Vuelta race leader Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) faces a major test in Sunday’s 48km time trial in Lloret de Mar. The undulating course zips up down along the entire route with four climbs along the way, including the Cat. 3 Alto de Tossa at 21.4km.

The hilly profile should help Heras limit the damage against the time-trial specialists, who will find the technical course provides few opportunities to truly open up the throttle. Heras will have another advantage in that he knows the course well - he lives in nearby Girona.

“It’s a hard course and it’s not tailored for the specialists because it has a lot of hills,” Heras said. “It can make a lot of differences if you’re strong. I know the route well because I have ridden a lot in the area, including training and in Setmana Catalana.”

Heras said all-rounders such as Carlos Sastre (CSC) and Denis Menchov (Rabobank) will have an advantage. He also warned that Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears) is on the rise. Still, with a 12-second lead to Menchov and 1:07 to Sastre, Heras is cautiously optimistic he can retain his leader’s jersey.

“I don’t know because the result is a little bit unpredictable,” he said. “The leader’s jersey doesn’t worry me now. It’s just as likely that I will keep it as I will lose it. The key simply is to go as hard as possible because I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Liberty Seguros team boss Manolo Saiz said he’s not overly worried about Sunday’s race against the clock because two difficult mountain stages are on tap in the Pyrénées on Monday and Tuesday.

“It’s a hard and complicated course, but we can’t lose our heads about this time trial because there are two mountain stages up next and the real conclusions will be made on the first rest day,” Saiz said.

Petacchi wants to stay in race
Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) said he will stay at least another week in the Vuelta a España. The Italian sprinter said he wants to put another several days of racing into legs before he considers abandoning the race ahead of the world championships in Madrid on September 25.

“I want to race at least another week. The mountains will be difficult, but that will help me,” Petacchi said moments after winning Saturday’s stage. “There are some more chances to get some victories next week. We’ll take it day by day and see how the legs are. I feel good now.”

Tom Boonen (Quick Step), however, already has planned to leave the Vuelta after stage 12 into Burgos. From there, he’ll return to Belgium to make his final preparations for the world championships.

Weather heading south
Forecasters are calling for worsening weather for the upcoming climbing stages Monday and Tuesday in the Pyrénées. Temperatures so far have been warm to very hot since the Vuelta started August 27 in Granada. The thermometer rose into the 100s in the opening three stages and it was hot once again in Sunday’s stage along the Mediterranean Coast.

Forecasts call for rain and cooler temperatures in Monday’s stage to Andorra and Tuesday’s stage to Cerler, both difficult summit finishes. A quick change in the weather will surely put the hurt on the peloton.

Where it stands
Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) won his third stage of the 60th Vuelta a España ahead of Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) and Paolo Bettini (Quick Step). Hushovd retained the points jersey while overall leader Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) lost five seconds to the winner after the bunch split in the final kilometers, but retained his 12-second lead to Denis Menchov (Rabobank). Heras also holds the combined jersey while Liberty Seguros retained its lead in the team classification. Eladio Jiménez (Comunidad Valenciana) retained the climber’s jersey. There were no abandons; 180 riders remain in the race.

What’s next
The 60th Vuelta a España continues Sunday with a 48km time trial starting and ending in Lloret de Mar, a popular beach destination along Spain’s spectacular Costa Brava. The hilly course favors a strong rider over the pure time-trial specialists. Favorites include Aitor González (Euskaltel) and Carlos Sastre (CSC), but Heras could keep the leader’s jersey with a good ride.