Heras, the lone ranger

After riding without the support of his US Postal team mates on Tuesday, Roberto Heras wears the golden jersey for the second straight day on Wednesday as the 2002 Vuelta reaches its 17th stage, from Benavente to Salamanca. Live coverage begins at 14.30cet on Eurosport.

Stage 17 is not an exceptionally difficult stage, with no categorised climbs, however, the wind and weather conditions are expected to play a significant role and could pose a problem to certain 'lightweights' such as Heras.

The race leader's team should be wary of the Kelme squad's motives, as demonstrated in stage 16 when Heras rode alone for over 60km to the finish. The Spanish contingent's tactics were clear: to leave Heras with no team support, as clearly witnessed when Kelme attacked and US Postal's José Rubiera and Christian Vandevelde were dropped.

“Heras is a wonderful person but he never shows what he is feeling. It doesn't matter if it's good or bad but he never shows it," Rubiera told the Spanish daily El Mundo Deportivo. "He is very prudent. I have never heard him complain about anything. He climbs as good as always and he has improved a lot in time trials. He is a rider with a lot of resources,” he added.

“I rely that Roberto can make the difference on La Covatilla in front of his people, who will be with him every metre on the road. It's a climb that he knows perfectly”.