Garcia Acosta wins stage 19

Spain's José Garcia Acosta (Ibanesto.com) claimed stage 19 of the Vuelta a Espana on Friday after a 170-kilometre-long group and eventually solo breakaway. Despite losing four seconds to main rival Aitor Gonzalez (Kelme), Roberto Heras (US Postal) retains the overall lead.

RE-LIVE: Vuelta stage 19 as it happened!

Stage 19, a 177.8-km-long ride from Béjar to Avila, began with a nine-man attack group at the 7km mark during the first climb of the day, on the category three Alto de la Hoya.

It wasn't until after the stage's most difficult pass - the category one Puerto de Serranillos – that Garcia Acosta decided to breakaway solo. The Spaniard managed to build a lead that reached over two minutes and attacked the final climb of the day - the category two Puerto de Navalmoral – alone.

While Garcia Acosta crossed the finish line in four hours 24 minutes 26 seconds, there was much counter-attack action happening behind. Vuelta runner-up Gonzalez could no longer hide his motivation and attacked in the final kilometres, managing to catch the eight-man chase group and finish second.

Gonzalez, possibly the only obstacle standing between Heras and overall victory, caught the race leader by surprise and the tiny Spaniard could only look on in disappointment as he crossed the line four seconds behind Gonzalez.

Heras, who now leads Gonzalez by 1'08" in the overall standings, has no margin for error in Sunday's finale, a 41.2-km individual time trial. Gonzalez, a time trial specialist and winner of stage 10, the 36-km time trial in Córdoba, has an excellent chance to upset his compatriot and steal the golden jersey.

Saturday's 20th stage is a fairly calm and descending 141.2-km ride from Avila to Warner Bros Park (S. Martín de la Vega). No changes in the general classification are expected.