Astana's Lopez finishes safely La Vuelta Cicilista a Espana Stage 12

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - Stage 12 of the Vuelta a España from Mondoñedo to Faro de Estaca de Bares. Mañón (181,1 km) has crossed the Northern part of Galicia, providing a good opportunity for a breakaway to take the win. The peloton did not chase the 18-men break too hard, preparing for the next three very tough stages in the mountains, Kazinform has learnt from the club's press service.

"We expected much worse weather conditions today, but everything was quite good with no rain and wind. So, it was a calm stage for the peloton and now all our thoughts are about the coming weekend," said sports director Dmitri Sedoun.

Thus, the first riders of the daily break crossed the finish line 11 minutes 39 seconds ahead of the main peloton with all the GC contenders: the French rider Alexandre Geniez outsprinted Dylan Van Baarle and Mark Padun.

In the peloton Astana's leader Miguel Angel Lopez finished safety surrounded by Pello Bilbao, Andrey Zeits, Davide Villella and Omar Fraile.

Thanks to the breakaway, the Spaniard Jesus Herrada step into the lead, taking the red jersey of the Vuelta a España, while Miguel Angel Lopez oved down to one position to 8th place, 3 minutes 49 seconds behind the new leader. Astana's captain still leads the best young rider classification.

The first of three hard mountains stages of the second week will be held tomorrow: 174,8 km from Candás. Carreño to the top of the first category climb Alto de La Camperona.