Morella – Burriana – 186 Km
1 GROVES Kaden AUS ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK 04:23:43
2 GANNA Filippo ITA INEOS GRENADIERS 00:00
3 VAN GESTEL Dries BEL TOTALENERGIES 00:00
4 DAINESE Alberto ITA TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH 00:00
5 ASKEY Lewis GBR GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:00
6 THEUNS Edward BEL LIDL-TREK 00:00
7 GONZALEZ LOPEZ David ESP CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA 00:00
8 SOUPE Geoffrey FRA TOTALENERGIES 00:00
9 EZQUERRA MUELA Jesus ESP BURGOS-BH 00:00
10 DRIZNERS Jarrad AUS LOTTO DSTNY 00:00
11 MOSCA Jacopo ITA LIDL-TREK 00:00
12 GARCIA CORTINA Ivan ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:00
13 PAGE Hugo FRA INTERMARCHÉ – CIRCUS – WANTY 00:00
14 AULAR SANABRIA Orluis Alberto VEN CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA 00:00
15 VAN DEN BERG Marijn NED EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:00
16 CIMOLAI Davide ITA COFIDIS 00:00
17 VENDRAME Andrea ITA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 00:00
18 GOVEKAR Matevž SLO BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 00:00
19 BARRENETXEA GOLZARRI Jon ESP CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA 00:00
20 BARTHE Cyril FRA BURGOS-BH 00:00
Gesamt:
1 EVENEPOEL Remco BEL SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 17:12:29
2 MAS Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:11
3 MARTINEZ Lenny FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:17
4 VINGEGAARD Jonas DEN JUMBO-VISMA 00:37
5 VLASOV Aleksandr BORA – HANSGROHE 00:39
6 UIJTDEBROEKS Cian BEL BORA – HANSGROHE 00:40
7 ROGLIČ Primož SLO JUMBO-VISMA 00:43
8 AYUSO Juan ESP UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:44
9 SOLER Marc ESP UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:48
10 GONCALVES ALMEIDA Joao POR UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:49
11 ARENSMAN Thymen NED INEOS GRENADIERS 00:51
12 KUSS Sepp USA JUMBO-VISMA 00:55
13 VINE Jay AUS UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:57
14 CRAS Steff BEL TOTALENERGIES 01:13
15 POELS Wout NED BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 01:15
16 CEPEDA Jefferson ECU CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA 01:17
17 THOMAS Geraint GBR INEOS GRENADIERS 01:17
18 DE LA CRUZ David ESP ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 01:22
19 ROCHAS Remy FRA COFIDIS 01:30
20 QUINN Sean USA EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 01:45
Groves also loves Burriana
On the day after he claimed another victory in Catalunya (Tarragona), Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) sprinted to victory in Burriana (Valencia), where he got the best of Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and Dries Van Gestel (Total Energies). This win is the 20th for an Australian rider in La Vuelta, with Groves joining Michael Matthews as the best Aussie scorers in the Spanish Grand Tour (3 victories each). Back to back wins in La Vuelta were only achieved by John Degenkolb (2014) and Sam Bennett (2022) in recent years. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) chased bonus seconds on the eve of another mountain showdown up the Alto de Javalambre.
It’s a nervous start from Morella, with a peloton wary of crosswinds that could turn the race upside down on the way to a seaside finish in Burriana. Eddie Dunbar (Jayco AlUla) crashes in the neutral start and is forced to abandon. Riders try to get away as soon as the flag drops but the peloton don’t give them any margin.
Fagundez shines for Uruguay
After 16 kilometres of battle, Eric Fagundez (Burgos-BH) sets off and makes the break of the day. At the end of his first season in the WorldTour, the young rider shows his colour at the front as the third Uruguayan to ever participate in La Vuelta.
After 60 kilometres of racing, the gap reaches a maximum of 5’30’’. Alpecin-Deceuninck drive the bunch with Jason Osborne setting the pace on the day after Kaden Groves won in Tarragona.
Sepulveda chases the KOM points
The gap is down to 1’50’’ at the bottom of the cat-2 climb up Collado de Ibola (to be summited with 53.7km to go). Already a history maker as the first Argentinian to ever lead a standing in a Grand Tour, Eduardo Sepulveda (Lotto Dstny) sets off to bridge the gap to Fagundez and score more KOM points ahead of another mountain stage on Thursday.
Sepulveda catches Fagundez with 3km to go to the summit and drops a kilometre further up the road. At the summit, the Argentinian rider takes 5 KOM points. The peloton trail by 1’08’’.
The intermediate sprint for Evenepoel, the bunch sprint for Groves
Fagundez is caught by the bunch with 41km to go. Sepulveda is still 20’’ ahead. He is caught 3 kilometres further, with Alpecin-Deceuninck still driving the bunch.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) makes the most of the intermediate sprint to take 6 bonus seconds ahead of Kaden Groves.
The intensity keeps rising until the last kilometre. Alpecin-Deceuninck launch the sprint for Groves, who delivers another victory just ahead of Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers).