La Vuelta: Evenepoel remains well-placed on the GC

The final stage of the opening week of the race started on a high but ended on a low, bringing to a conclusion what otherwise has been an eventful first part. Crosswinds ripped the peloton apart mere kilometers after La Vuelta left Cartagena behind, only a dozen or so riders making it in the front group. Among them, Soudal Quick-Step’s Mattia Cattaneo and Remco Evenepoel, who helped the move gain a significant gap of almost one minute over a bunch that struggled to make up time.
It took more than 50 kilometers and the presence of a classified climb for the chasers to finally bring back the attackers, and once the tempo relented, eight men zipped away and opened a huge gap over the favourites’ group. While the breakaway had its own battle up the road, from which Lennard Kamna (Bora-hansgrohe) emerged victorious, everyone was expecting a showdown between the GC favourites, but this didn’t come anymore after the organisers decided to take the time of the stage with 2.6 kilometers to go, due to the conditions at the finish.
After a mammoth pull of Mattia Cattaneo, who was again incredible in the service of Remco Evenepoel, the Belgian Champion controlled his opponents and will enter the second week of the Vuelta a España – which kicks off with an individual time trial in Valladolid – as the highest-ranked of the overall contenders.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
Race details
1 |
Lennard Kämna BORA - hansgrohe |
4:28:59 |
2 |
Matteo Sobrero Team Jayco AlUla |
0:13 |
3 |
Chris Hamilton Team dsm - firmenich |
1:12 |
4 |
Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier Egerzeigzaarhka Lidl - Trek |
1:00 |
5 |
Jon Barrenetxea Golzarri Caja Rural - Seguros RGA |
1:37 |
6 |
Rubén Fernández Andújar Cofidis |
1:37 |
7 |
Jonathan Klever Caicedo Cepeda EF Education-EasyPost |
2:11 |
8 |
Daniel Navarro García Burgos-BH |
2:41 |
9 |
Enric Mas Nicolau Movistar Team |
3:16 |
10 |
Aleksandr Vlasov BORA - hansgrohe |
3:11 |
20 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal - Quick Step |
3:16 |
38 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Soudal - Quick Step |
6:37 |
42 |
James Knox
Soudal - Quick Step |
7:05 |
43 |
Louis Vervaeke
Soudal - Quick Step |
7:05 |
81 |
Pieter Serry
Soudal - Quick Step |
13:03 |
82 |
Jan Hirt
Soudal - Quick Step |
12:12 |
150 |
Casper Pedersen
Soudal - Quick Step |
17:37 |
1 |
Sepp Kuss Jumbo-Visma |
35:23:30 |
2 |
Marc Soler Giménez UAE Team Emirates |
0:43 |
3 |
Lenny Martinez Groupama - FDJ |
1:02 |
4 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal - Quick Step |
2:22 |
5 |
Mikel Landa Meana Bahrain - Victorious |
2:29 |
6 |
Primož Roglič Jumbo-Visma |
2:29 |
7 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
2:33 |
8 |
Enric Mas Nicolau Movistar Team |
2:33 |
9 |
Juan Ayuso Pesquera UAE Team Emirates |
2:43 |
10 |
João Almeida UAE Team Emirates |
2:55 |
28 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Soudal - Quick Step |
21:24 |
38 |
Jan Hirt
Soudal - Quick Step |
32:13 |
62 |
Louis Vervaeke
Soudal - Quick Step |
49:17 |
64 |
James Knox
Soudal - Quick Step |
51:11 |
109 |
Pieter Serry
Soudal - Quick Step |
1:18:40 |
147 |
Casper Pedersen
Soudal - Quick Step |
1:37:49 |
1 |
Kaden Groves Alpecin-Deceuninck |
158 pt |
2 |
Andrea Vendrame AG2R Citroën Team |
66 pt |
3 |
Marc Soler Giménez UAE Team Emirates |
65 pt |
4 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal - Quick Step |
62 pt |
5 |
Andreas Kron Lotto Dstny |
62 pt |
6 |
Geoffrey Soupe TotalEnergies |
61 pt |
7 |
Marijn van den Berg EF Education-EasyPost |
57 pt |
8 |
Edward Theuns Lidl - Trek |
55 pt |
9 |
Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier Egerzeigzaarhka Lidl - Trek |
52 pt |
10 |
Juan Sebastián Molano Benavides UAE Team Emirates |
48 pt |
47 |
Casper Pedersen
Soudal - Quick Step |
15 pt |
1 |
Eduardo Sepúlveda Lotto Dstny |
21 pt |
2 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal - Quick Step |
20 pt |
3 |
Jesús Herrada López Cofidis |
12 pt |
4 |
Matteo Sobrero Team Jayco AlUla |
11 pt |
5 |
Sepp Kuss Jumbo-Visma |
10 pt |
6 |
Lennard Kämna BORA - hansgrohe |
10 pt |
7 |
Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen Jumbo-Visma |
10 pt |
8 |
Damiano Caruso Bahrain - Victorious |
9 pt |
9 |
Primož Roglič Jumbo-Visma |
8 pt |
10 |
Jon Barrenetxea Golzarri Caja Rural - Seguros RGA |
7 pt |
32 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Soudal - Quick Step |
1 pt |
1 |
Lenny Martinez Groupama - FDJ |
35:24:32 |
2 |
Remco Evenepoel
Soudal - Quick Step |
1:20 |
3 |
Juan Ayuso Pesquera UAE Team Emirates |
1:41 |
4 |
João Almeida UAE Team Emirates |
1:53 |
5 |
Cian Uijtdebroeks BORA - hansgrohe |
3:08 |
6 |
Einer Augusto Rubio Reyes Movistar Team |
4:06 |
7 |
Santiago Buitrago Sánchez Bahrain - Victorious |
4:38 |
8 |
Attila Valter Jumbo-Visma |
9:31 |
9 |
Antonio Tiberi Bahrain - Victorious |
25:09 |
10 |
Michel Ries Team Arkéa Samsic |
32:00 |
1 | Jumbo-Visma | 105:39:44 |
2 | UAE Team Emirates | 1:07 |
3 | Bahrain - Victorious | 4:40 |
4 | BORA - hansgrohe | 8:00 |
5 | Movistar Team | 27:48 |
6 | Soudal - Quick Step | 35:58 |
7 | INEOS Grenadiers | 45:22 |
8 | Groupama - FDJ | 45:29 |
9 | EF Education-EasyPost | 54:00 |
10 | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 57:37 |