La Vuelta: Soudal Quick-Step on the attack

Race report | Tuesday 12 September 2023 - 19:41

Remco Evenepoel leads the mountains classification with five days to go.

The final week of the season’s last Grand Tour resumed Tuesday afternoon with a short stage, just 120 kilometers in length from Liencres Playa to Bejes, where a 4.8km climb averaging 8.8% was supposed to serve as an appetizer for the high mountains that are still to come before Madrid.

On paper, it was a day suited to a breakaway, that’s why dozens of riders tried to book their place in one. Early in the stage, with some help from Remco Evenepoel, Louis Vervaeke joined a strong six-man move, but with their maximum gap hitting just 40 seconds, the peloton had no trouble in bringing them back.

Soudal Quick-Step continued to remain active, this time with Mattia Cattaneo, the Italian joining with 80 kilometers to go a move that looked promising. At one point, they managed to take their advantage close to two minutes, but a change of pace at the front of the bunch spelled the end of their hopes before the ascent, where Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) attacked and took the win.

Remco Evenepoel remained in the KOM jersey, and will carry a 30-point advantage over his closest opponent during Wednesday’s stage to the mythical Angliru, which returns after three years.

 

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images

Race details

1 Jonas Vingegaard Hansen
Jumbo-Visma
2:38:23
2 Finn Fisher-Black
UAE Team Emirates
0:43
3 Wout Poels
Bahrain - Victorious
0:49
4 Michael Storer
Groupama - FDJ
0:55
5 Juan Ayuso Pesquera
UAE Team Emirates
1:01
6 Enric Mas Nicolau
Movistar Team
1:01
7 Aleksandr Vlasov
Bora - Hansgrohe
1:01
8 Primož Roglič
Jumbo-Visma
1:01
9 Mikel Landa Meana
Bahrain - Victorious
1:05
10 Sepp Kuss
Jumbo-Visma
1:05
70 Louis Vervaeke
Soudal Quick-Step
9:34
75 Pieter Serry
Soudal Quick-Step
9:50
96 Mattia Cattaneo
Soudal Quick-Step
9:50
120 James Knox
Soudal Quick-Step
10:13
128 Casper Pedersen
Soudal Quick-Step
13:27
147 Jan Hirt
Soudal Quick-Step
14:16
148 Remco Evenepoel
Soudal Quick-Step
14:16

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