Vuelta a España Stage Report: Wout van Aert took his third Vuelta’24 stage victory. The Belgian started the break of the day with four other riders. The Visma | Lease a Bike escaped the group with Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) in the final and was too fast for the French man in the sprint. The favourites didn’t try anything and so overall leader Ben O’Connor Decathlon-AG2R) had no problems keeping his red jersey.
Stage 10 finale
Vuelta race director, Fernando Escartín: “Galicia welcomes La Vuelta 24 with a mountain stage. Although the mountain passes have low altitudes, they lack flat surfaces. There will be a Category 1 climb at the start of the stage and the final part will cover three mountain passes that already played prominent roles in the famous Mos stage in La Vuelta 21. A very reduced peloton will fight for victory in Baiona.”
Stage 10 profile
Stage 10: The Vuelta moves from the far south to the very north of Spain on the first rest day. The race continues with stage 10 in Galicia, close to the Portuguese border. A stage of 160 kilometres, with four categorised climbs. Two of them are Cat.1, but the peloton never goes higher than 805 metres. The climbs are mainly from sea level. After 12 kilometres there is the Alto de Fonfría (15.5km at 4.5%), the next doesn’t come til the last 60 kilometres. The finale comes in three parts and becomes increasingly difficult. First there is the Alto de Vilachán (6.6km at 5.4%), then the Alto de Mabia (6km at 5.7%) and finally the Alto de Mougás (9.9km at 6.1%). If the attacks come on the Mougás, the flatter final kilometres will be quite hectic.
The sign-on in Ponteareas
There was a lot of riders who wanted to be in the early break. In the first kilometres to the start of the first climb of the day, the Alto de Fonfría (15.5km at 4.5%), there were attack after attack. Wout van Aert was probably the most active. The green jersey must have set his sights on this stage and was off the front of the peloton for a while, but was caught just before the climb.
After a day off it was back to business in the north of Spain
When Van Aert was caught, this was the signal for more attacks from the peloton. Alessandro De Marchi, Eddie Dunbar and Einer Rubio were fighting at the front of the race, it was too fast for many at the back. Cian Uijtdebroeks, who had been struggling all last week, was the first to be dropped, then Thymen Arensman couldn’t hold on.
Stage 9 winner – Adam Yates looking good in blue spots at the start
The battle for the early break continued. At one point, a strong leading group of ten riders looked like they would succeed, but this turned out to fail. The peloton didn’t give up and everything came together again. But not for long. Marc Soler attacked just before the top of the Alto de Fonfría and the UAE Team Emirates rider was joined by two Belgians: William Junior Lecerf (Soudal Quick-Step) and… Wout van Aert.
A lot of riders wanted in the early break
These three reached the summit with a small lead before launching themselves down the descent. Van Aert, Soler and Lecerf worked well together and managed to increase the their lead to 20 seconds. In the thinned down peloton there was still some attacks, but nothing came of them. Two riders were able to cross to the break: Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) and Juri Hollmann (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
How long can Ben O’Connor hold red?
The gaps were still small at that point, although the five leaders didn’t lose time despite the attacks behind. Van Aert, Pacher, Soler, Lecerf and Hollmann kept at their task in hand and were eventually rewarded when at a certain point the peloton eased up. The lead then increased to over 6 minutes.
Wout van Aert wanted to take points for his green jersey… and maybe more?
With that gap, the winner of the stage was in the front group. On the Alto de Vilachán and Alto de Mabia, the break set a steady pace, but just before the Alto de Mougás, Van Aert put in an attack. The Belgian continued his move after the intermediate sprint and only Pacher could follow. The Frenchman managed to jump to the Belgian’s wheel, Soler, Lecerf and Hollmann couldn’t.
Eventually the peloton let a group go
Van Aert and Pacher soon had a lead of 20 seconds on the 10 kilometre long climb of the Alto do Mougás. Behind; Soler and Lecerf, Hollmann had been dropped, tried to rejoin The Belgian/French tandem, but they couldn’t get close. At the top of the climb the difference between the two groups was over 30 seconds.
The break of five riders had a 6 minute lead with with 50 kilometres to go, but it dropped from then on, could they hold them off?
The duel between Van Aert and Pacher was a bit one-sided. Van Aert was looking for his third stage victory in this Vuelta and the 49th victory of his professional career, Pacher was aiming for his first victory as a professional cyclist. The two ride together to the finish in Baiona, apart from when Pacher tried to jump Van Aert in the last 2 kilometres… it didn’t work.
The break would go all the way as they held a 5 minute lead
The Groupama-FDJ rider’s attempted escape didn’t worry Van Aert much, so a sprint would decide the stage victory. It wasn’t much of a sprint. Van Aert was far too strong for Pacher and the Frenchman knew it was pointless and so the green jersey took his third Vuelta victory. Pacher had to settle for a well ridden for second place. The sprint for third place was won by Soler, ahead of Lecerf and Hollmann.
Van Aert and Pacher dropped the others
There was a wait for about 5 minutes for what was left of the peloton, who had eased up on the way to the finish. On the Alto do Mougás there were attacks from Soudal Quick-Step and EF Education-EasyPost, but nothing came of their efforts. Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Euskaltel-Euskadi) jumped away to take 6th place, 18 seconds ahead of the bunch, led in by Jhonnatan Manuel Narvaez (INEOS Grenadiers).
The win was going to come form one of these two – I know where my money would go
Vuelta’24 stage win No.3 for Wout van Aert and it hasn’t done any harm to his point total
Stage winner and points leader, Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike): “It’s not too often that I can win when my family visits me on a race so it makes it extra special and really nice. It was really my aim to be in the breakaway but I had a hard time on the first climb. I almost gave up but I gave it one more try just before the top. Still then, we had to fight for 50 kilometres with a little bit of a gap. To be honest, I think it worked in my favour because in the finale, the climbers in my group didn’t have fresh legs and that’s how I won. [Saying I can win any stage] is a bit exaggerated, I would say, but it’s nice to be in a race like this with a versatile profile. And when I end up in a situation like this, I always have a chance. It’s a very cool victory. I took KOM points because it was a big fight at the front but my eyes are definitely on the green jersey and not at all on the mountain jersey.”
And the Van Aert family were waiting at the finish
Overall leader, Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale): “In the end, it was the perfect scenario. It was a really hard start, it took a long time for the break to go. A lot of guys in the top 10 were interested in the breakaway so I think we did a good job today to control the start. Other teams were trying to stay in position so we did the descents full gas, the pace was pretty hard onto the second climb and then it pretty much stopped. It was about staying in position. I think tomorrow, the finale will be a little more decisive. The final climb is a hard one so it will be interesting to see.”
The podium was a (Van Aert) family affair
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Vuelta a España Stage 10 Result:
1. Wout Van Aert (Bel) Visma | Lease a Bike in 3:50:47
2. Quentin Pacher (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 0:03
3. Marc Soler (Spa) UAE Team Emirates at 2:01
4. William Junior Lecerf (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
5. Juri Hollmann (Ger) Alpecin-Deceuninck
6. Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi at 5:13
7. Jhonnatan Manuel Narvaez (Ecu) INEOS Grenadiers at 5:31
8. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama-FDJ
9. George Bennett (NZ) Israel-Premier Tech
10. Harold Alfonso Tejada Canacue (Col) Astana Qazaqstan.
Vuelta a España Overall After Stage 10:
1. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale in 40:05:54
2. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe at 3:53
3. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost at 4:32
4. Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar at 4:35
5. Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step at 5:17
6. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe at 5:29
7. Adam Yates (GB) UAE Team Emirates at 5:30
8. Felix Gall (Aust) Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale
9. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) INEOS Grenadiers at 6:00
10. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at 6:32.
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