Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) beat Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) in a dramatic two-up dash in Villablino on stage 14 of the Vuelta a España.
Van Aert’s team-mates had managed the motion all day and reeled within the day’s breakaway in a bid to arrange a fourth stage win for the Belgian, however Groves had an excessive amount of energy and took victory by a wheel as they each lunged for the road.
Van Aert burned up all his team-mates on the ultimate class 1 climb and seemed to piggyback off Groves’ lead-out on the uphill drag to the road, however the Australian held him off for a second win at this 12 months’s race and a sixth in three editions.
Corbin Robust (Israel-PremierTech) completed better of the remainder, with daylight between the highest two and the remaining sprinters, who largely all survived the day’s mountains to contest the end.
A delighted Groves celebrated together with his team-mates after the stage and instructed reporters, “It feels actually good. I did not truly anticipate at present to be a dash because it was however Jumbo [sic] managed it, and to have a person on man dash towards Wout is fairly superior.
“I used to be fairly okay within the wheels [on the climb]. I believed it will be laborious in the event that they began attacking however fortunately Jumbo simply rode a very laborious tempo and nobody attacked, and fortunately my teammates additionally bought over with me so we may management the end.
“At the moment I did not hesitate, I believe I did a very good dash. It felt like a little bit of a drag race towards Wout however ultimately it was ok to beat him.”
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On a day extraordinarily gentle on GC motion, the principle drama was an premature late mechanical for second-placed Primož Roglič inside the ultimate 15km. He was compelled to swap bikes with team-mate Dani Martinez and chase again on the ultimate descent, however he rejoined the peloton with out a lot hassle.
Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) retained the chief’s purple jersey on a extra relaxed day for the overall classification favourites. All the highest 10 completed in the principle bunch, seemingly already casting their minds forward to stage 15’s brutally mountainous problem.
HOW IT HAPPENED
With simply two categorised climbs on a lumpy parcours and neither steep sufficient to – in concept – put any of the GC riders in problem, this had been earmarked by all involved as a stage for the breakaway.
And regardless of being the longest stage of this version of the Vuelta, at 200.4km, the tempo was blistering from the beginning. Wave after wave of assaults have been neutralised by different riders desperate to stand up the highway, till an hour had handed and the peloton had already rattled by way of 1 / 4 of the stage, averaging 48.7km/h. The primary GC groups have been content material to sit down again and maintain their powder dry, besides it took an hour of racing earlier than any group may get clear.
That transfer consisted of the trio of Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers), Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck), and Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech). Their numbers quickly doubled as first Isaac del Toro (UAE Group Emirates) after which perennial breakaway artist Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Dstny) and Harold Tejada (Astana-Qazaqstan) bridged throughout. Bahrain Victorious, who missed the break and are nonetheless winless at Grand Excursions in 2024, seemed to be contemplating bringing it again, however earlier than lengthy the escapees’ benefit had swung out to 90 seconds because the gradients gently pitched up.
Visma-Lease a Bike took management on the lengthy drag to the primary actual climb, the class 3 Puerto de Cerredo, a reasonably light ascent at 4.6% for 7km. The six leaders have been pegged at round two minutes forward of the bunch, a demoralising margin with a rampaging Van Aert searching them down.
Meurisse attacked to take the utmost three factors on the Puerto de Cerredo forward of Frigo and Campenaerts, however with 20 seconds knocked off their benefit on the climb, the prospect of a stage win slowly ebbed away together with the kilometres.
The six escapees rotated properly to restrict the injury on the descent, even pushing their hole out to 2:15 on an uncategorised kicker. But it surely was again all the way down to 1:39 by the foot of the lengthy, cut up descent – sufficient of a spot to forestall Van Aert successful the intermediate dash, however not sufficient of a buffer to start out dreaming of a stage win. Meurisse rolled over the road uncontested to take the factors in Cangas del Narcea inside the ultimate 50km, with 11km of false flat earlier than the climb that may determine the end result of the stage.
ONTO THE FINAL CLIMB
The class 1 Puerto de Leitariegos was the actual battleground of the day, packing 1000m of altitude right into a 22.8km slog. Its regular nature and common gradient of simply 4.5% made it an unlikely scene for any normal classification fireworks. The day was as an alternative coming all the way down to a battle between the six up the highway and the seven Visma-Lease a Bike riders – with loads of others sheltering of their slipstream and ready for an opportunity.
With 40km to race and the climb approaching Visma-Lease a Bike had introduced the hole all the way down to a shade over a minute, and race chief Ben O’Connor’s teammates have been additionally marshalling on the entrance.
Tejada, Narváez and Frigo instantly dropped their companions because the highway pitched up – though Campenaerts nonetheless felt chipper sufficient to smile, pat Meurisse on the again and supply a peace signal to the digital camera bike because it panned again to the shelled riders.
That second trio on the highway was quickly swallowed up by the Visma-Lease a Bike machine, and regardless of a dogged defence, the ultimate three escapees have been slowly reeled in. Tejada was the primary to desert ship.
Ecuadorian champion Narváez – who had been the driving drive within the break’s last levels – attacked Frigo a bit over 6km from the summit, but it surely was a doomed transfer and he was picked off with slightly below 20km left to trip. He was awarded the day’s combativity prize for his efforts.
Because the peloton continued to climb into the swirling mists of the Puerto de Leitariegos’ higher slopes, Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) relieved Steven Kruijswijk of his obligation as pacemaker and several other groups jostled for place forward of the descent. A remarkably fresh-faced Van Aert took the utmost KOM factors unchallenged and was the primary to roll onto the lengthy, sweeping descent, with a bunch dash wanting more and more sure.
Instantly there was drama within the normal classification as Roglič was struck by an unlucky mechanical. He shortly shipped 30 seconds and was compelled to undertake team-mate Martinez’s smaller bike to chase again onto the bunch. Crimson Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe swarmed across the three-time champion and he made it again onto the peloton with out additional concern, with none of his rivals seeking to benefit from his misfortune.
The velocity continued to ramp up as an unlikely dash end beckoned, and Alpecin-Deceuninck – who had spent the whole day resting within the peloton – took cost on the entrance.
Van Aert, devoid of teammates after their efforts on the ultimate climb, clung on to the again of Groves’ lead-out prepare and seemed to have the bounce on his rival with 50m to go, however the Australian nonetheless had a late surge in him and gained it on the road.
VUELTA A ESPAÑA STAGE 14 RESULTS: VILLAFRANCA DEL BIERZO > VILLABLINO (200.4KM)
1. Kaden Groves (Aus) Alpecin-Deceuninck, in 4:21:34
2. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike
3. Corbin Robust (NZ) Israel Premier-Tech
4. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek
5. Pau Miquel Delgado (Esp) Equipo Kern Pharma
6. Filippo Baroncini (Ita) UAE Group Emirates
7. Simon Guglielmi (Fra) Arkea-B&B Accommodations
8. Arjen Livyns (Bel) Lotto-Dstny
9. Xabier Berasategi (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
10. Carlos Canal (Esp) Movistar, all at similar time
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 14
1. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, in 56:31:49
2. Primož Roglič (Slo) Crimson Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +1:21
3. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, +3:01
4. Richard Carapaz (European) EF Schooling-EasyPost, +3:13
5. Mikel Landa (Esp) Soudal Fast-Step, +3:20
6. Carlos Rodríguez (Esp) Ineos Grenadiers, +4:12
7. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Crimson Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +4:29
8. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +4:42
9. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, +4:44
10. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Group Emirates, +5:17
