Schlagwort-Archive: La Vuelta 21

La Vuelta 21 – Etappe 7

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Gandía – Balcón de Alicante – 152 Km

1 STORER Michael AUS TEAM DSM 04:10:13
2 VERONA Carlos ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:21
3 SIVAKOV Pavel RUS INEOS GRENADIERS 00:59
4 KUSS Sepp USA JUMBO – VISMA 01:16
5 HAIG Jack AUS BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 01:24
6 BARDET Romain FRA TEAM DSM 01:32
7 GROSSSCHARTNER Felix AUT BORA – HANSGROHE 01:32
8 KRON Andreas DEN LOTTO SOUDAL 01:37
9 CRAS Steff BEL LOTTO SOUDAL 02:17
10 POLANC Jan SLO UAE TEAM EMIRATES 02:29
11 VINE Jay AUS ALPECIN – FENIX 02:49
12 TUSVELD Martijn NED TEAM DSM 02:53
13 PETILLI Simone ITA INTERMARCHE – WANTY – GOBERT MATER. 02:53
14 HERRADA Jesus ESP COFIDIS 03:08
15 YATES Adam GBR INEOS GRENADIERS 03:33

Gesamt:

1 ROGLIČ Primož SLO JUMBO – VISMA 25:18:35
2 GROSSSCHARTNER Felix AUT BORA – HANSGROHE 00:08
3 MAS Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:25
4 LOPEZ Miguel Angel COL MOVISTAR TEAM 00:36
5 POLANC Jan SLO UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:38
6 BERNAL Egan Arley COL INEOS GRENADIERS 00:41
7 HAIG Jack AUS BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 00:57
8 KUSS Sepp USA JUMBO – VISMA 00:59
9 VLASOV Aleksandr RUS ASTANA – PREMIER TECH 01:06
10 YATES Adam GBR INEOS GRENADIERS 01:22
11 CICCONE Giulio ITA TREK – SEGAFREDO 01:28
12 LANDA Mikel ESP BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 01:42
13 ARU Fabio ITA TEAM QHUBEKA NEXTHASH 01:47
14 de la CRUZ David ESP UAE TEAM EMIRATES 02:14
15 MEINTJES Louis RSA INTERMARCHE – WANTY – GOBERT MATER. 02:19

Felix Großschartner verbessert sich auf Rang zwei in der Gesamtwertung nach schwieriger 7. Etappe der Vuelta a España

Auf und ab ging es auf der siebten 152 km langen Etappe und mit sechs kategorisierten Anstiegen und mehr als 3.600 Höhenmeter waren die Kletterer in ihrem Element. Der Balcón de Alicante mit durchschnittlich 9,5 Prozent Steigung forderte die Fahrer zum Schluss der anspruchsvollen Etappe noch einmal heraus. Wenige Kilometer nachdem das Peloton den Küstenort Gandía verlassen hatte wartete die erste Steigung, wo sich dann auch letztlich eine Gruppe erfolgreich vom Feld absetzte. Felix Großschartner gelang es in einer großen Verfolgergruppe nach 55 km zur Spitze aufzuschließen. Während des Tages konnte diese Gruppe einen Vorsprung von mehr als 5 Minuten herausfahren, wodurch Felix virtuell die Gesamtführung übernahm. Am Ende hatten die Ausreißer heute Erfolg und M. Storer konnte den Etappensieg holen. Felix überquerte die Ziellinie auf dem 7. Rang, 1:32 Minuten hinter dem Tagessieger. Dank dieser starken Leistung rückte er auf den zweiten Platz in der Gesamtwertung vor und liegt jetzt nur 8 Sekunden hinter dem führenden Roglič.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Ehrlich gesagt, bin ich ein bisschen enttäuscht. Das war meine Chance ins Rote Trikot zu fahren. Aber am Ende glaube ich, dass wir ein bisschen zu lange gepokert haben. Wir müssen das akzeptieren. Momentan schmerzt es ein bisschen, aber im Endeffekt gibt’s eigentlich mehr Positives als Negatives. Ich bin jetzt Zweiter in der Gesamtwertung und nach der ersten Bergankunft hätte das sicher keiner gedacht und so muss ich ziemlich zufrieden sein.“ – Felix Großschartner


Photo by Plomi

„Die Vorstellung war, dass das ein Dreikampf wird zwischen Jumbo Visma, Movistar und Ineos. Movistar und Ineos hatten beide drei Mann, die vorne im Klassement platziert waren, und alle anderen waren mehr oder weniger alleine. Von daher kann man nicht alle Fahrer auf dem Radar haben, das haben wir schon heute morgen im Bus besprochen. Felix hat das ganz smart gemacht, in dieser größeren Gruppe zu sitzen. Er nahm dann etwas raus, um sich fürs Finale zu schonen, und dann ist er richtig stark gefahren. Also eine ganz große Leistung von Felix heute. Es ist ein bisschen Schade, dass es um die Winzigkeit von 8 Sekunden dann nicht zum roten Trikot gereicht hat. Aber er ist jetzt von dem 15. Platz auf den 2. Platz in der Gesamtwertung gefahren und das ist schon eine Riesenleistung. Jetzt haben wir weiterhin unser Ziel hier, Felix vorne in dieser Top-Position zu halten.“ – Jens Zemke, Sportlicher Leiter

Storer on top, Valverde on the ground

Michael Storer (Team DSM) rose to victory at Balcon de Alicante after a major battle on stage 7 of La Vuelta 21. The 24 years old Australian climber destroyed his breakaway companions on the steeper slopes of the gruelling unprecedented final climb of the day to take the win ahead of Carlos Verona, who couldn’t offer Movistar Team the stage win on a sad day for the Spanish team. Alejandro Valverde, participating in his 15th La Vuelta, had to abandon after a crash. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) retained La Roja for a handful of seconds ahead of Felix Grossschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe).
The 182-man peloton of La Vuelta 21 roll from Gandia with six climbs and more than 3,500m of elevation to overcome en route to an unprecedented summit finish at Balcon de Alicante. They quickly hit the first climb of the day, the cat-1 Puerto La Llacuna, leading to a huge battle for the breakaway.

A huge breakaway threatens La Roja
After many attacks and counter-attacks, Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) takes the 10 KOM points at the summit but the race situation is far from settling. A group of 29 riders eventually goes on the following valley with Matteo Trentin doing most of the work for his UAE Team Emirates’ companion Jan Polanc, the best classified rider on GC at the front: 12th, +1’42’’.
Bora-Hansgrohe’s Felix Grossschartner (15th, +2’09’’) and Haig (26th, +3’06’’) are the other main threats to La Roja. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) has one teammate up there, Sepp Kuss, and Team DSM manage to put five riders in the break: Romain Bardet, Thymen Arensman, Chris Hamilton, Michael Storer and Martijn Tusveld.
Their gap increases to 4 minutes as they go up and over the Puerto de Tudons. Meanwhile, Hugh Carthy (EF Education Nippo) abandons the race. He finished 3rd overall in 2020.

Valverde attacks and abandons
Temperature rises on the next climb, the cat-2 Puerto El Collao, when Movistar Team send Alejandro Valverde on the move to shake the race and put more pressure on Jumbo-Visma. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) follows that move but Valverde then crashes in a curve. The Spanish icon tries to get back up despite visible injuries on his left shoulder, but he has to abandon a few kilometres later.
Meanwhile, the front group explodes. Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers) is very combative, alongside Lawson Craddock and Michael Storer. They open a 1’ gap to their companions on the way to the penultimate climb of the day, the Puerto de Tibi, to be summited with 13.7km to go.

Storer rises to victory
Sivakov and Storer quickly drop Craddock on the first slopes up Balcon de Alicante (8.4km, 6.2%). But Carlos Verona (Movistar Team) and Andreas Kron (Lotto Soudal) join them at the front with 7km to go. The Spaniard even attacks a couple of times but nobody can resist Storer when he counter-attacks with 3.5km to go and solos to victory.
In the GC group, Steven Kruijswijk sets the pace for Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) before Adam Yates accelerates for Ineos Grenadiers. They finish with a 3’33’’ gap, allowing Roglic to save La Roja for 8’’ on Grossschartner. Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) loses 30’’ on the line.

La Vuelta – Etappe 6

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Anmerkung Plomi:
Na also, geht doch. Primosz Roglic gönnt dem Ausreißer Nielsen den Etappensieg und sichert sich das rote Trikot des Gesamtführenden.
Die Kritik nach dem Gino Mäder Überholen auf der Ziellinie bei Paris-Nizza hat Wirkung gezeigt.

Requena – Alto de la Montaña de Cullera – 158 Km

1 NIELSEN Magnus Cort DEN EF EDUCATION – NIPPO 03:30:53
2 ROGLIČ Primož SLO JUMBO-VISMA 00:00
3 BAGIOLI Andrea ITA DECEUNINCK – QUICK-STEP 00:02
4 VLASOV Aleksandr RUS ASTANA – PREMIER TECH 00:04
5 MAS NICOLAU Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:04
6 MATTHEWS Michael AUS TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE 00:06
7 BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley COL INEOS GRENADIERS 00:08
8 VALVERDE Alejandro ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:08
9 LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel COL MOVISTAR TEAM 00:09
10 GROSSSCHARTNER Felix AUT BORA – HANSGROHE 00:16
11 DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO David ESP UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:21
12 CICCONE Giulio ITA TREK – SEGAFREDO 00:25
13 YATES Adam GBR INEOS GRENADIERS 00:25
14 POLANC Jan SLO UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:27
15 ARANBURU DEBA Alex ESP ASTANA – PREMIER TECH 00:27

Gesamt:
1 ROGLIČ Primož SLO JUMBO-VISMA 21:04:49
2 MAS NICOLAU Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:25
3 LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel COL MOVISTAR TEAM 00:36
4 VALVERDE Alejandro ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:41
5 BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley COL INEOS GRENADIERS 00:41
6 VLASOV Aleksandr RUS ASTANA – PREMIER TECH 00:53
7 CICCONE Giulio ITA TREK – SEGAFREDO 00:58
8 CALMEJANE Lilian FRA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 01:04
9 LANDA MEANA Mikel ESP BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 01:12
10 ARU Fabio ITA TEAM QHUBEKA NEXTHASH 01:17
11 YATES Adam GBR INEOS GRENADIERS 01:22
12 POLANC Jan SLO UAE TEAM EMIRATES 01:42
13 SOTO GUIRAO Antonio Jesus ESP EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI 01:55
14 LOPEZ PEREZ Juan Pedro ESP TREK – SEGAFREDO 02:05
15 GROSSSCHARTNER Felix AUT BORA – HANSGROHE 02:09

Felix Großschartner in den Top-10 auf der 6. Etappe der Vuelta a España

Heute ging es nach dem Start in Requena auf 158,3 km durch die Provinz Valencia. Während die ersten 85 km der Strecke überwiegend bergab bis an die Mittelmeerküste verliefen, ging es weiter über flaches Terrain entlang der Küste zum zwei Kilometer langen und 9 Prozent steilen Alto de la Montaña de Cullera. Die Straße hinauf war eng und es war entscheidend, dass die Fahrer in die vorderen Positionen am Fuße der steilen Schlussrampe gelangten. Erste Ausreißversuche blieben erfolglos bis sich nach 50 km eine kleine Gruppe formierte, die dann schnell einen Vorsprung von fast sieben Minuten einfahren konnte. In den ersten 500 m des finalen Anstiegs zersplitterte die Ausreißergruppe, aber es gelang M. Cort sich von seinen Fluchtgefährten zu distanzieren, während dahinter im reduzierten Feld die Favoriten das Tempo wesentlich erhöhten. Felix Großschartner zeigte heute eine starke Leistung und war ganz vorne mit dabei. Er beendete die Etappe auf dem 10. Rang, 16 Sekunden später als der Etappensieger Cort. Damit rückte der Österreicher um 11 Plätze auf den 15. Platz in der Gesamtwertung vor.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Es war wirklich hart heute, super stressig, besonders die letzten 50 km. Es war auch super windig und danke ans ganze Team, sie haben mir wirklich sehr geholfen. Wir waren eigentlich immer vorne, nur auf den letzten 5 km ist ein Loch aufgegangen, so auf Position 15, und ich hatte schon unten im Berg ein paar Sekunden Rückstand. Ich versuchte meinen Speed zu fahren und bin dann wieder zurück zur ersten Gruppe gekommen. Auf den letzten 300 bis 400 m ist mir das Gas etwas ausgegangen, aber ich denke, die Form passt und es wird besser und besser. Ich freue mich auf die nächsten Tage.“ – Felix Großschartner
„Es war ein sehr stressiges Rennen heute. Am Anfang haben Max und Ben versucht in die Ausreißergruppe zu gehen, aber das hat nicht geklappt. Das Finale mit dem Wind und den Echelons sind die Jungs super gefahren, und sie haben Felix die ganze Zeit gut beschützt. Der letzte, der mit ihm fahren konnte war Patrick, der ihn super in den letzten Berg gefahren hat. Der 10. Platz geht in Ordnung, wir hätten vielleicht ein besseres Ergebnis erzielen können, aber es war nicht leicht heute. Der einzige Wermutstropfen ist, dass Toni gestürzt ist. Er ist in dem Kreisverkehr nach einem Platten im Konvoi weggerutscht, aber dann hat er sich wieder tapfer zum Feld zurückgekämpft. Er hat leichte Schürfwunden, aber es ist alles ziemlich okay.“ – Steffen Radochla, Sportlicher Leiter

Cort Nielsen resists Roglic, Elissonde doesn’t

Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF Education Nippo) claimed a spectacular win as he narrowly edged Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) on the slopes of the Alto de la Montaña de Cullera at the end of stage 6 of La Vuelta 21. The Dane took his fourth victory in the Spanish Grand Tour after an all-day battle. He was the only one from the early breakaway able to fend off the big guns. Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) survived the many splits that occurred into the last 50km but he couldn’t hold on up the final climb. He loses La Roja to Roglic, who now leads the overall standings ahead of three Movistar Team riders. But stage 7 is set to shake the general classification again on the way to Balcon de Alicante.
Everyone – 182 riders – is back at the start of stage 6 of La Vuelta 21 despite the mass crash that happened on the way to Albacete. And many riders are willing to bring battle on the way to the Alto de la Montaña de Cullera. Attacks fly from the start, in Requena, but it takes 43km before a duo of attackers manage to get away.

BikeExchange on the hunt for the stage
Joan Bou (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Ryan Gibbons (UAE Team Emirates) are the first to open a proper gap. They’re joined at km 51 by three more attackers: Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH), Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF Education Nippo) and Bert Jan Lindeman (Team Qhubeka NextHash).
Kenny Elissonde’s Trek-Segafredo let them go as they don’t represent a major threat for La Roja, Jetse Bol being the best classified rider on GC with a gap of 9’17’’. The gap increases to a maximum of 7 minutes, with 95km to go, before Team BikeExchange take the lead of the bunch. The attackers’ lead is down to 3 minutes as they enter the final 50km of the stage.

A very tense finale
The bunch splits due to a strong acceleration into the last 35km. Kenny Elissonde is momentarily dropped but his teammates manage to bring him back in the first group with 25km to go. Hugh Carthy is also dropped with 12km to go but EF Education Nippo position him again in the front positions ahead of the final climb.
Ineos Grenadiers set a very hard pace into the final kilometres and the gap is down to under 25’’ at the bottom of the Alto de la Montaña de Cullera. Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange) tries to bridge that gap in the last 500m and Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) sets off in pursuit of Magnus Cort Nielsen… But the Dane holds on to take victory while the Slovenian claims La Roja.

La Vuelta 21 – Etappe 5

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Tarancón – Albacete – 184 Km

Photo by Photogomezsport
Photo by Photogomezsport

1 PHILIPSEN Jasper BEL ALPECIN-FENIX 04:24:41
2 JAKOBSEN Fabio NED DECEUNINCK – QUICK-STEP 00:00
3 DAINESE Alberto ITA TEAM DSM 00:00
4 MOLANO BENAVIDES Juan Sebastian COL UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:00
5 ALLEGAERT Piet BEL COFIDIS 00:00
6 ABERASTURI IZAGA Jon ESP CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA 00:00
7 MEEUS Jordi BEL BORA – HANSGROHE 00:00
8 MINALI Riccardo ITA INTERMARCHÉ – WANTY – GOBERT MATÉRIAUX 00:00
9 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt RSA TEAM QHUBEKA NEXTHASH 00:00
10 DEMARE Arnaud FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:00

Gesamt:
1 ELISSONDE Kenny FRA TREK – SEGAFREDO 17:33:57
2 ROGLIČ Primož SLO JUMBO-VISMA 00:05
3 CALMEJANE Lilian FRA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 00:10
4 MAS NICOLAU Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:20
5 LOPEZ MORENO Miguel Angel COL MOVISTAR TEAM 00:26
6 VALVERDE Alejandro ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:32
7 CICCONE Giulio ITA TREK – SEGAFREDO 00:32
8 BERNAL GOMEZ Egan Arley COL INEOS GRENADIERS 00:32
9 LANDA MEANA Mikel ESP BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 00:44
10 MÄDER Gino SUI BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 00:45

Jordi Meeus sprintet erneut auf den 7. Platz bei der Vuelta a España

Die 184,4 km flache Strecke führte von Tarancón nach Albacete im Südosten Spaniens. Zunächst ging es über welliges, gegen Ende hin aber flaches Terrain, und so wurde der fünfte Abschnitt der Spanien-Rundfahrt auch in einem Massensprint entschieden. Eine frühe Ausreißergruppe ließ sich aber nicht davon abhalten ihr Glück in der Flucht zu suchen und das Trio dehnte ihren Abstand auf maximal sieben Minuten aus. Aber mit noch 15 km bis zum Ziel konnte die Spitzengruppe das heranrasende Feld nicht mehr aufhalten und so war es dann um die Ausreißer geschehen. Wenige Minuten später gab es einen Massensturz, der das Feld teilte. Ben Zwiehoff war leider darin verwickelt und erlitt eine ausgekugelte Schulter, wurde aber schnell vor Ort vom Rennarzt behandelt und wurde nachdem er die Etappe zu Ende gefahren ist, ins Krankenhaus zu weiteren Untersuchungen gebracht. Auf den letzten Kilometer kam es zu Positionskämpfen, wobei auch BORA – hansgrohe versuchte Jordi Meeus in eine gute Ausgangslage für den Sprint zu bringen. Trotz aller Bemühungen musste er sich auch wie gestern mit dem siebten Platz begnügen, während der Tagessieg an J. Philipsen ging.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Bis auf die letzten 30 km verlief alles ziemlich ruhig, aber dann wurde es wegen des Seitenwindes besonders nervös und hektisch. Danach ereignete sich der Sturz. Vor dem Finale haben die Jungs mich in eine super gute Position gebracht, aber im Endeffekt war es einfach zu hektisch, um mit um eine Top-Platzierung zu kämpfen. Ich habe versucht, mich an verschiedene Hinterräder zu klemmen und an einigen Fahrer auf den letzten 100 m vorbeizuziehen, aber am Ende konnte ich genau wie gestern nur den siebten Platz erringen. Damit bin ich ehrlich gesagt nicht super zufrieden, aber wir werden es erneut auf den nächsten Sprintetappen versuchen. Aber vielen Dank an das ganze Team für die Unterstützung heute.“ – Jordi Meeus

„Mit dem Sturz von Ben Zwiehoff hatten wir etwas Glück, denn er hatte zwar die Schulter ausgekugelt, wurde aber von den Ärzten sofort wieder eingerenkt und hat sich danach relativ gut gefühlt. Zum Finale kann man nur sagen, dass die Jungs es gut gemacht haben. Sie sind gut ins Finale gekommen und haben alles versucht, eine gute Position auf den letzten 3 km zu finden. Manchmal im Endspurt geht es ja um ein paar Meter und im Moment hat Jordi vielleicht nicht die allerbesten Beine, um mit um den Sieg zu kämpfen. Aber nichtdestotrotz werden wir es auf den nächsten Sprintetappen wieder probieren.“ – Steffen Radochla, Sportlicher Leiter

Philipsen doubles up, Elissonde takes La Roja

Already a winner on stage 2, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) was the fastest again on day 5, powering to another success in Albacete after 184.4km of racing through the wind. The Belgian sprinter edged Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick Step) and Alberto Dainese (Team DSM) on the line. Involved in a crash with 8km to go, Rein Taaramäe (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) lost La Roja to Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo), who only has a 5’’ lead on Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) ahead of stage 6’s summit finish at Alto de la Montaña de Cullera.

There are still 182 riders in the race as the peloton roll from Tarancon in the early afternoon and head for Albacete on wind-exposed roads. Three attackers go on the move as early as km 0 to make the break of the day: Pelayo Sanchez (Burgos-BH), Oier Lazkano (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Xabier Mikel Azparren (Euskaltel-Euskadi). Their lead quickly rises to 3’50’’ at km 7.
Rein Taaramäe’s Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux set the pace in the bunch until the gap hits a maximum of 7 minutes with 120km to go. Jasper Philipsen’s Alpecin-Fenix are the first to react. Fabio Jakobsen’s Deceuninck-Quick Step and Arnaud Démare’s Groupama-FDJ quickly emulate them and the gap quickly drops to 3 minutes.

The attackers are caught one by one
The peloton trail by 2 minutes as they enter the last 50km. GC teams move to the front positions as they are wary of potential echelons due to crosswinds.
Two riders remain at the front as Pelayo Sanchez is dropped by his breakaway companions with 34km to go. Oier Lazkano eventually pushes alone with 21km as Xabier Mikel Azparren can’t follow anymore. The peloton eventually reels the last man at the front with 15km to go.

The crash and the sprint
A massive crash in the front positions splits the bunch with 8km to go. Taaramäe is among the main riders caught behind while Romain Bardet (Team DSM) hit the deck and stayed down for some time before resuming racing.
Alpecin-Fenix take the reins of the bunch in the final kilometres and Jasper Philipsen delivers the victory, his second in La Vuelta 21, ahead of Fabio Jakobsen and Alberto Dainese (Team DSM). Rein Taaramäe loses 2’21’’ on the line. Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) is thus the new overall leader of La Vuelta with minimal gaps on the eve of another summit finish at Alto de la Montaña de Cullera.

La Vuelta 21 – Etappe 4

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El Burgo de Osma – Molina de Aragón – 164 Km

1 JAKOBSEN Fabio NED DECEUNINCK – QUICK – STEP 03:43:07
2 DEMARE Arnaud FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:00
3 NIELSEN Magnus Cort DEN EF EDUCATION – NIPPO 00:00
4 DAINESE Alberto ITA TEAM DSM 00:00
5 MATTHEWS Michael AUS TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE 00:00
6 ALLEGAERT Piet BEL COFIDIS 00:00
7 MEEUS Jordi BEL BORA – HANSGROHE 00:00
8 TRENTIN Matteo ITA UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:00
9 PHILIPSEN Jasper BEL ALPECIN – FENIX 00:00
10 MINALI Riccardo ITA INTERMARCHE – WANTY – GOBERT MATER. 00:00

Gesamt:
1 TAARAMAE Rein EST INTERMARCHE – WANTY – GOBERT MATER. 13:08:51
2 ELISSONDE Kenny FRA TREK – SEGAFREDO 00:25
3 ROGLIČ Primož SLO JUMBO – VISMA 00:30
4 CALMEJANE Lilian FRA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 00:35
5 MAS Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:45
6 LOPEZ Miguel Angel COL MOVISTAR TEAM 00:51
7 VALVERDE Alejandro ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:57
8 CICCONE Giulio ITA TREK – SEGAFREDO 00:57
9 BERNAL Egan Arley COL INEOS GRENADIERS 00:57
10 LANDA Mikel ESP BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 01:09

Jordi Meeus erringt siebten Platz in seinem ersten Sprint bei der Vuelta a España

Nachdem die Fahrer El Burgo de Osma verlassen hatten, ging es bei ständigem Auf und Ab über 163,3 km nach Molina de Aragón. Obwohl die letzten 400 m rund 5 Prozent Steigung aufwiesen, hatten die Sprinter heute einmal mehr eine Chance. Für die Klassementfahrer hieß es heute heil und ohne Zeitverlust ins Ziel zu kommen. Ein Trio setzte sich schon früh vom Feld ab, wurde aber mit 13 km bis zum Ziel vom Feld wieder gestellt. Am Ende hatten dann die schnellen Männer wieder das Sagen und auch BORA – hansgrohe hoffte im Finale mit Jordi Meeus vorne dabei zu sein. Auf den letzten Kilometern kämpften die Sprinter dann um die Positionen und als Jakobsen seinen Sprint anzog, konnte ihm keiner folgen und so holte er den Etappensieg. Nach seinem Sturz auf der zweiten Etappe war heute der erste Sprint bei der Vuelta den Jordi bestreiten konnte, und der Belgier hoffte auf ein starkes Resultat. Auf den letzten Kilometern verloren sich die BORA – hansgrohe Fahrer allerdings etwas im Lead-Out und am Ende platzierte sich der Belgier auf dem 7. Rang.
Reaktionen im Ziel
„Es war ein ziemlich einfacher Start und die Ausreißergruppe konntet sich schnell vom Feld distanzieren. Das Rennen wurde mit rund 40 km vor dem Ziel ein wenig nervös, da es Seitenwind gab. Letztendlich ist aber nichts Wesentliches passiert. Alle warteten dann auf die Sprintvorbereitungen, und die letzten 25 km verliefen recht schnell. Im Sprint selbst haben wir uns in dem Lead-Out ein wenig verloren. Die Jungs haben gut zusammengearbeitet, aber am Ende haben wir es nicht so hinbekommen, wie wir es geplant hatten. Und mir fehlte zum Schluss der nötige Punch, um mit um den Sieg zu kämpfen. Mit dem siebten Platz bin ich nicht super zufrieden, aber es ist doch ein guter Anfang.“ – Jordi Meeus
„Das war eine relativ einfache Etappe und wir waren auf dem finalen Sprint voll konzentriert. Es war sehr wichtig, 2 km vor dem Ziel in einer super Position zu sein, aber das haben wir leider nicht geschafft. Es hat da einfach ein bisschen Manpower gefehlt. Letztendlich waren wir auf den letzten Kilometern einfach zu weit hinten, und Jordi kam dann auf dem 7. Platz ins Ziel. Ich glaube, heute wäre mehr möglich gewesen.“ – Steffen Radochla, Sportlicher Leiter

Jakobsen sprints to a very special win

Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick Step) was the strongest in Molina de Aragon, on Tuesday, to power to victory ahead of Arnaud Démare on stage 4 of La Vuelta 21. On the uphill, the Dutch sprinter claimed his third Grand Tour stage win, a couple of years after he already snatched the first two in Spain. In between, he almost lost his life in a terrible crash during the 2020 Tour de Pologne. His painful recovery process is awarded with a spectacular victory. Rein Taaramäe (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) retained La Roja.
The 182 riders who made their way to Picon Blanco on Monday all return to action for stage 4 as the peloton roll from El Burgo de Osma in the early afternoon. Three of them go on the move as soon as the flag drops. Burgos-BH’s Carlos Canal and Angel Madrazo make the break of the day alongside Euskaltel-Euskadi’s Joan Bou.
Sprint teams control the day
The peloton let them go and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux drive the bunch while Rein Taaramäe makes history as the first Estonian rider to wear the leader’s jersey on the roads of La Vuelta. The gap hits a maximum of 4’35’’ before the sprinters’ teams move to the front position to cut the attackers’ lead.
Alpecin-Fenix are the first to react, with 100km to go, two days after Jasper Philipsen dominated the first bunch sprint of La Vuelta 21. Groupama-FDJ and Deceuninck-Quick Step joined the Belgian team at the front of the bunch and the gap is down to 1’15’’ when Philipsen takes 10 points in the intermediate sprint of Alcolea del Pinar (62.9km to go).

Jakobsen powers past Démare
The early attackers are eventually caught with 13km to go, after 150km at the front of the race. Tension is high and Taaramäe crashes inside the last 3km, a distance that allows him to retain La Roja.
Alpecin-Fenix and Groupama-FDJ are the most active teams inside the uphill last kilometre, Démare leads the way into the last 200m… But Jakobsen powers past him to take his third win since his return to competition after the crash that almost took his life in August 2020.

La Vuelta 21 – Etappe 1

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Burgos – Burgos (ITT) 7,1km

1 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma 0:08:32
2 Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech 0:00:06
3 Jan Tratnik (Slo) Bahrain Victorious 0:00:08
4 Tom Scully (NZl) EF Education-Nippo 0:00:10
5 Josef Cerny (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep
6 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers 0:00:11
7 Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:12
8 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education-Nippo 0:00:13
9 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:00:14
10 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana-Premier Tech

Solide Leistung von Felix Großschartner beim Auftaktzeitfahren der Vuelta a España

Zum Auftakt der Vuelta stand ein kurzes 7,1 km langes Einzelzeitfahren mit Start und Ziel an der Kathedrale von Burgos auf dem Programm. Die Strecke beinhaltete auf den ersten 3 km steigende Passagen bis hin zum Alto del Castillo einem 1,2 km langen und rund 7 Prozent steilen Anstieg. 38 Grad Hitze und böiger Südwestwind machten den Fahrer auf der Stecke ebenfalls zu schaffen. Der erste Fahrer rollte kurz vor 18:00 Uhr von der Startrampe und setzte die erste Richtmarke mit einer Zeit von 9:30. Patrick Gamper eröffnete das Rennen gegen die Uhr für den Raublinger Rennstall, während Felix Großschartner einer der letzten war, der die Strecke in Angriff nahm. Mit 8:52 Minuten fuhr Felix ein solides Rennen und am Ende reichte dies beim Sieg von P. Roglič für den 18. Platz, das beste Ergebnis des Teams heute. Maximilian Schachmann erreichte die Ziellinie in 8:54 Minuten und platzierte sich damit auf dem 25. Rang.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Das Gefühl war ja grundsätzlich ganz gut heute und es war ein ziemlich solider Start. Es war wichtig, gut durchzukommen, und keine zu große Risiken einzugehen, um nicht irgendwo zu stürzen. Aber im Großen und Ganzen bin ich gut durchgekommen und so freue ich mich auf die nächsten Tage.“ – Felix Großschartner
„Wir sind froh, dass die Vuelta losgeht. Wir sind auf das Rennen gut vorbereitet und haben eine sehr junge Mannschaft hier am Start. Beim heutigen Zeitfahren war unser voller Fokus auf Felix Großschartner, der den 18. Platz belegte und gegenüber den Hauptkonkurrenten wenig Zeit einbüßte. Maximilian Schachmann ist auch noch zu nennen, mit dem 25. Platz nach dem kurzen und technischen Auftaktzeitfahren in Burgos.“ – Jens Zemke, Sportlicher Leiter

CELEBRATING FABIO ARU

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Team Qhubeka NextHash’s Italian star rider Fabio Aru has confirmed on the eve of the Vuelta a Espana that he will retire from professional cycling at the conclusion of the 2021 edition of the race.


Photo by Plomi

Aru, fittingly, has chosen the Vuelta to conclude his professional career, an event that he won in 2015. It’s a decision that he has spent significant time considering and one which ultimately will see him focus on spending time with his young family.
The 31-year-old joined the team at the start of the 2021 season and says that he rediscovered his love for the racing his bike with Team Qhubeka NextHash, which culminated with him placing second overall at the recently concluded Vuelta a Burgos.

His stellar palmares includes:

• Overall victory at the Vuelta a Espana (2015) as well as finishing 5th in 2014.
• Twice finishing on the podium at the Giro d’Italia – 2nd (2015) and 3rd (2014).
• Six Grand Tour stages: 3 x Giro d’Italia, 2 x Vuelta a Espana and 1 x Tour de France (2017)
• 5th overall at the Tour de France (2017)
• Italian road race champion (2017)

Fabio Aru
Reaching this decision has not been easy but it is something that I’ve been thinking about and discussing with my family for some time. I’ve been racing my bike for 16 years and for more than a decade as a professional, but the time has come now to prioritise other things in my life, my family.

During my career, as any bike rider will tell you, a significant time is spent away from home and for me this is now the right time to give back to them.
I’ve been fortunate to realise my talent on the biggest stage of all, and together with my teammates celebrate incredible successes.
I hope that I have been able to demonstrate the true values of sportsmanship over my career, and in doing so made people proud.
I also want to express a deep sense of gratitude to all of my former teammates and staff at my former teams – Astana and UAE – who elevated me throughout my career. We shared some incredible moments which I’ll forever be grateful for.
Finally, I want to pay a special tribute to Team Qhubeka NextHash. Within our organisation we speak about the spirit of Ubuntu – I am because we are – and this sense of togetherness, at a time when the world needs it most, has been amazing for me to be a part of.

I must admit that when I joined the team I was aware that it was special, different but had no real understanding of what it would truly be like. This team, without doubt is completely unique not just in cycling but across all sport, I am incredibly proud to race here and honoured to end my time as a professional with them.
After a tough few years, in 2021 I was able to race my bike again and ride at a level that I knew I was capable of, while smiling on the bike. That is a victory in itself, and something that I will forever be grateful for.
I want to express my sincerest thanks to Douglas Ryder, Lars Michaelsen, Gabriele Missaglia, Mattia Michelusi and all the team’s staff and my fellow riders, it’s an honour to be your teammate.
In our team we speak about hope, opportunity and platform in order to be able to change lives with the bicycle. Having played my part in this will be something that I hold dear for the rest of my life, and I will forever be a supporter.
I will continue to ride my bike because it is what I love to do but for now I’m focused on riding the Vuelta a Espana to the best of my ability with my Team Qhubeka NextHash teammates; and it’s fitting that my journey will end here in Spain, a place and a race where I have incredible memories.

La Vuelta 21 | Info with 1 day to go

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Key points:

• La Vuelta 21 is about to start with Pelayo Sánchez set to be the first rider tackling the opening time-trial in Burgos, at 5:44 pm.
• “It’s a really really tricky first week”, according to the two-time defending champion Primoz Roglic, who will be the last on the road.
• Local champions such as the Movistar leaders and Mikel Landa also expressed strong ambitions on the eve of stage 1.

FROM SANCHEZ TO ROGLIČ, THE 184 PARTICIPANTS ARE READY TO GO
La Vuelta 21 starts this Saturday with an individual time trial around Burgos-Catedral VIII Centenario (7.1km) that will crown the first wearer of La Roja, the leader’s red jersey. The very young Asturian Pelayo Sánchez, from the local team Burgos-BH, will be the first rider to start, at 5:44, from the Plaza de Santa María. Among the big GC contenders, Adam Yates will go early, at 18:05. The last three champions to ride through the streets of Burgos will be Enric Mas, Egan Bernal and finally the two-time defending champion Primož Roglič at 8:47 p.m.

ROGLIČ: “A BIG FIGHT ALL THE WAY UNTIL THE END”
After a rollercoaster of a Summer, with the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo’s ITT following his withdrawal from the Tour de France, Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) expressed his delight to return to La Vuelta: “First I celebrated, tried to realise and enjoy what we achieved. In the last days, I tried to train as well as possible ahead of La Vuelta. I always enjoy being here. I have special memories about this race, and about Spain. These victories are proof of the hard and good work we do, myself, and also my teammates and all the people involved in these successes.” The road to a historical third win starts early: “We’ll see after a couple of days if I’m ready. It’s a really really tricky first week. The second is more manageable and the last one is among the hardest I’ve ever seen.” Asked about his rivals, the Slovenian highlighted the depth of the opposition and shifted the focus onto what he and his team will do: “What I worry about is that we do our best. Egan [Bernal] is a super strong guy for sure, and it’s not only him, so it will be a big fight all the way until the end.”

“MOVISTAR ALWAYS COME FOR THE WIN”
Participating in La Vuelta for the 42nd year in a row, since Eusebio Unzué’s team was born under the patronage of Reynolds in 1980, Movistar Team aim to add to their success tally in the Spanish Grand Tour, with notably 4 overall victories and 64 stage wins. “I’m very excited to be here for a new La Vuelta, the race I love the most. And I’m excited with the team we have”, said Alejandro Valverde ahead of his 15th participation (overall winner in 2009, 12 stage wins). “It would be great to have Enric Mas or Miguel Angel Lopez on the podium and a stage win for myself.” Mas already finished on the podium in 2018 and he dreams of making it onto the top step in Santiago de Compostela: “Movistar always come for the win. Then we have to see what happens in the race but we’re convinced we can win, and if not be on the podium.” La Vuelta is also the Grand Tour Lopez rode most often (4 times since 2016): “It’s a beautiful race I’ve always loved. I have good memories here, from 2017, 2018, and it’s even sweeter to be here with Movistar, ready to give it a go from the start.”

LANDA: „MY GOAL IS TO RETURN ON THE PODIUM OF A GRAND TOUR“
Absent since 2015, when he won a stage in Cortals d’Encamp and achieved his best result (25th) in the general classification, Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious) returns to La Vuelta with “a lot of desire. We must compensate for the lack of form with enthusiasm and a super powerful team like the one we bring”, with Poels, Caruso, Padun, Haig or Mäder to support the Spaniard. The champion from Murgia says he is not yet feeling at his best after crashing out of the Giro: „That is obvious, but I hope to reach that level during La Vuelta and I trust not to waste time at the beginning to be able to be in the fight when it happens“, since he has a clear objective, „to return on the podium of a Grande. In these years I have been very close in the Tour and in the Giro, but sometimes I have lacked a bit of luck or form.“ These setbacks have served to „learn to have a little patience; cycling is not only about winning, attitude also counts, and you have to keep fighting for your dreams or your goals“, argued Landa, who also highlighted his links with Burgos: „It is a city to which I am very fond of him and it is like starting at home. I am very motivated.“

PURITO: „BOTH MAS AND LANDA WILL SURELY FIGHT FOR THE PODIUM“
Caser Seguros, sponsor and official insurer of La Vuelta, organised a meeting between the accredited media, the general director of the race, Javier Guillén, and Joaquim ‘Purito’ Rodríguez, ambassador of the company. The former rider expects “a very hot La Vuelta with a great route” and pointed out that, despite the presence of Roglič or Bernal, there are Spanish options to win: “Both Enric Mas and Mikel Landa are coming with a great form and they will surely fight for victory or at least for the podium. They also ride with strong teams.” Guillén is committed to having „a safe La Vuelta. The situation is radically different from 2020, although the pandemic is still among us.” He added: “If there are infections, the race may be compromised“, so he asked everyone “to pay attention and to comply with sanitary measures”.

FOLLOW LA VUELTA WITH TWITCH AND THE OFFICIAL PODCAST
La Vuelta pursues its efforts to reach new audiences and this year it will also be possible to follow the event through new and thriving digital communication platforms: a Twitch channel (making it the first Grand Tour with a presence on this leading streaming platform) and the official Podcast. The Twitch channel, hosted by David García, is developed in partnership with RTVE after the success achieved in the recent Tokyo Olympic Games and will allow fans to enjoy live presentations after the stages with an analysis of what happened. As for the Podcast, which was already active in La Vuelta 20 and throughout this year every two weeks, it will run throughout the race with a daily edition available on the main platforms (Spotify, Ivoox, Apple and Google) with José Covián and Alberto Marcos.

LA VUELTA KEY FIGURES

STARTING ORDER | STAGE 1

THE HEROES OF LA VUELTA (5/6) EGAN BERNAL

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Photo by Plomi

Egan Bernal was a hero of La Vuelta before he even participated in it. Three years ago, he envisioned the Spanish Grand Tour as the ideal terrain for his debut in a three-week race, but circumstances bring him there for the first time in 2021 with the prospect of becoming the youngest winner of the three Grand Tours!
In 85 years, since La Vuelta joined the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia to form the three Grand Tours, seven riders have registered their names in the winning records of each of them: Jacques Anquetil (at 29 years old), Felice Gimondi (25), Eddy Merckx (27), Bernard Hinault (25), Alberto Contador (25), Vincenzo Nibali (29) and Chris Froome (33). Looking more closely, the one who achieved the treble at the youngest age is Bernard Hinault, who was 25 years, 6 months and 24 days old when the Giro arrived in Milan on June 7, 1980. Since January 13, Egan Bernal is 24 years old. If he climbs on the top step of the podium on September 5 in Obradoiro Square in Santiago de Compostela, he will therefore beat – largely – a new precocity record after having dethroned Felice Gimondi as youngest Yellow Jersey of the Tour de France in Paris in 2019 (at 22) before being himself debunked by Tadej Pogacar (21).

In the months following his triumph (to be the first Colombian to win the Tour was huge in the legend of global cycling and national sport), Egan Bernal repeated his dearest wish as an athlete: “I want to win all three Grand Tours, it would be great to be part of cycling history like that.“ Claiming the three was therefore a priority, in his mind, before even thinking of winning the Tour de France a second time, a goal his employer, Team Ineos, set for him in 2020, but without success since back pain forced him to retire and prematurely end his season. He has patiently rebuilt since then, and won the Giro in May.
It is curious to note that in the end, nothing went as planned in the already extraordinary career of the climber of Zipaquira. He turned pro at 18, at an age usually dedicated to learning in the U23 ranks, on the road after being trained as a mountain biker, and in Italy, in a team, Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec, who, logically, should have entered the Giro d’Italia. But during the two years he spent in Gianni Savio’s team (2016 and 2017), they were not invited to the Corsa Rosa! The Colombian took the opportunity to win the 2017 Tour de l’Avenir, like his compatriots Nairo Quintana, Esteban Chaves and Miguel Ángel López shortly before him, and he was sold to Team Sky. When he joined the British powerhouse, he was not guaranteed to compete in a three-week race in the first year, but he hoped La Vuelta 18 would be his first Grand Tour, to discover this big world at 21 years old. Circumstances precipitated things: 2nd in the Tour de Romandie behind Primoz Roglic (and these two are ready for more this Summer!) and winner of the Tour of California in May, he appeared ready to make his debut on the main stage sooner than expected, while Chris Froome, the indisputable leader of Team Sky at the time, was battling hard at the Giro d’Italia, turning the situation to his advantage at the very end. The Briton needed reinforcement in the mountains, and so instead of waiting for La Vuelta, Egan Bernal was called up for the Tour de France where he was exemplary in the service of Geraint Thomas, who finally dominated the situation, while Froome climbed on the third step of the podium.

The Colombian was not yet supposed to assume leadership on the 2019 Tour. Froome’s terrible fall at the Critérium du Dauphiné put him higher in the hierarchy. He was still behind Thomas at the exit of the Pyrenees but two stages in the Alps propelled him to the top. His career was turned upside down, his personal life too. The 2020 Tour brought him back to the great difficulties of the profession, and, finally, allowed him to return to his initial dream: to shine on the three Grand Tours, which he watched, as a child, on TV, with as much passion for the three. As soon as the victory was assured in the Giro last May, he was asked about the possibility of a follow-up to the Tour de France and the prospect of becoming Olympic champion. “No”, he replied. „My priority now is to win La Vuelta as well.“

„The presence of Egan Bernal is a very important appeal for La Vuelta 21,“ said general manager Javier Guillén. „I want to say, like my fellow Giro organisers this year, that he is finally coming to the start of our race, but we must not forget that he is still very young. Of course, if he won La Vuelta from his first participation, after the Tour and the Giro, that would be historic, but we must not lose sight of the fact that the level of competition is such that it is not won in advance. As he is a very smart boy who keeps his feet on the ground, he knows it won’t be easy. We are obviously delighted to count him among the main protagonists.“

The heroes of La Vuelta (4/6) : Mikel Landa

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Photo by Plomi

Mikel Landa is not strictly speaking a La Vuelta hero, but now is the year or never to become one! He has not appeared in the Spanish Grand Tour since 2015 but in the wake of his victory last week at the Tour de Burgos, his name and his unique history have shaped the hope of local aficionados to see a Spaniard rise on the top step of the podium.

Of the 75 editions of La Vuelta already contested, 32 ultimately went to a Spanish rider. In the table of victories by country, France (9), Belgium (7), Italy (6) and Switzerland (5) follow. In the winning records, a maximum of six editions separates two Spanish winners (between Melchor Mauri in 1991 and Abraham Olano in 1998, the Swiss Tony Rominger won three times, his compatriot Alex Zülle twice, and the Frenchman Laurent Jalabert once). The last six champions crowned in Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles were foreigners: the Italian Fabio Aru (2015), the Colombian Nairo Quintana (2016), the Brits Chris Froome (2017) and Simon Yates (2018) as well as the Slovenian Primoz Roglic (2019, 2020). It turns out that Alberto Contador took his third and final overall victory in Santiago de Compostela, where La Vuelta 21 will end on September 5th. Is this a harbinger of the end of this current drought over six editions?

Spanish cycling had a golden era in which Alberto Contador was far from ruling alone in his kingdom, as Carlos Sastre, Alejandro Valverde, Joaquim „Purito“ Rodriguez and Samuel Sánchez also took center stage. The intensity has dropped but the local protagonists have not failed since. From 2014, half the editions of La Vuelta ended with one of theirs on the second step: “Purito” in 2015, Enric Mas in 2018 and Alejandro Valverde in 2019. The succession of the Madrilenian seemed to have to be assured, at first, by Mikel Landa. Forced into exile with the closure of the team of his beginnings, Euskaltel-Euskadi, after his first two participations in La Vuelta (2012, 2013), he found refuge in global teams where he could not always choose his goals, nor focus primarily on the Spanish Grand Tour. Falls have also marked his course – they still have this year, but he seems to have recovered well from his injuries at the beginning of the Giro d’Italia. The laws of the market have pushed him to change employers every two years, and riders on the move don’t necessarily enjoy a smooth exit…

Still, he took part in La Vuelta during his two years at Astana (2014, 2015), but not with Team Sky (2016, 2017), nor Movistar (2018, 2019), nor Bahrain-McLaren last year. In four participations, his best final place is 25th in 2015, while he has six top 10s at the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, and his greatest feat remains his only stage victory, on day 11 of the same edition. It was presented as “the hardest stage of all time” because riders had to face 5,300 m of elevation over 138 km in the principality of Andorra. Landa had slipped into the morning breakaway in defiance of Astana’s directives and he refused to wait for his leader, Fabio Aru, but the affair did not make much noise, in the end, because the Kazakh formation scored on both levels: the stage win for Landa and La Roja for Aru, second in Cortals d’Encamp, 1’22“ later, and, above all, 1’37“ before Tom Dumoulin, who was wearing the leader’s red jersey until then.

Mikel Landa is now 31 years old and has eleven pro seasons behind him. He also won three stages at the Giro where he stood on the podium, 3rd in 2015, and won the mountain classification in 2017, two Vuelta a Burgos, a Giro del Trentino… His “landismo” personifies a champion with a huge potential promised to win a three-week races, according to the fans, when, finally, he will have been spared by crashes and the instructions of his team contrary to his individual ambitions.

„That day may come with La Vuelta 21“, observes the general manager of the event Javier Guillén. „We wish him that luck is finally on his side. He is a very followed and loved rider with a lot of fans. For the popular impact of La Vuelta, it is always interesting that Spaniards are among the big protagonists in the general classification. Mikel’s generosity to the cycling community makes him deserving to shine in our event and we are delighted to welcome him back after too long an absence.“
Murgia, his hometown, in the Basque province of Alava, is a one hour drive from Burgos, where La Vuelta 21 will start on Saturday. He will therefore immediately have many supporters, who do not forget his contribution to the relaunch at continental level of the Euskadi foundation, of which he took the presidency at the end of 2017 until last March. With the Euskaltel-Euskadi rising to Pro Continental and returning to the peloton of La Vuelta this year, „my role could lead to incompatibilities that nobody wanted“, he explained. „But my emotional connection with the Euskadi foundation will remain the same and my heart is and will be orange for life.“
Landa is also approaching La Vuelta 21 as a cyclist within an impressive Bahrain Victorious team, especially for the mountains, since his teammates are Damiano Caruso (2nd in the Giro this year), Jack Haig, Mark Padun, Wout Poels, Jan Tratnik, Gino Mäder and Yukiya Arashiro. They look able to compete with the powerhouses Ineos Grenadiers and Jumbo-Visma.

The heroes of La Vuelta : www.lavuelta.com

Team Qhubeka NextHash set for Vuelta a Espana

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Team Qhubeka NextHash has selected its team for the final grand tour of the season, La Vuelta a Espana. The Spanish grand tour will get underway on Saturday 14 August, from Padron, and will cover over 3400km before finishing in Santiago di Compostela, on Sunday 5 September.

Team Qhubeka NextHash was dealt a tough blow last week as our intended Vuelta a Espana race leader, Domenico Pozzovivo crashed at the Vuelta a Burgos and fractured his knee. Emil Vinjebo also crashed at the same race, fracturing his collarbone, forcing our team to make two late replacements to our La Vuelta lineup.

Fabio Aru and Sergio Henao will now share responsibility in leading Team Qhubeka NextHash at La Vuelta a Espana. Aru has shown an impressive return to form in recent weeks, and as a previous winner of the Vuelta a Espana, we are proud to have the Sardinian lead our team at La Vuelta.
Henao makes a return to racing after a strong showing at the Tour de France this year, where he infiltrated numerous mountain stage breakaways and was set to ride into the top 20 overall before fracturing his arm in a crash, which slowed the Colombian climber though he did complete the race in Paris.
With Aru and Henao targeting the mountain stages, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg will be our man for the sprint stages. With three top-10 placings in sprints at last year’s edition of the race, the South African will be hoping to edge closer to the top of the results sheet with numerous sprint opportunities at this year’s edition of La Vuelta.

Dimitri Claeys and Dylan Sunderland, the two late replacement riders, will both be starting their first ever La Vuelta’s although the duo do have grand tour experience at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, respectively. Their strength and ‚diesel engine‘ characteristics will be key in supporting roles but also on stages for the opportunists.
Bert-Jan Lindeman and Sander Armee, both two former La Vuelta stage winners, will be leaned upon throughout the race as their experience and selfless team support will be invaluable in every race scenario.

Finally, it is a great pleasure for our team to have Connor Brown starting his debut grand tour. A graduate from our continental feeder team last season, the 23-year-old who has dual South African and Kiwi citizenship completes our lineup for La Vuelta a Espana.
Continuing with our team’s theme of getting fans, partners and supporters to announce our team lineup’s this year, for the Vuelta a Espana, our u23 Qhubeka continental feeder team riders have revealed our La Vuelta roster with a short video clip. We look forward to seeing these future stars at the start of La Vuelta one day too.

Fabio Aru
This will be my 6th time at Vuelta a Espana and I have really good memories here. My first Vuelta was in 2014 and I won two stages and finished in top five GC. I was fighting with great champions like Contador, Froome, Purito and Valverde, and that was a great experience for me. In 2015 I won the Vuelta and this was amazing, it really changed my life.
As a country, I really love Spain. I love the passion the people from Spain have for cycling. I think they also love me, my characteristics as a rider and my way of racing. When I have the legs I always try to attack and I think they really appreciate this way of racing. The parcour in general, all the stages and big climbs in Spain I always enjoy a lot.
So I can’t wait to be back, at a grand tour again, because as we know the last three years have been really hard for me. This year, I have had a new start with a new team, which has a great Ubuntu spirit which I am part of, and new goals. This has allowed me to get that good feeling back on the bike, from GP Lugano until Burgos, which I am very happy about.
I will give my 100% at La Vuelta, actually even more than 100% for this team. We were unfortunate to lose two very strong riders before Vuelta, Pozzovivo and Vinjebo, in crashes at Vuelta Burgos. So as a team we will also be racing for them every day.

Reinardt Janse van Rensburg
We are looking forward to getting the Vuelta a Espana started. A few of us have really focused our season around the Vuelta, and prepared well to be in top shape for the Vuelta. We had a good showing at the Vuelta a Burgos, our last preparation race, with some very good results, despite losing some guys to crashes.
We look forward to building on the momentum of Burgos and hope to make our supporters proud during La Vuelta.

Connor Brown
I was always one of those kids who was completely obsessed with cycling, whenever there was a grand tour on I was glued to the TV. Now to be racing one is an absolute dream come true! Maybe there will be a kid watching just as I used to, and they will be inspired to ride because of it. That is a cool thought. I want to thank the team for believing in me and giving me this amazing opportunity.

La Vuelta: Alle Etappen der Spanien-Rundfahrt live bei Eurosport und bei GCN

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10. August 2021 – Über 3.336 Kilometer führt die Vuelta a España 2021 das Peloton von Burgos nach Santiago de Compostela. Eurosport überträgt die dritte große Landesrundfahrt des Jahres vom 14. August bis 5. September auf allen Plattformen. 19 der 21 Etappen sind bei Eurosport 1 im Free-TV zu sehen. Alle Etappen im Kampf um das Rote Trikot sind werbefrei bei Eurosport mit Joyn PLUS+ sowie über das Global Cycling Network (GCN) via GCN+ und die GCN-App zu erleben.
Am Mikrofon begleiten Kommentator Gerhard Leinauer und die Experten Jens Voigt und Robert Bengsch die Teams über die iberische Halbinsel.
Die Strecke sollte auch in diesem Jahr den Bergspezialisten in die Karten spielen. Auf sieben Bergetappen und vier Tagesabschnitten im Mittelgebirge bekommen die Kletterer ihre Chancen, die Konkurrenz in die Schranken zu weisen. Selbst das lange Zeitfahren auf der letzten Etappe zum Zielort Santiago de Compostela weist ein eher hügeliges Profil auf.
Eurosport-Experte Jens Voigt sieht einen Fahrer ganz klar vor allen anderen. “Favorit ist für mich ganz klar Primoz Roglic. Er alleine bekommt bei mir fünf von fünf möglichen Sternen. Warum? Bei Paris-Nizza und der Tour de France hat er durch Stürze alle Chancen verloren. Er möchte nach der Baskenland-Rundfahrt noch ein Podium bei einer großen Rundfahrt und als Zeitfahr-Olympiasieger ist die Form da.” Hinter dem Slowenen vergibt Voigt dreimal vier Sterne für Egan Bernal und Richard Carapaz. “Als Sieger beim Giro d’Italia und Goldmedaillengewinner bei Olympia muss man die beiden für das Klassement einplanen. Auch Mikel Landa ist ein nach seinem Sieg in Burgos bereit für das Podium – und er bringt eine starke Mannschaft mit”, sagt Voigt, der zudem noch einer Hand voll weiterer Fahrer Außenseiterchancen auf die ersten drei Plätze im Gesamtklassement einräumt, darunter Romain Bardet, Felix Großschartner und Alejandro Valverde.
“Kurz gesagt: Primoz Roglic wird gewinnen, und um die Plätze zwei und drei werden sich Mikel Landa und Egan Bernal streiten. Seit Bernals Toursieg 2019 konnte das Team Ineos Grenadiers Roglic im direkten Vergleich nicht mehr schlagen und das wird auch hier so sein”, zieht Voigt sein Fazit zu den Favoriten.

Für deutschen und deutschsprachigen Fahrer sieht Voigt eher Chancen auf Etappenerfolge. “Mit fünf Fahrern stellt Deutschland nur ein kleines Kontingent. Aber mit Max Schachmann können wir auf einen Etappensieg setzen. Alle anderen deutschen Fahrer werden sich sicher mehr in der Helferrolle wiederfinden und bekommen nur dann eine Chance, wenn sie eine glückliche Ausreißergruppe erwischen”, sagt Voigt, der neben Schachmann auch dem einzigen Schweizer im Feld einen Tagessieg zutraut. “Gino Mäder ist – wie man aufgrund des Saisonverlaufs sieht – immer für einen Etappensieg gut”, sagt Voigt. “Die beiden Luxemburger und das Trio aus Österreich werden ihre Chancen in Fluchtgruppen suchen müssen. Da sehe ich keinen, der im Hochgebirge bei den Favoriten mitfahren oder im Sprint Caleb Ewan schlagen kann. Bei elf deutschsprachigen Fahrern bin ich aber sehr optimistisch, dass mindestens einer davon einen Etappensieg einfahren wird.”

Einen schnellen Blick wirft der Eurosport-Experte auch noch auf die Sprinter. “Bei den Sprintern gibt es den großen Zweikampf zwischen den beiden Australiern Caleb Ewan und Michael Matthews. Ich sehe mehr Sprintsiege für den Lotto-Soudal-Fahrer Ewan, aber einen deutlichen Vorteil auf das Sprinttrikot für den bergfesten Matthews vom Team BikeExchange.”
Zusätzlich zu den Rennübertragungen bieten Eurosport und GCN als “Home of Cycling” den Fans digitale Highlights zu den Etappen an. Auf eurosport.de können sich die Radsport-Fans umfassend über die Vuelta informieren. Streckenpläne und -profile, Renn- und Hintergrundberichte sowie die Höhepunkte aller Etappen im Video ergänzen die TV-Berichterstattung.

Vuelta a España 2021:

Sendezeiten bei Eurosport (Stand: 10. August 2021)

Donnerstag, 12. August Teampräsentation 19:00

Samstag, 14. August 1. Etappe: Burgos – Catedral (8 km, EZF) 17:50

Sonntag, 15. August 2. Etappe: 2. Etappe: Caleruega – Burgos (169 km) 14:50

Montag, 16. August 3. Etappe: Santo Domingo de Silos-Picón Blanco (203 km) 14:50

Dienstag, 17. August 4. Etappe: El Burgo de Osma-Molina de Aragón (163.6 km) 14:50

Mittwoch, 18. August 5. Etappe: Tarancón-Albacete (184.4 km) 14:50

Donnerstag, 19. August 6. Etappe: Requena-Alto de la Montaña de Cullera (159 km) 14:50

Freitag, 20. August 7. Etappe: Gandía-Balcón de Alicante (152 km) 13:05

Samstag, 21. August 8. Etappe: Santa Pola-La Manga del mar Menor (163.3 km) 14:50*

Sonntag, 22. August 9. Etappe: Puerto Lumbreras-Alto de Velefique (187.8 km) 14:50*

Sonntag, 22. August 9. Etappe: Puerto Lumbreras-Alto de Velefique (187.8 km) 16:30

Montag, 23. August Ruhetag

Dienstag, 24. August 10. Etappe: Roquetas de Mar – Rincón de la Victoria (190.2 km) 14:50

Mittwoch, 25. August 11. Etappe: Antequera – Valdepeñas de Jaén (131.6 km) 14:50

Donnerstag, 26. August 12. Etappe: Jaén – Córdoba (166.7 km) 14:50

Freitag, 27. August 13: Etappe: Belmez – Villanueva de la Serena (197.2 km) 14:50

Samstag, 28. August 14. Etappe: Don Benito – Pico Villuercas (159.7 km) 14:50

Sonntag, 29. August 15. Etappe: Navalmoral de la Mata – El Barraco (193.4 km) 13:15

Montag, 30. August Ruhetag

Dienstag, 31. August 16. Etappe: Laredo – Santa Cruz de Bezana (170.8 km) 15:00

Mittwoch, 1. September 17. Etappe: Unquera – Lagos de Covadonga (181.6 km) 11:50

Donnerstag, 2. September 18. Etappe: Salas – Altu d’El Gamoniteiru (159.2 km) 12:35

Freitag, 3. September 19. Etappe: Tapia – Monforte de Lemos (187.8 km) 15:00

Samstag, 4. September 20. Etappe: Sanxenxo – Mos. Castor de Herville (173.6 km) 15:00

Sonntag, 5. September 21. Etappe: Padrón – Santiago de Compostela (33.7 km, EZF) 17:50

*Übertragung bei Eurosport 2 / Alle anderen Übertragungen im Free-TV bei Eurosport 1

Eurosport ist seit Jahren für alle Radsportfans die erste Adresse, wenn es um Live-Radsport geht. Mit dem Zusammenschluss der Streamingplattform GCN hat der Sender seine Position als „Home of Cycling“ weiter gefestigt und bietet so das größte Angebot an Premium-Radsport. Im letzten Jahr hat Eurosport die TV-Rechte für die Tour de France und La Vuelta bis 2025 verlängert und zeigt zudem Radsportklassiker der Frauen. Zusätzlich hat Discovery im Februar 2021 sich die weltweiten Exklusivrechte für die Übertragung des Giro d’Italia bis mindestens 2025 gesichert. Die Rechtevereinbarung mit RCS Sport beinhaltet u.a. eine Reihe weiterer italienischer Eintages-Klassiker und UCI World Tour-Events, darunter die Strade Bianche der Männer und Frauen, Tirreno-Adriatico, Mailand-Turin, Gran Piemonte, der Giro di Sicilia, Mailand-Sanremo und die Lombardei-Rundfahrt.