Ruben Plaza (Comunidad Valenciana) narrowly edged a surprisingly strong Roberto Heras to take the 20th stage of the Vuelta a España, a 38.9km individual time trial from Guadalajara to Alcalá de Henares. Plaza beat Liberty Seguros's Heras by a mere 0.9 seconds to win the stage, but Heras is now virtually assured the overall victory in the race, making him the only rider to win the Vuelta four times. Carlos Sastre (CSC) finished in third for the day and ensuring that he has the same spot on the final podium in Madrid tomorrow. One-time race leader Denis Menchov finished in fourth place on the day, six seconds behind Plaza, and leaving him in second place overall.

Not a man with a strong reputation as a time trial specialist, Heras nonetheless powered his way through a remarkable performance on Saturday, steadily picking up speed after the day’s first time-check at 15.8 kilometers, where he came through with fourth-best time of the day. Heras trailed Menchov by eight seconds at that time-check, riding comfortably for a rider who started the day with more than four-and-one-half minutes’ advantage on the Russian.

But apparently not one to rest on his laurels, Heras picked up his tempo, blazing through the second time-check at 26km with the day’s best time leading Menchov by a second and Plaza by six.

Plaza gets a big win

Photo: Graham Watson

The tall, lanky Plaza, however made up the deficit and just a bit more as he finished the day with a strong 41:31. Remarkably, Menchov – winner of both of the Vuelta’s earlier time trials – lost momentum in the closing kilometers and finished with a 41:37.

Heras, the last rider to start and to finish, came powering toward the end of the time trial on a pace that appeared to have him on track not only to lock up an unprecedented fourth Vuelta victory, but to grab a prestigious time trial win to boot. But the clock nudged past the 41:31 mark by just 0.9 seconds, giving the 25-year-old Plaza the stage win.

"I would have liked to have won, but with specialists like Plaza out there it was always going to be tricky," Heras said. "I took no risks, but I'm very satisfied I could come so close to winning. It's a good sign for time trials in the future and a sign I'm improving at something I always found to be difficult in the past."

CSC’s Carlos Sastre took third on the day, easily preserving his hold on third place in overall standings, but making little headway in his effort to erase the 20-second deficit he had on Menchov at the start of the day. For all of his efforts, Sastre now sits 18 seconds behind the Russian and nearly five minutes off of Heras’s pace.

One notable battle Saturday was American Tom Danielson’s effort to move up in the overall standings. Starting the day in ninth place overall, had just a three-second advantage on Colombian Mauricio Ardila (Davitamon-Lotto) and trailed QuickStep’s Juan Miguel Mercado by 22.

Danielson appeared relaxed and confident as he shot through the course, finishing ninth on the day, some 48 seconds behind Plaza, but more than a minute better than Ardila and more than two faster than Mercado. The Discovery rider will enter Madrid on Sunday now sitting in eighth place on General Classification, a remarkable feat for his first grand tour finish. Danielson started the Giro d’Italia earlier this year, but withdrew because of a knee injury.

Danielson has had a great Vuelta

Photo: Graham Watson

Barring major misfortune, Heras will win his fourth, record-breaking overall title on Sunday when the race finishes in Madrid.

A flat 136.5-km stage is purely designed for the sprinters to show their class and should have no effect on the overall classification.

Two laps of a circuit virtually identical to the one to be used in the world road race championship a week later on September 25 will bring down the Tour curtain.

Results - Stage 20
1. Ruben Plaza (Sp), Comunidad Valenciana, 41:31
2. Roberto Heras (Sp), Liberty Seguros, same time
3. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, at 0:04
4. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, at 0:06
5. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Illes Balears, at 0:10
6. Victor Hugo PeÑa (Col), Phonak, at 0:23
7. Stijn Devolder (B), Discovery Channel, at 0:30
8. Oscar Pereiro (Sp), Phonak, at 0:33
9. Tom Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, at 0:48
10. Christian Vandevelde (USA), CSC, 1:07

FullResults

Overall
1. Roberto Heras (Sp), Liberty Seguros, 78:48:10
2. Denis Menchov (Rus), Rabobank, 4:36
3. Carlos Sastre (Sp), CSC, 4:54
4. Francisco Mancebo (Sp), Illes Balears, 5:58
5. Carlos Garcia Quesada (Sp), Comunidad Valenciana, 8:06
6. Ruben Plaza (Sp), Comunidad Valenciana, 11:36
7. Oscar Sevilla (Sp), T-Mobile, 13:22
8. Tom Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, 16:38
9. Mauricio Ardila (Col), Davitamon-Lotto, 18:19
10. Juan Miguel Mercado (Sp), Quickstep, 18:31

FullResults