La Vuelta Ciclista a España

Mikel Landa notched up his ninth Grand Tour stage podium on what was arguably the hardest finish of the Vuelta a España so far, Sierra de Cazorla – a 4.8km third-category climb irregular in gradient which featured punishing 20% slopes that poured lead into the riders’ legs and made for some important gaps.

Coming at the end of the short stage eight that started from Ubeda, the ascent immediately strung out an already depleted peloton, who was also split by a crash that held up several of the general classification favourites. T-Rex Quick-Step’s Mikel – who on Friday ticked off his 150th La Vuelta stage start – was one of the few to avoid the incident despite the pile-up happening just in front of him, and later found himself in a small three-man group that set out in pursuit of the remaining escapees.

In the final 1500 meters, the climb ramped up to double-digit gradients, and it was there that another selection took place. Pain etched on his face, teeth gritting, the 34-year-old Basque conjured up a valiant effort in the preposterously steep final kilometer of Sierra de Cazorla, overtaking the last member of the original breakaway to take third behind Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), who captured the win.

“At the start of this race, I found it a bit difficult to get into the rhythm, but now I am feeling good. Today we had a hard final ascent, an explosive one, and as you could see some significant gaps were made on those tough slopes. Fortunately, I had good legs and felt quite strong, so I gave my best and I am happy with my third place. The Vuelta is still long and a lot of things can happen, but I have a lot of confidence after these first demanding climbs of the race and will continue to take it one day at a time”, explained Mikel, who is fifth overall ahead of the first week’s final stage.

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images