• Vuelta a Espana, Stage 14

Superb Taaramae wins stage 14 as Wiggins tightens grip

Bradley Wiggins cemented his race lead © PA Photos

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Rein Taaramae showed tremendous endurance to claim a well-deserved Stage 14 victory at the Vuelta a Espana, while a superb ride helped Bradley Wiggins tighten his grip on the coveted red jersey.

In the second of three consecutive mountain stages, Taaramae attacked along with Geox's David de la Fuente with 38km remaining and the Estonian boasted superior fitness levels in the closing stages to power across the line 25 seconds ahead of second-placed Juan Jose Cobo, with Spain's De La Fuente third.

Wiggins, who began the 173.2km run from Astorga to La Farrapona with a mere four-second lead over defending champion Vincenzo Nibali, rode well in tandem with Team Sky team-mate Chris Froome - the pair crossing the line 45 seconds down on Taaramae - to enhance his chances of winning the general classification.

Wiggins, a triple Olympic gold medallist, now leads Froome by seven seconds, with Rabobank's Bauke Mollema 36 seconds back in third.

Stage 14
1. Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne - 4:39:01
2. Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC - 0:00:25
3. David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Geox-TMC - 0:00:29
4. Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team - 0:00:40
5. Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling - 0:00:45
6. Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling - same time
7. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team - same time
8. Denis Menchov (Rus) Geox-TMC - same time
9. Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi - 0:00:55
10. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto - 0:01:00

General Classification
1. Bradley Wiggins (GBR) - Team Sky - 55:54:45
2. Chris Froome (GBR) Team Sky - 0:00:07
3. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team - 0:00:36
4. Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Geox-TMC - 0:00:55
5. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard - 0:00:58
6. Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana - 0:01:23
7. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale - 0:01:25
8. Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek - 0:01:37
9. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto - 0:02:16
10. Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team - 0:02:24

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