Deignan competed in the men's road race at the Beijing Olympics

Irish cyclist Philip Deignan won Thursday's 18th stage of the Tour of Spain and now lies ninth overall.

The Letterkenny man became the first ever Ulster cyclist to win a stage of the prestigious race by outsprinting Czech competitor Roman Kreuziger.

The two riders fought for the day's victory after taking off from a break of 16 late on the hilly 165km stage from Talavera de la Reina to Avila.

Alejandro Valverde of Spain maintains his overall lead in the Tour.

Valverde leads Dutch cyclist Robert Gesink by 42 seconds, with Spaniard Samuel Sanchez a further 32 seconds behind in third.

Deignan, who finished 81st in the men's road race at last year's Beijing Olympics, won stage 18 by 14 seconds from Kreuziger.

The event finishes in Madrid on Sunday.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version