Nicolas Roche sprints to victory on Stage 18 of the Vuelta a Espana

Well deserved.

Nicolas Roche has claimed a superb victory on Stage 18 of the Vuelta a Espana this afternoon. The Irishman outduelled Spaniard Haimar Zubeldia in a sprint finish after the pair entered the final ten kilometres as the only survivors of a 25-man breakaway roughly 50km into the 204km run from Roa to Riaza. With the peloton swallowing up the rest of the breakaway on the day's final first category climb, Roche and Zubeldia held off the group featuring the race favourites, with the Team Sky rider relying on his superior sprint speed to hit the line first. It's a richly deserved reward for Roche after a fine Vuelta that saw him score a pair of top-five finishes, including being agonisingly reeled in in the final metres of Stage 4, in an opening week that saw him challenge for the leader's red jersey. It's also the second stage win of his career after taking a victory on the second day of the Vuelta in 2013.