 seconds behind Nieve who took seven hours 27 minutes and 14 seconds to complete the brutal stage.
Alberto Contador finished third to retain the maglia rosa, the leader's pink jersey, 10secs later.
Michele Scarponi came in 6sec behind Contador to leapfrog fellow Italian Vincenzo Nibali, seventh on the stage at 3min 34sec, into second in the overall standings.
Nibali is third ahead of Frenchman John Gadret while Antón, who started the day third overall, dropped to fifth after finishing outside the top 10.
Nieve's efforts saw him climb to sixth overall.
Giro d'Italia details
Stage 15, Conegliano - Gardeccia-Val di Fassa, 229km: 1. Mikel Nieve (Spa - Euskaltel-Euskadi) seven hours 27 minutes 14 seconds, 2. Stefano Garzelli (Ita - Acqua & Sapone) at 1min 41secs, 3. Alberto Contador (Spa - Saxo Bank-SunGard) 1min 51secs, 4. Michele Scarponi (Ita - Lampre-ISD) 1min 57secs, 5. John Gadret (Fra - Ag2r-La Mondiale) 2mins 28secs, 6. José Rujano (Ven - Androni Giocattoli) 2mins 35secs, 7. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita - Liquigas-Cannondale) 3mins 34secs, 8. Joaquím Rodríguez (Spa - Katusha) at same time, 9. Roman Kreuziger (Cze - Astana) 4mins 1sec, 10. Steven Kruijswijk (Hol - Rabobank) 4mins 13secs.
Overall general classification: 1. Alberto Contador (Spa - Saxo Bank-SunGard) 62hrs 15mins 29secs, 2. Michele Scarponi (Ita - Lampre-ISD) 4mins 20secs, 3. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita - Liquigas-Cannondale) 5mins 11secs, 4. John Gadret (Fra - Ag2r-La Mondiale) 6mins 8secs, 5. Igor Antón (Spa - Euskaltel-Euskadi) 6mins 32secs, 6. Mikel Nieve (Spa - Euskaltel-Euskadi) 7mins 3secs.
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