Plaza breaks ITT record

25-year-old Plaza put in a performance beyond his years as he denied Heras the chance to win his third stage of the race on the eve of the Spaniard's certain record fourth Vuelta win.

Starting the day in seventh overall, Plaza was eying a leap up the general classification which, bar Heras' healthy lead at the top, remained rather open.

After a slow start, the Cominidad Valenciana prospect put in a destructive mid and final section of the 38.9 km course from from Guadalajara to Alcala de Henares to record the best virtual time at the finish, with six riders still left on the track.

Battling it out for the final place on the podium were Carlos Sastre (CSC) and Francisco Mancebo (Illes Balears). Mancebo had put in an imposing first section, setting the best time at the first check after 15 km.

But the future AG2R rider tailed off towards the end and could only set the fifth best time, at 10", with Sastre recovering well to finish in third, at 4".

Rabobank's Denis Menchov, who won both the prologue and the second ITT at Lloret del Mar, was targetting a clean-sweep but he too tapered off slightly, finishing fourth at 6".

Heras was the only rider who could topple Plaza, and after the second check at 28 km, the Spaniard held a six second advantage over his compatriot.

But the reigning Vuelta champion slowed on the final straight, finishing a painstaking nine-tenths of a second behind the ecstatic Plaza.

"I would have liked to have won, but with specialists like Plaza out there it was always going to be tricky," Heras said.

The riders were blessed with strong tailwinds and dry weather which aided Plaza to record his record-breaking 56.2 km/h average speed.

"It was not a tough course and I could push a big gear," said Plaza, who touched speeds of nearly 80 km/h.

"It was a heart-stopping finale and from now on, I have to taste this win in calm to enjoy it," he added.

It was the perfect way to end an incredible day for Plaza, who told reporters after the race that he had signed a new two-year deal with his team only that morning.

His win was the third triumph for Continental Tour team Comunidad Valenciana after the previous victories of Carlos Garcia Quesada and Eladio Jimenez.

The Spanish team's reputation has been considerably enhanced by their positive showing in this year's race, and their topping of the overall team standings will do their chances of ProTour recognition for the 2006 season no harm.

Plaza himself moves above Oscar Sevilla (T-Mobile) into sixth position in the overall standings.

Baring accident, Heras will ride into Madrid and secure the race on Sunday. The Liberty Seguros helmsman has a 4'36" advantage over Russian Menchov and 4'54" over Sastre. Mancebo is fourth at 5'58" while another Comunidad Valenciana rider, Carlos Garcia Quesada, lies in fifth, at 8'06".