Schlagwort-Archive: Unipublic

La Vuelta 23 1. Etappe: Barcelona – Barcelona – TTT – 14,6 Km

Ergebnisse, Etappenrennen, Zeitfahren, , , , ,

Ein Witz diese Veranstaltung, bei Dauerregen und in der Dunkelheit ein Teamzeitfahren zu starten, muß erst wieder ein schlimmer Sturz passieren?
Den Regen kann man nicht beeinflussen, die Startzeit aber sehr wohl…………

1 TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH NED TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH 00:17:30
2 MOVISTAR TEAM ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:00
3 EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST USA EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:06
4 SOUDAL QUICK-STEP BEL SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 00:06
5 GROUPAMA – FDJ FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:06
6 BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS BRN BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 00:10
7 ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM KAZ ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 00:17
8 INEOS GRENADIERS GBR INEOS GRENADIERS 00:20
9 COFIDIS FRA COFIDIS 00:22
10 BORA – HANSGROHE GER BORA – HANSGROHE 00:28
11 JUMBO-VISMA NED JUMBO-VISMA 00:32
12 INTERMARCHÉ – CIRCUS – WANTY BEL INTERMARCHÉ – CIRCUS – WANTY 00:33
13 LOTTO DSTNY BEL LOTTO DSTNY 00:34
14 UAE TEAM EMIRATES UAE UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:37
15 ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK BEL ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK 00:41
16 CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA ESP CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA 00:42
17 AG2R CITROEN TEAM FRA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 00:48
18 TOTALENERGIES FRA TOTALENERGIES 00:50
19 TEAM JAYCO ALULA AUS TEAM JAYCO ALULA 00:51
20 LIDL-TREK USA LIDL-TREK 00:56
21 BURGOS-BH ESP BURGOS-BH 01:13
22 TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC FRA TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC 01:18

Gesamt:
1 MILESI Lorenzo ITA TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH 00:17:30
2 POOLE David Max GBR TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH 00:00
3 BARDET Romain FRA TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH 00:00
4 FLYNN Sean GBR TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH 00:00
5 ONLEY Edgar Oscar GBR TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH 00:00
6 HAMILTON Christopher AUS TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH 00:00
7 MAS Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:00
8 RUBIO REYES Einer Augusto COL MOVISTAR TEAM 00:00
9 OLIVEIRA Nelson POR MOVISTAR TEAM 00:00
10 GARCIA CORTINA Ivan ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:00
11 ERVITI Imanol ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:00
12 BISSEGGER Stefan SUI EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:06
13 VAN DEN BERG Marijn NED EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:06
14 CAICEDO Jonathan ECU EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:06
15 PICCOLO Andrea ITA EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:06
16 CAMARGO PINEDA Diego Andres COL EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:06
17 CARTHY Hugh John GBR EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 00:06
18 EVENEPOEL Remco BEL SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 00:06
19 CATTANEO Mattia ITA SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 00:06
20 PEDERSEN Phillip Casper DEN SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 00:06
21 BAGIOLI Andrea ITA SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 00:06
22 VERVAEKE Louis BEL SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 00:06

Milesi, from the rainbow to La Roja

From the world championships to La Vuelta, Lorenzo Milesi is enjoying a formidable August. The Italian youngster, winner of the rainbow jersey in the Under 23 individual time trial, is the first leader of the 78th edition of the Spanish Grand Tour after he led Team DSM-Firmenich to victory in the opening team time-trial. The German squad went early, as thunder roared over Barcelona, and nobody ever managed to overthrow them. Movistar came the closest, only trailing by half a second, while Remco Evenepoel’s Soudal Quick-Step lost 6’’ and Jumbo-Visma 32’’. La Vuelta 23 begins with a spectacular surprise!

The 78th edition of La Vuelta starts from Barcelona with a 14.8km team time trial visiting some of the most iconic areas of the city. The riders will start from the coast, on the Somorrostro beach, and ride through the city, passing by iconic monuments such as the Sagrada Familia, until the finish on the avenue Reina Maria Cristina, next to Plaza de España.

DSM-Firmenich set the reference in the rain

The first team to start is Caja Rural Seguros RGA, at 18:55, followed by DSM-Firmenich 4 minutes later, and then Lidl-Trek at 19:03. They do so under a grey sky, after a few sunny and hot days in Barcelona. The thunder roars and the rain wets the roads.
In these conditions, DSM-Firmenich set the first strong reference: 17’30’’ to cover the 14.8km with a powerhouse such as Lorenzo Milesi, the U23 ITT world champion crowned a couple of weeks ago in Scotland.

A very wet final kilometre
Arkea-Samsic have a much different experience when Hugo Hofstetter’s wheels slip in the final kilometres, taking down his leader Kevin Vauquelin, who drops over a minute. Bahrain Victorious (+10’’), EF Education-EasyPost (+6’’) and then Groupama-FDJ (+6’’) are more successful but DSM-Firmenich hold on to the best time.

The final kilometre is particularly wet, which also leads to crashes for Maurice Ballerstedt (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-AlUla). Laurens De Plus goes down earlier in the race and Ineos Grenadiers finish with a time of 17’50’’ (+20’’).

Movistar come agonisingly close
Jumbo-Visma also struggle, trailing by 28’’ after 9.6km and eventually dropping 32’’ on the line. Enric Mas’ Movistar come much closer, only dropping half a second on the line! But when Remco Evenepoel’s Soudal Quick-Step finish with a gap of 6’’, DSM-Firmenich seal the win and Lorenzo Milesi takes La Roja.

LA Vuelta 23: REMCO & CO, IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME

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Remco Evenepoel, the defending champion of La Vuelta, has changed his race programme in order to defend his title, and at the very start of the 2023 season it was not expressly planned that Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal would be at the official start in Barcelona either, unlike Richard Carapaz who was due to go there after the Tour de France. Faced with the Jumbo-Visma duo of Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard, for whom everything went as they wished at the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, four other Grand Tour winners are preparing for La Vuelta.
There were eight of them in Utrecht last year: already Roglic and Carapaz, Jai Hindley, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Simon Yates, Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde and Chris Froome, but the last three had excluded themselves from the list of favourites, as they were rather in the twilight of their careers, even if the Briton wasn’t within two months of his sporting retirement like the Italian and the Spaniard.
Evenepoel’s career plan was all mapped out: La Vuelta 22, Giro d’Italia 2023, Tour de France 2024 (with a Monaco-Nice time trial as a conclusion, on the Belgian national day). This fine schedule was disrupted by a Covid-19 infection halfway through the Giro, when he had just reclaimed the pink jersey thanks to a narrower-than-usual time trial victory.

Less than a week after his withdrawal, Patrick Lefévère ruled out the possibility of taking part in another Grand Tour this year, due to a lack of time to prepare for the Tour de France and because “nobody would accept any result from him other than the final victory in La Vuelta because he’s already won it”, argued the manager of Soudal-Quick Step, who has since changed his mind under pressure from his protégé, who on 10 July told his fans: “See you in Barcelona”. “When I see the level at which he has returned and the desire he shows, I can only grant his request,” explained the Belgian. “Remco wants to take on big challenges.” And he lives in Spain now, in the Community of Valencia.

The cycling calendar meant that he was the world champion just over ten months instead of twelve, between his triumph in Australia, after La Vuelta 22, and his twenty-fifth place in Scotland on a circuit hardly suited to him, following his third title in the San Sebastian Classic. Unless he takes a distinctive jersey at the end of the inaugural team time trial, he will wear the Belgian champion’s jersey for Elite road racing for the first time at the start of stage 2 in Mataró on August 27.

Like Evenepoel, Thomas had the Giro as his main objective for 2023 after having occupied every podium place in the Tour de France: first in 2018, second in 2019, third in 2022. In the time trial on the eve of the grand finale in Rome, he cruelly lost the pink jersey he had been wearing since Remco’s withdrawal, with the exception of a two-day interlude by Bruno Armirail, to Primoz Roglic by just fourteen seconds. After speculating about a rematch at the La Vuelta two days after the Giro, the Welshman made his participation official on 22 June, in the Watts Occurring podcast that he hosts with team-mate Luke Rowe.
His one and only appearance in the Spanish three-week race was not a memorable one, given that he has eighteen Grand Tours to his name. That was in 2015. As he did then in the Tour de France at the time, he had to ride at the service of Chris Froome, who suffered a fractured foot mid-race in Andorra, but he didn’t find any space to express himself after that, with his best place being twelfth in the Burgos time trial, 2’28’’ behind Tom Dumoulin (and 69th in the final overall classification).
Aged 37, Thomas knows his time is running out and if he returns to La Vuelta, it’s with the feeling that he hasn’t yet explored all the possibilities professional cycling has on offer. He has geared up seriously, both at altitude and at the Tour of Poland (third in the time trial held as a test before the world championship).
Geraint Thomas hasn’t raced a Grand Tour with Egan Bernal since the 2019 Tour de France, where they finished second and first respectively. The year before, when he joined Team Sky, the Colombian was possibly due to make his three-week race debut at La Vuelta 18, as was only logical in the promising career of a climber from the Andes mountain range, but after his victory in the Tour of California in May, the British team, fearing a shortage of mountain power while Chris Froome was struggling at the Giro, which he ended up winning, selected him for the Tour de France. And he proved invaluable to Thomas!

Since then, the prodigy from Zipaquirá has won the 2021 Giro, from which he hadn’t fully recovered when he took part in La Vuelta 21 two and a half months later: sixth overall, still 13’27’’ down on Roglic, and his best stage finish was fourth on the Alto del Gamoniteiru. He even lost the white jersey of best young rider at the very end, overtaken by the late Gino Mäder. He is still in the process of rebuilding his body and his shape after his terrible accident in January 2022. After finishing 36th in the recent Tour de France, he concluded positively: “The race pace I picked would have been impossible to reach in training.” As a result, he declared himself highly motivated for a return to La Vuelta, while remaining cautious about his performance targets.
Of the six Grand Tour winners who have expressed their intention to take part in La Vuelta 23, Richard Carapaz is the only one, along with Roglic, to have already been on the podium in all three: winner of the Giro in 2019 and second in 2022, second in La Vuelta 20 and third in the Tour de France 2021. Last year, after a tricky start to the Spanish race, he shifted his ambitions to stage wins (three) and inherited the blue polka-dot jersey after Jay Vine crashed.
As soon as he joined the EF Education-EasyPost team last winter, he scheduled two Grand Tours. La Vuelta remains his only chance of doing one and finishing on a Grand Tour podium for the fifth year in a row, as he crashed on stage 1 of the Tour de France at the same time as Enric Mas on the descent of El Vivero in Bilbao. He returned to Ecuador to treat a small fracture in his kneecap. His entire 2023 season will be decided from Barcelona to Madrid.

La Vuelta 23: Teams selection

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The organizers of La Vuelta have chosen the teams that will take part in the 78th edition of the Spanish Grand Tour. La Vuelta 23 will start on Saturday the 26th of August and finish on Sunday the 17th of September.
In accordance with UCI rules, the following 18 UCI WorldTeams are automatically invited to the race:

• AG2R Citroen Team (FRA)
• Alpecin-Deceuninck (BEL)
• Astana Qazaqstan Team (KAZ)
• Bahrain Victorious (BRN)
• Bora – Hansgrohe (GER)
• Cofidis (FRA)
• EF Education – Easypost (USA)
• Groupama – FDJ (FRA)
• Ineos Grenadiers (GBR)
• Intermarché – Circus – Wanty (BEL)
• Jumbo-Visma (NED)
• Movistar Team (ESP)
• Soudal Quick-Step (BEL)
• Team Arkea – Samsic (FRA)
• Team DSM (NED)
• Team Jayco Alula (AUS)
• Trek – Segafredo (USA)
• UAE Team Emirates (UAE)

Furthermore, Lotto Dstny (BEL) and TotalEnergies (FRA), leaders in the 2022 classification of UCI ProTeams will take part by right in La Vuelta 23.
In addition to these 20 teams, the organizers have awarded the following wildcards:

• Burgos-BH (ESP)
• Caja Rural-SegurosRGA (ESP)

XXXII Garden Hotels-Luxcom Mallorca Cycling Challenge Palma-Palma 142 Km

Eintagsrennen, Ergebnisse, , , , ,


Alle Fotos von Plomi

1 VERNON Ethan GBR SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 03:17:57
2 GIRMAY Biniam ERI INTERMARCHÉ-CIRCUS-WANTY 00:00
3 VAN DE PAAR Jarne BEL LOTTO DSTNY 00:00
4 GARCÍA CORTINA Iván ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:00
5 MOLANO Sebastian COL UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:00
6 ANIOLKOWSKI Stanislaw POL HUMAN POWERED HEALTH 00:00
7 VAN ASBROECK Tom BEL ISRAEL-PREMIER TECH 00:00
8 BABOR Daniel CZE CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA 00:00
9 ZINGLE Axel FRA COFIDIS 00:00
10 DOULL Owain GBR EF EDUCATION-EASYPOST 00:00
11 EINHORN Itamar ISR ISRAEL-PREMIER TECH 00:00
12 CANAL Carlos ESP EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI 00:00
13 WALLS Matthew GBR BORA-HANSGROHE 00:00
14 ROJAS José Joaquin ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:00
15 GRONDIN Donavan FRA TEAM ARKÉA-SAMSIC 00:00
16 MARTIN MUÑOZ Jose Maria ESP ELECTRO HIPER EUROPA 00:00
17 MARTIN David ESP EOLO-KOMETA CYCLING TEAM 00:00
18 SOTO Antonio ESP EUSKALTEL-EUSKADI 00:00
19 MAESTRI Mirco ITA EOLO-KOMETA CYCLING TEAM 00:00
20 FIORELLI Filippo ITA GREEN PROJECT-BARDIANI CSF-FAIZANÈ 00:00

Before a spectacular setting such as the Cathedral of Palma, Ethan Vernon (Soudal Quick-Step) has been awarded the last trophy of the XXXII Garden Hotels-Luxcom Challenge Ciclista Mallorca to the sprint, beating Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) and Jarne van de Paar (Lotto-Dstny), second and third, respectively.

The British sprinter snapped the Intermarché-Circus-Wanty team’s winning streak in what could have been a perfect week of victories, having won three of the first four trophies contested. Vernon said at the end that “it seemed like a chase on the track, my first victory of the season and so early fills me with satisfaction.”

A four-man breakaway managed to establish a margin from the start, with Xabier Berasategi (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Ivan Cobo Cayon (Kern Pharma Team), Vincent Van Hemelen (Team Flanders-Baloise) and Marc Terrasa (Aluminios Cortizo), who arrived to reach an advantage of more than a minute and a half over the peloton, which at all times had them under control.
With 18 km to go, the compact group began the 3.5 km circuit in Palma and after four laps, they reached the sprint, with the victory of Vernon.

Matt Walls im Sprint bei der Trofeo Palma nicht in den Top Ten

Am letzten Tag der Mallorca Challenge wartete auf das Feld heute eine flache Strecke Richtung Palma. Nachdem das Rennen über weite Teile von einer vier Mann Ausreißergruppe bestimmt wurde, sorgten die Sprinterteams am Ende rechtzeitig für einen Zusammenschluss. BORA – hansgrohe versuchte Matt Walls vor der entscheidenden Spitzkehre 500 m vor dem Ziel in Position zu bringen. Dies gelang leider nicht ganz nach Wunsch und der Olympiasieger erreichte das Ziel am Ende außerhalb der Top Ten.

Von der Ziellinie

“Wir hatten uns viel vorgenommen und waren am Ende auch sehr präsent. Leider hat die Abstimmung im Finale nicht ganz gepasst und Matt hat seine Teamkollegen verloren. In der letzten Kurve war er einfach nicht in Position und so hat es am Ende leider nicht für ein Topergebnis gereicht. Unsere Bilanz hier nach fünf Rennen fällt eher gemischt aus. Ich denke, die Jungs sind besser in Form als das die Ergebnisse zeigen. Aber zufrieden können wir mit dieser Woche dennoch nicht sein. Wir wissen aber nach dieser Standortbestimmung woran wir zu arbeiten haben.” – Torsten Schmidt, Sportlicher Leiter

THE ROUTE OF LA VUELTA 23

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The official presentation of the route of La Vuelta 23 was held at the Palau de la Música Catalana on Tuesday. The Spanish tour’s 78th edition will take off from Barcelona on Saturday, the 26th of August and will conclude in Madrid on the 17th of September. Its 21 stages will include 12 unprecedented departures and eight unprecedented finish-lines, all while visiting nine autonomous communities and three countries: Spain, Andorra and France. The cyclists will face ten high-altitude finales, five of which are new to La Vuelta, two time trials, seven mountains stages, six mid-mountain stages, four flat stages and two flat stages with high-altitude finales.

VE23_Mapa Recorrido 1080x1080px

Unipublic has presented, on Tuesday the 10th of January, the route of La Vuelta 23, that will take place between the 26th of August and the 17th of September. For the second time in its history, the Spanish tour will take off from Barcelona. The city will host an urban team time trial as its first stage and the second stage will depart from Mataró and arrive in Barcelona once again, in front of the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium.

Following the two first finish-lines in Barcelona, the peloton will then head to Andorra from Súria in order to experience the race’s first mountain stage. The Principality will host La Vuelta 23’s first unprecedented high-altitude finale with a climb of Arinsal. The riders will sleep in Andorra before heading South from Andorra La Vella towards Tarragona in order to conclude the race’s initial Catalan and Andorran journey.

The Autonomous Community of Valencia will be the star of the next phase of La Vuelta. The riders will ride through the Province of Castellón in a mid-mountain stage between Morella and Burriana. The Castellón locality of La Vall d’Uixó will be the starting point for the next stage, heading to Teruel, with the final climb up to the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre as the day’s main attraction. The race’s first flat stage will take place on the 7th day, with a finale that will benefit the sprinters at Oliva. The peloton will then bid farewell to the Autonomous Community of Valencia with a finale along the Costa Blanca, on a summit that is already well-known to the riders: Xorret de Catí.

As a final challenge to end the week before the rest day, the Region of Murcia will put the riders to the test with a stage beginning in the coast, in Cartagena, heading inland towards the finish-line in Caravaca de la Cruz.

The second week of competing will begin in the Province of Valladolid with a 25-kilometre individual time trial. The peloton will then continue its route towards Castilla y León’s West, in order to visit the Laguna Negra in Vinuesa. Zaragoza will provide sprinters will a final opportunity before heading to the Pyrenees for two challenging mountain stages: Aubisque and Tourmalet first, and Issarbe, Larrau and Larra-Belagua on the second day – two stages that will play a deciding role within the race. Pamplona and Lekunberri will host the stage before the second and final rest day.

The demanding nature of the race will not diminish in the last week of racing as, following the unprecedented high-altitude finale in Bejes, will be La Vuelta’s great colossus: L’Angliru. The Principality of Asturias will, once again, be the judge of the race with its unprecedented high-altitude finale in Cruz de Linares, as was the case in 2022 with the Colláu Fancuaya. The Castilian wind may play an important role on the way to Íscar, giving sprinters their opportunity before arriving in Madrid. The second-last linear stage will be held in the Guadarrama Basin in a “classic” stage format, featuring 10 3rd category climbs that will determine La Vuelta’s final overall winner before the traditional final stage in Madrid.

BARCELONA, A CITY THAT LOVES SPORTS

Barcelona will be an exceptional host for the grand departure of La Vuelta 23. “When we looked at Barcelona, we took into account four essential pillars that define the city and fit in perfectly with La Vuelta’s own philosophy: sports, sustainability, tradition and innovation. As a large cycling event, those four characteristics are extremely important to us,” assured Javier Guillén, General Director of La Vuelta.

LA VUELTA DE LOS COLOSOS
Mountains will play an important role in La Vuelta’s 78th edition. Familiar summits such as Angliru, Xorret de Catí and Javalambre will feature along with unprecedented summits such as Larrau, Larra-Belagua, Cruz de Linares and one of cycling’s most mythical summits: the Tourmalet. “Mountains are a part of La Vuelta’s DNA and will make the 2023 edition very exciting, yet again,” said Guillén. “The Tourmalet will be a landmark in the history of our race and will be this year’s great colossus, along with the Angliru. We continue searching for new summits in order to showcase great cycling and it is in this search that we discovered new finales at Larra-Belagua, Cruz de Linares and Bejes, and such mountain passes as Larrau and Issarbe,” explains the race’s General Director.

Etappen der VUELTA 23:
1. Etappe, 26. August: Barcelona – Barcelona, 14,6 km, MZF
2. Etappe, 27. August: Mataró – Barcelona, 181,3 km
3. Etappe, 28. August: Súria – Arinsal/Andorra, 158,5 km
4. Etappe, 29. August: Andorra – Tarragona, 183,4 km
5. Etappe: 30. August: Morella – Burriana, 185,7 km
6. Etappe, 31. August: La Vall d’Uixó – Observatorio Astrofisico de Javalambre, 181,3 km
7. Etappe, 1. September: Utiel – Oliva, 188.8 km
8. Etappe, 2. September: Dénia – Xorret de Cati, 164,8 km
9. Etappe, 3. September: Cartagena – Caravaca de la Cruz, 180,9 km

1. Ruhetag, 4. September

10. Etappe, 5. September: Valladolid – Valladolid, 25 km, EZF
11. Etappe, 6. September: Lerma – La Lagruna Negra, 163,2 km
12. Etappe, 7. September: Ólvega – Zaragoza, 165,4 km
13. Etappe, 8. September: Formigal – Col du Tourmalet, 134,7 km
14. Etappe, 9. September: Sauveterre-de-Béarn – Larra-Belagua, 161,7 km
15. Etappe, 10. September: Pamplona – Lekunberri, 156,5 km

2. Ruhetag, 11. September

16. Etappe, 13. September: Liencres Playa – Bejes, 119,7 km
17. Etappe, 14. September: Ribadesella – Alto de L’Angliru, 122,6 km
18. Etappe, 15. September: Pola de Allande – La Cruz de Linares, 178,9 km
19. Etappe, 16. September: La Baneza – Iscar, 177 km
20. Etappe, 16. September: Manzanares El Real – Guadarrama, 208,4 km
21. Etappe, 17. September: Hippodromo de la Zarzuela – Madrid, 101 km

Barcelona’s Olympic Port will host the official depart of La Vuelta 23

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• The 78th edition of the race will depart from the Barcelona’s Olympic Port on the 26th of August and Mataró will host the departure of the second stage.
• Besides hosting the Official Departure, Barcelona will also provide the setting for the race’s official promotional video and for the team presentation.
• During that time, the city will be the global cycling epicentre, which will increase its international exposure, thus earning it an international reputation as a global sports capital.

Unipublic and the Barcelona City Council have revealed the route of the two first stages of La Vuelta 23. The event, presented by RTVE’s journalist Carlos de Andrés, featured the attendance of Jaume Collboni, the Deputy Mayor of Barcelona; David Escudé, Sports Councillor for the Barcelona City Council; David Bote, Mayor of Mataró; ex cyclists Roberto Heras, Joaquín ‘Purito’ Rodríguez and Melcior Mauri, Fernando Escartín, technical director of La Vuelta and Javier Guillén, General Director of La Vuelta.
La Vuelta 23 will take off from Barcelona on the 26th of August. It will be the second time in the race’s history that Catalonia’s capital hosts an Official Departure, having already done so back in 1962. The city will host one departure and two arrivals during its two first stages, namely: a team time trial and a mid-mountain stage. Mataró will host the departure of the second stage.
Jaume Collboni, the city’s Deputy Mayor, points out that: “Barcelona is a city that loves sports, particularly cycling. To have La Vuelta return to Barcelona after 60 years is wonderful news, not only because it gives us the chance to experience an important sporting event, but because it proves to us, once again, what a driving force sports truly is to our city’s economy. La Vuelta 23 will be an opportunity for us to showcase our city’s cultural, social and artistic wealth. We want people to leave their homes and come and join us in this cycling celebration, and to participate in the passion and spirit of this great sporting event.”
David Escudé, Sports Councillor, states that: “La Vuelta’s arrival in the city of Barcelona will offer all our residents the opportunity to be part of an elite cycling competition. The recovery of such an emblematic route, which includes Montjuic, is an opportunity to watch the best teams cover a distance of 14 kilometres right through the city centre, which is a truly unique, spectacular opportunity. This sporting scene will feature one of the world’s best backdrops: our city streets.”

STAGE 1 | BARCELONA > BARCELONA | 14.6 KM
The first stage of La Vuelta 23 will take off on Saturday afternoon, and will consist of a team time trial through the streets of Barcelona. This 14-kilometre route will leave from the area surrounding the Olympic Port and will showcase some of the city’s most emblematic locations through a quick, technical circuit that will mark small differences among the teams of the aspiring general classification leaders.
Departure: Playa del Somorrostro

Route: Calle de la Marina , Plaza dels Voluntaris Olímpics (Besòs side), Calle de la Marina, Calle de Ramon Turró, Calle de Sardenya (in the opposite direction), Calle de Pujades (in the opposite direction), Paseo de Pujades (road closest to the sea, in the opposite direction), Paseo Lluís Companys (road on the Besós side), Paseo de Sant Joan (road on the Besós side), Calle de Casp, Calle de Lepant, Calle de Sancho d’Àvila, Calle de Badajoz, Avenida Diagonal, Calle de Cristòfol de Moura, Calle de Bac de Roda, Calle d’Aragó, Calle de Lepant (in the opposite direction), Calle de Mallorca, Avenida Diagonal (central road), Calle Roselló (in the opposite direction), Paseo de Gràcia, Calle d’Aragó, Calle Tarragona, Plaza d’Espanya (on the Llobregat side with lane separations).
Arrival: Avenida de la Reina Maria Cristina.

STAGE 2 | MATARÓ > BARCELONA | 181.3 KM
The second stage of the 2023 edition will take off from Mataró and conclude in Barcelona, at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium. The 181.3 km route will feature two climbs: Coll de Sant Bartomeu (3rd category) and Coll d’Estenalles (2nd category). The race will also cross Villanova del Vallés, the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit, as it passes through Montmeló, Sabadell, Manresa, Castellbell and Vilar, Molins de Rei and L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, among other localities. The emblematic Montjuic climb will determine the stage winner.
Route through Barcelona: Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, Plaza d’Espanya, Avenida de la Reina Maria Cristina, Avenida de Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, Calle el Polvorí, Túnel de la Foixarda, Camino de la Foixarda, Calle de la Foixarda, Avenida dels Montanyans, Calle Mirador del Palau Nacional, Paseo de Santa Madrona, Avenida Miramar, Calle de Torreforta, Carretera de Montjuïc, Calle del Castell, Paseo del Migdia, Calle del Foc, Calle Jocs del 92 (separated), Avenida de l’Estadi.

MEDIA IMPACT
During that time, the city will be the global cycling epicentre, which will increase its international exposure, thus earning it an international reputation as a global sports capital. Each year, La Vuelta broadcasts live on 18 stations (RTVE and Eurosport are the official Spanish stations) and is present in 190 countries. Over 1,000 journalists, from 28 nationalities and 298 media outlets, were present to cover the race’s previous edition.
Javier Guillén, the General Director of La Vuelta, stated that “the race’s Official Departure will be just one of the many moments in which Barcelona will take centre stage throughout the year. The city will also be the setting of other important events related to La Vuelta, starting with the official route presentation, that will take place in the Palau de la Música Catalana on the 10th of January. There, we will discover all the details of the 21 stages that make up this edition.” Likewise, the streets of Barcelona will also provide the setting for the race’s official promotional video – a video that will be shown on the various RTVE channels, coinciding with the start of the Tour de France 2023. Also, just a few days before the start of La Vuelta, Barcelona will host the Team Presentation.
During its 21 states and for around a week before the race officially begins, the event mobilises a travelling caravan of almost 3,000 people, which includes the organisation staff, the riders, the team personnel and journalists, among others.

LA VUELTA AND BARCELONA, BIKING TOGETHER
La Vuelta and Barcelona bike together for sustainability. Cycling is a sport that is very closely linked to the environment. For this reason, La Vuelta continues to implement and improve measures to reduce its environmental impact upon the natural areas through which it passes. Bicycles are very important to Barcelona – one of the cities where they are most-commonly used as a means of transport. Its green areas invite you to discover the city on two wheels through its many bike lanes. La Ronda Verde is a circuit that acts as a cycling vertebral axis consisting of 70 kilometres of bike lanes that connect Barcelona’s metropolitan area and extend through such natural areas as the Barcelona coastline, the Besòs River Park or Montjuïc Mountain, which is hugely emblematic in the world of cycling and will feature prominently in this edition’s second stage.

La Vuelta 22 – Etappe 21 Madrid

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21. Etappe , 97 km

1. Juan Sebastián Molano (COL, UAE Team Emirates) 2:26:36
2. Mads Pedersen (DEN, Trek – Segafredo) 0:00
3. Pascal Ackermann (GER, UAE Team Emirates) 0:00
4. Mike Teunissen (NED, Jumbo-Visma) 0:00
5. Danny Van Poppel (NED, BORA – hansgrohe) 0:00
6. Kaden Groves (AUS, Team BikeExchange – Jayco) 0:00
7. Fred Wright (GBR, Bahrain – Victorious) 0:00
8. Lionel Taminiaux (BEL, Alpecin-Deceuninck) 0:00
9. Ben Turner (GBR, INEOS Grenadiers) 0:00
10. Cedric Beullens (BEL, Lotto Soudal) 0:00
11. Daniel Mclay (GBR, Team Arkéa Samsic) 0:00
12. Omer Goldstein (ISR, Israel – Premier Tech) 0:00
13. Fabian Lienhard (SUI, Groupama – FDJ) 0:00
14. John Degenkolb (GER, Team DSM) 0:00
15. José Joaquín Rojas (ESP, Movistar Team) 0:00

Endstand:

1. Remco Evenepoel (BEL, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team) 80:26:59
2. Enric Mas (ESP, Movistar Team) 2:02
3. Juan Ayuso (ESP, UAE Team Emirates) 4:57
4. Miguel Ángel López (COL, Astana Qazaqstan Team) 5:56
5. João Almeida (POR, UAE Team Emirates) 7:24
6. Thymen Arensman (NED, Team DSM) 7:45
7. Carlos Rodríguez (ESP, INEOS Grenadiers) 7:57
8. Ben O’Connor (AUS, AG2R Citroën Team) 10:30
9. Rigoberto Urán (COL, EF Education-EasyPost) 11:04
10. Jai Hindley (AUS, BORA – hansgrohe) 12:01
11. Louis Meintjes (RSA, Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux) 15:41
12. Jan Polanc (SLO, UAE Team Emirates) 21:39
13. Alejandro Valverde (ESP, Movistar Team) 25:39
14. Richard Carapaz (ECU, INEOS Grenadiers) 29:19
15. Mikel Landa (ESP, Bahrain – Victorious) 44:13
16. Luis León Sánchez (ESP, Bahrain – Victorious) 45:49
17. Thibaut Pinot (FRA, Groupama – FDJ) 46:20
18. Wilco Kelderman (NED, BORA – hansgrohe) 48:37
19. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBR, INEOS Grenadiers) 49:11
20. Gino Mäder (SUI, Bahrain – Victorious) 52:25

Danny van Poppel wird Fünfter in Madrid, Jai Hindley beendet die Vuelta als Gesamtzehnter

Zum Abschluss der Vuelta gab es eine flache und nur 96,7 km lange Etappe mit abschließendem Rundkurs in Madrid. Die Gesamtwertung war nach der gestrigen Etappe schon entschieden, doch die schnellen Männer, die nach drei langen Wochen noch gute Beine hatten, konnten heute um den letzten Etappensieg kämpfen. Die Sprinterteams kontrollierten den ganzen Tag das Rennen und am Ende kam es zum erwartenden Massensprint, den S. Molano für sich entschied. Nach guter Vorarbeit seiner Teamkollegen, die ihn versuchten in eine gute Ausgangslage für den Endspurt zu bringen, zog auch Danny Van Poppel seinen Sprint an, konnte aber nicht mehr an seinen Konkurrenten vorbeiziehen und musste sich letztlich mit dem 5. Platz begnügen.
Der Rennstall aus Raubling beschließt die Spanien-Rundfahrt mit zwei Etappensiegen durch Sam Bennett, der aber leider Covid-bedingt die Rundfahrt vor der 10. Etappe frühzeitig verlassen musste. Danny van Poppel belegte jeweils einen 2. und 3. Platz und Wilco Kelderman einen 2. Platz, während Jai Hindley am Ende Gesamtzehnter wurde.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Ich glaube, wir können mit unserer Leistung bei der Vuelta ziemlich zufrieden sein. Wir hatten zwei Etappensiege mit Sam, und fast jeden Tag haben wir um gute Ergebnisse gekämpft. Wir haben auch ein paar Podestplätze geholt und immer wieder versucht auf den Etappen vorne mit dabei zu sein. Was die Gesamtwertung betrifft, war es wohl nicht mein bestes Rennen und ich bin froh, dass ich am Ende ein Top-10 Ergebnis erzielen konnte. Es war ehrlich gesagt ziemlich schwierig, bei zwei Grand Tours auf Gesamtwertung zu fahren. Im Team herrschte hier jedoch immer gute Laune, und die Jungs haben wirklich gut zusammengearbeitet, um unsere Ziele zu erreichen. Ich habe die letzten drei Rennwochen eigentlich wirklich genossen.“ – Jai Hindley

„Wir hatten große Ambitionen auf den Sprintetappen und mit zwei Siegen von Sam haben wir auch unsere Hoffnungen erfüllt. Aber leider verloren wir ihn frühzeitig und so bekam ich die Chance auf den restlichen Sprintetappen. Ich war ein paar Mal nahe dran, aber es hatte enttäuschenderweise nicht ganz zu einem Sieg gereicht. Trotzdem kann ich mit meiner Leistung zufrieden sein.“ – Danny van Poppel

„Der Auftakt war natürlich mega, mit den zwei Etappensiegen von Sam, eine Woche im grünen Trikot, bis er wegen Covid aus dem Rennen aussteigen musste. Im Großen und Ganzen waren wir eigentlich fast jede Etappe vorne mit dabei im Rennen. Wir sind aktiv gefahren und wir haben gute Resultate erzielt. Wilco and Danny haben jeweils einen 2. Platz erreicht und Danny zudem noch einmal einen 3. Rang. Ansonsten haben wir immer wieder versucht, das Rennen mitzugestalten. Jai ist ein sehr starkes Rennen gefahren und die Mannschaft hat sich in allen Bereichen gut geschlagen – sowohl auf den Sprintetappen mit Sam, Danny, Jonas und Ryan wo wir ein Wörtchen mitgesprochen haben, als auch auf den Bergetappen mit Wilco, Jai, Sergio und Matteo wo wir immer mit im Bilde waren und ebenso in den Ausreißergruppen wo wir auch vertreten waren. Der 10. Platz in der Gesamtwertung stellt eine solide Leistung dar, besonders nach den drei harten Rennwochen.“ – Jens Zemke, Bernhard Eisel und Jean-Pierre Heynderickx, Sportliche Leiter

Molano and Evenepoel take glory in Madrid

Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) claimed a surprise victory in Madrid, edging Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) and his sprinter Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) in the final stage of La Vuelta 22. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) went safely through the stage to win La Vuelta 22, his first Grand Tour victory, at 22 years old, a few months after winning Liège-Bastogne-Liège, his first Monument. The last Belgian success in a Grand Tour dated back to 1978. Enric Mas (Movistar) and Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) join him on the podium. The peloton also honoured Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Qazaqstan) in their last Grand Tour stage.

The final stage of La Vuelta 22 takes the riders from Las Rozas to Madrid, where the winners will be crowned on the iconic circuit around the Spanish capital, the 2022 World Capital of Sport. The 134 finishers from stage 20 start in the afternoon.

Evenepoel, Valverde, Nibali…
Following tradition, the first part of the stage is dedicated to celebrating the heroes of the race. Remco Evenepoel, set to become the youngest winner of La Vuelta since Angelino Soler in 1961, takes a picture with his Wolfpack, wearing a special jersey for the occasion with a red band featuring the names of his companions for this successful ride from the Netherlands: Julian, Rémi, Dries, Fausto, Pieter, Ilan and Louis.
The peloton also pay tribute to Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Qazaqstan), two icons of cycling in the 21st century, who are riding their last Grand Tour stage. The Spaniard is the first rider to cross the line after the peloton let him share his moment with the crowds. The riders then face nine laps of 5.8km.

Molano edges Pedersen and Ackermann
Luke Plapp (Ineos Grenadiers) and Julius Johansen (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) open a gap of 10’’ with 43km to go. Xabier Mikel Azparren (Euskaltel-Euskadi) tries to join them at the front but he is quickly caught by the peloton, led by Mads Pedersen’s Trek-Segafredo, Tim Merlier’s Alpecin-Deceuninck, Kaden Groves’ BikeExchange-Jayco and Danny van Poppel’s Bora-Hansgrohe.
With 5 laps to go, the two leaders have a lead of 20’’. The gap remains stable into the last 10km.. And Plapp and Johansen resist until UAE Team Emirates launch an impressive train inside the last kilometre. In the end, lead-out man Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) takes victory ahead of Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) and his leader Pascal Ackermann.

La Vuelta 22 – Etappe 20

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Moralzarzal – Puerto De Navacerrada – 181 Km

1 CARAPAZ Richard ECU INEOS GRENADIERS 04:41:34
2 ARENSMAN Thymen NED TEAM DSM 00:08
3 AYUSO PESQUERA Juan ESP UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:13
4 HINDLEY Jai AUS BORA – HANSGROHE 00:13
5 MAS Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:13
6 EVENEPOEL Remco BEL QUICK-STEP ALPHA VINYL TEAM 00:15
7 MEINTJES Louis RSA INTERMARCHE – WANTY – GOBERT MATER. 00:15
8 LOPEZ Miguel Angel COL ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 00:15
9 GONCALVES ALMEIDA Joao Pedro POR UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:17
10 HIGUITA Sergio Andres COL BORA – HANSGROHE 00:32
11 O’CONNOR Ben AUS AG2R CITROEN TEAM 01:11
12 VALVERDE Alejandro ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 01:23
13 GUGLIELMI Simon FRA TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC 01:23
14 PRONSKIY Vadim KAZ ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 01:23
15 URAN Rigoberto COL EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 01:23

Gesamt:

1 EVENEPOEL Remco BEL QUICK-STEP ALPHA VINYL TEAM 78:00:12
2 MAS Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 02:05
3 AYUSO PESQUERA Juan ESP UAE TEAM EMIRATES 05:08
4 LOPEZ Miguel Angel COL ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 05:56
5 GONCALVES ALMEIDA Joao Pedro POR UAE TEAM EMIRATES 07:16
6 ARENSMAN Thymen NED TEAM DSM 07:56
7 RODRIGUEZ CANO Carlos ESP INEOS GRENADIERS 07:57
8 O’CONNOR Ben AUS AG2R CITROEN TEAM 10:30
9 URAN Rigoberto COL EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 11:04
10 HINDLEY Jai AUS BORA – HANSGROHE 12:01

Letzte Vuelta Bergetappe: Sergio Higuita animiert das Finale und Jai Hindley wird Vierter

Einen Tag vor dem Schluss der Spanien-Rundfahrt ging es zum letzten Mal in die Berge und die 20. Etappe stellte eine echte Herausforderung für viele Fahrer. Auf der 181 km langen Strecke zwischen Moralzarzal und Puerto de Navacerrada in der Sierra de Guadarrama gab es fünf recht heftige Anstiege und 4000 Höhenmeter zu bewältigen. Gleich nach dem Start gab es einige Attacken aus dem Feld bis sich letztlich in der ersten Steigung eine kleine Ausreißergruppe bilden konnte. Wenig später formierte sich eine größere Verfolgergruppe um Sergio Higuita, die im weiteren Rennverlauf aber etwas zerfiel. Dahinter im Feld, dass zur Rennhälfte mehr als fünf Minuten zurücklag, übernahmen BORA – hansgrohe die Tempoarbeit, da mit L. Meintjes der direkte Verfolger von Jai Hindley in der Gesamtwertung mit in der Fluchtgruppe war. In der entscheidenden Rennphase gelang es der Verfolgergruppe mit Sergio zur Spitze aufzuschließen. Etwa 15 km vor dem Ziel attackierte R. Carapaz an der Spitze, aber Sergio konnte folgen. Dahinter in der Favoritengrupppe kam es zu einem Feuerwerk an Angriffen, während kurz vor dem Gipfel der letzten Steigung der Ekuadorianer Sergio abhängte und seinen dritten Etappensieg holte. Jai kämpfte sich auf einen starken 4. Platz im Sprint der Favoriten und bleibt damit Gesamtzehnter vor der morgigen Sprintetappe.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Es war ein wirklich harter Tag heute, aber wir wussten, dass es nicht einfach sein würde. In der Ausreißergruppe waren mehrere starke Fahrer, es war also eine gute Gruppe, und ich war froh, dass ich den Sprung in die Flucht geschafft habe. Als Meintjes attackierte, versuchte ich ihm zusammen mit Carapaz zu folgen. Am letzten Anstieg blieb ich mit Carapaz, und wir arbeiteten zusammen, um unseren Vorsprung auszubauen. Als er angegriffen hat, habe ich versucht, ihm zu folgen, aber er war einfach zu stark. Als die GC-Gruppe zu mir aufgeschlossen hatte, versuchte ich dann Jai zu unterstützen, um ein gutes Ergebnis im Sprint zu erzielen und seine Top-10 im Gesamtklassement beizubehalten. Ehrlich gesagt habe ich mich heute gut gefühlt, im Vergleich zu früheren Tagen bei dieser Vuelta. Das ist ein gutes Zeichen und ich bin mit meiner heutigen Leistung ziemlich zufrieden.“ – Sergio Higuita

„Wir wussten schon von Anfang an, dass die 20. Etappe eine richtig schwere Etappe wird, die auch noch mal einige Veränderungen in der Gesamtwertung bringen konnte. Für uns war es wichtig, auf den Etappensieg zu fahren und auch den zehnten Platz von Jai in der GC abzusichern. Dann kam es zu einer Situation, wo Meintjes, der nur zwei Minuten hinter Jai im GC lag, in einer großen Ausreißergruppe mit dabei war. Wir sind dann mit Jonas Koch und Ryan Mullen Tempo gefahren. Später haben dann Matteo Fabbro und Wilco Kelderman übernommen, um den Abstand zu der Spitze gering zu halten. Das ist uns auch gut gelungen. Im Rennen wurde es dadurch auch immer schwerer. Jai hatte nicht seinen besten Tag heute, aber er hat es geschafft mit den Besten im Ziel anzukommen. Er wurde dann sogar noch Vierter. Sergio fuhr auch stark, verpasste aber den Sieg leider knapp. Es ist schade, dass er für seine starke Arbeit nicht belohnt wurde. Er hat sicherlich noch gute Erinnerungen an den Berg, wo er 2019 gewonnen hat. Für uns war es ein bisschen ärgerlich, dass es mit dem Etappensieg nicht geklappt hat, aber wir waren nah dran.“ – Jens Zemke, Sportlicher Leiter

Carapaz and Evenepoel rise to glory

Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) and Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) are the two main winners after a gruelling showdown in stage 20 of La Vuelta 22. The Ecuadorian climber attacked early in the stage to chase his third stage victory a few seconds ahead of the GC contenders, after an all out battle over the summits of the Sierra de Guadarrama. The young Belgian star responded to every attack to retain La Roja on the eve of the final stage. His tears after he crossed the line showed the magnitude of this moment for him and for Belgians, 44 years after their last victory in a Grand Tour (Johan De Muynck in the Giro 1978). On Sunday, the riders will parade in Madrid, where the final winners of La Vuelta 22 will be crowned. And Evenepoel is set to become the youngest winner of the race in more than half a century.
The final showdown of La Vuelta 22 takes the riders into the Sierra de Guadarrama with five major ascents adding up to 3,840m of elevation on the way to Puerto de Navacerrada. The 134 finishers from stage 19 start from Moralzarzal to face iconic climbs that notably saw Fabio Aru overthrow Tom Dumoulin in 2015.

An all out battle from the start
The last uphill challenges inspire attackers on the eve of the arrival in Madrid. Clément Champoussin (AG2R Citroën), Ruben Fernandez (Cofidis), Xandro Meurisse, Robert Stannard (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Dani Navarro (Burgos-BH), Joan Bou (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Simon Guglielmi (Arkea Samsic) are the first riders to really make the break, after 11km of battles.

Remco Evenepoel’s Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl are willing to let them go but an all out battle is launched on the cat-1 Puerto de Navacerrada, 25km into the stage. At the summit, Fernandez, Meurisse, Stannard, Navarro and Guglielmi are 40’’ ahead of a chase group led by Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers). The likes of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) are also on the move. A couple of days after his crash, Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) is dropped.

A relentless pace
Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) bridges the gap to the front of the race on the following downhill. Into the valley, the Spaniard keeps pushing with Stannard while the rest of the leaders drop back to a chase group with 24 riders. The peloton let the gap increase to 6’.
Bora-Hansgrohe react as Louis Meintjes threatens Jai Hindley’s position in the top 10. On the following ascent, the cat-2 Puerto de Navafria (summit at km 92.8), Thibaut Pinot sets off in pursuit. Gino Mäder (Bahrain Victorious) and Gregor Muhlberger (Movistar) join him. They reach the front of the race with 68km to go. The chase group trail by 1’10’’ and the peloton by 5’.
The attackers get together on the cat-2 Puerto de Canencia (km 126.8). On the penultimate ascent of La Vuelta 22, the cat-1 Puerto de la Morcuera (km 143.7), three riders get away at the front: Carapaz, Meintjes and Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe). Movistar up the ante and Enric Mas attacks inside the last 4km of ascent but his GC rivals respond.

Carapaz flies, Evenepoel replies
The leading trio faces the final ascent, the cat-1 Puerto de Cotos (km 174.3), with a gap of 45’’ to a 7-man chase group with Valverde. Soler pulls the GC group with a gap of 1’25’’.
Carapaz and Higuita set off 9km away from the summit. Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Qazaqstan) is the most aggressive rider from the GC group but Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) defends his podium.
Carapaz attacks just ahead of the summit. He drops Higuita and eventually holds off Thymen Arensman (Team DSM) for a handful of seconds (+8’’). The GC contenders finish together, except for Rodriguez, and Evenepoel all but seals the overall victory.

La Vuelta 22 – Etappe 19

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Talavera De La Reina – 138 Km

1 PEDERSEN Mads DEN TREK – SEGAFREDO 03:19:11
2 WRIGHT Fred GBR BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 00:00
3 VERMEERSCH Gianni BEL ALPECIN – DECEUNINCK 00:00
4 TURNER Ben GBR INEOS GRENADIERS 00:00
5 TEUNISSEN Mike NED JUMBO – VISMA 00:00
6 KOCH Jonas GER BORA – HANSGROHE 00:00
7 GOLDSTEIN Omer ISR ISRAEL-PREMIER TECH 00:00
8 GARCIA PIERNA Raul ESP EQUIPO KERN PHARMA 00:00
9 LOPEZ Miguel Angel COL ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 00:00
10 van BAARLE Dylan NED INEOS GRENADIERS 00:00

Gesamt:

1 EVENEPOEL Remco BEL QUICK-STEP ALPHA VINYL TEAM 73:18:23
2 MAS Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 02:07
3 AYUSO PESQUERA Juan ESP UAE TEAM EMIRATES 05:14
4 LOPEZ Miguel Angel COL ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 05:56
5 RODRIGUEZ CANO Carlos ESP INEOS GRENADIERS 06:49
6 GONCALVES ALMEIDA Joao Pedro POR UAE TEAM EMIRATES 07:14
7 ARENSMAN Thymen NED TEAM DSM 08:09
8 O’CONNOR Ben AUS AG2R CITROEN TEAM 09:34
9 URAN Rigoberto COL EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 09:56
10 HINDLEY Jai AUS BORA – HANSGROHE 12:03

Jonas Koch sprintet auf den 6. Platz auf der 19. Etappe der Vuelta

Mit insgesamt 138,3 km war der Rundkurs um Talavera de la Reina die kürzeste Etappe der diesjährigen Spanien-Rundfahrt, wobei allerdings zweimal der Puerto del Piélago zu bewältigen war. Die Strecke schien wie für einen Ausreißercoup gemacht und so löste sich schon früh eine Fluchtgruppe, doch diese wurden im zweiten Anstieg schnell eingeholt. Allmählich fielen mehrere Sprinter, unter ihnen auch Danny van Poppel, unter dem hohen Tempo aus dem Peloton zurück und am Ende wurde der Tagessieg in einem Sprint von einer Gruppe von ungefähr 50 Fahrern entschieden. M. Pedersen holte den Tagessieg während Jonas Koch, der bestplatzierte BORA – hansgrohe Fahrer, den 6. Platz errang.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Das Hauptziel war natürlich, das Jai seine Top-10 in der Gesamtwertung beibehält, und wir haben ihn entsprechend unterstützt. Nachdem ich die zwei Berge überlebte, habe ich dann freie Fahrt für den Sprint bekommen. Ich muss sagen, die Jungs haben mich da richtig gut unterstützt und am Ende bin ich Sechster geworden. Da hätte ich gerne ein bisschen besser abgeschnitten, aber im Endeffekt war dann eben nicht mehr als der sechste Platz drin.“ – Jonas Koch

„Wir waren eigentlich auf jedes Szenario für heute vorbereitet. Wir wussten, dass Pedersen und sein Team heute viel vorhatten. Wir wussten aber nicht genau, wie es laufen würde oder wie sie die Etappe kontrollieren würden. Aber nach dem ganzen Feuerwerk der letzten zwei Wochen war es eigentlich ein halbwegs entspannter Tag. Danny wäre natürlich der perfekte Mann für den heutigen Sprint gewesen. Aber er spürt auch schon die Müdigkeit von der langen Saison. Deswegen gaben wir die Chance an Jonas, und ich glaube, er hat das Beste daraus gemacht. Er ist schon lange nicht wirklich für sich selber gesprintet und aus diesem Grund war das heute ein gutes Ergebnis. Im Endeffekt sind wir mit der Etappe zufrieden, aber ich glaube, das war die Ruhe vor dem großen Sturm, der morgen aufzieht.“ – Bernhard Eisel, Sportlicher Leiter

Pedersen asserts dominance

Attackers eyed stage 19 of La Vuelta 22 as one of their last opportunities to shine… But Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) had different plans and he successfully executed them with a powerful sprint in Talavera de la Reina, after 138.3km of racing covered at a high speed over the two ascents of the day. On the day after he secured the green jersey, the Danish star put more emphasis on his dominance in the sprints, claiming his third victory ahead of Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) and Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin Deceuninck). Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) safely went through the stage to retain La Roja ahead of the final big showdown in the mountains.

In between the last two altitude finishes of La Vuelta 22 (on Thursday at Alto de Piornal and on Saturday at Puerto de Navacerrada), the peloton face a tricky route around Talavera de la Reina, with two ascents of the Puerto del Pielago (cat. 2) before a finish on the flat. The 134 finishers from stage 18 start in the early afternoon.

Many attackers…
As the riders face one of the last opportunities to battle for a stage win, attackers are inspired and they launch another all out battle from the start. Jonathan Caicedo (EF Education-EasyPost), Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) and Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH) have a gap of 12“ at km 10.
Many more riders want to make the break and the battle keeps going onto the first ascent of the day (summit at km 30.3). Lawson Craddock (BikeExchange) sets off in pursuit while the gap is up to 2’40’’. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) and Euskaltel-Euskadi’s Mikel Bizkarra and Ibai Azurmendi also attack.

… But Trek-Segafredo control
Mads Pedersen’s Trek-Segafredo react and set a strong pace. On the ascent, the gap drops from a maximum of 4’25’’ to 3’45’’. The chasers are caught in the valley. And the gap is down to under 1 minute when the riders begin the second ascent of the Puerto del Pielago (summit at km 96.1).
Fred Wright’s Bahrain Victorious set the pace with Mikel Landa and Gino Mäder on the climb. Caicedo, McNulty and Okamika are reeled in with 49km to go.
Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) controlled the race all the way to Talavera de la Reina. Miles Scotson (Groupama-FDJ) tried to emulate Anthony Roux’s success from 2009 in the same place, attacking with 1km to go. But there was no preventing Pedersen from a new triumph.

La Vuelta 22 – Etappe 18

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Trujillo – Alto Del Piornal – 192 Km

1 EVENEPOEL Remco BEL QUICK-STEP ALPHA VINYL TEAM 04:45:17
2 MAS Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 00:02
3 GESINK Robert NED JUMBO – VISMA 00:02
4 HINDLEY Jai AUS BORA – HANSGROHE 00:13
5 ARENSMAN Thymen NED TEAM DSM 00:13
6 PINOT Thibaut FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:13
7 O’CONNOR Ben AUS AG2R CITROEN TEAM 00:13
8 AYUSO PESQUERA Juan ESP UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:13
9 LOPEZ Miguel Angel COL ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 00:13
10 GONCALVES ALMEIDA Joao Pedro POR UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:13

Gesamt:

1 EVENEPOEL Remco BEL QUICK-STEP ALPHA VINYL TEAM 69:59:12
2 MAS Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 02:07
3 AYUSO PESQUERA Juan ESP UAE TEAM EMIRATES 05:14
4 LOPEZ Miguel Angel COL ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 05:56
5 RODRIGUEZ CANO Carlos ESP INEOS GRENADIERS 06:49
6 GONCALVES ALMEIDA Joao Pedro POR UAE TEAM EMIRATES 07:14
7 ARENSMAN Thymen NED TEAM DSM 08:09
8 O’CONNOR Ben AUS AG2R CITROEN TEAM 09:34
9 URAN Rigoberto COL EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 09:56
10 HINDLEY Jai AUS BORA – HANSGROHE 12:03

Jai Hindley Vierter, BORA-hansgrohe aktiv in der Ausreißergruppe bei letzter Bergankuft der Vuelta

Die ersten 100 km der insgesamt 192 km langen Etappe waren nicht besonders anspruchsvoll, aber im Finale mussten zwei lange Anstiege bewältigt werden. Sergio Higuita, Danny van Poppel und Matteo Fabbro gelang es in eine 42-Mann große Gruppe mit einigen kletterstarken Ausreißern zu kommen und da das Feld sie ziehen ließ, konnte die Spitze während des Tages einen komfortablen Abstand herausfahren. Im ersten Anstieg zum Alto de Piornal setzte sich H. Carthy von der Ausreißergruppe ab, aber wenig später gelang es Sergio Higuita, sowie vier anderen Fahrern, die Lücke zu schließen. Die 6-Mann Gruppe hatte einen Vorsprung von rund 1:30 Minuten auf die Verfolgergruppe und 2 Minuten auf das Feld. Dahinter in der Favoritengruppe griffen E. Mas und E. Evenepoel an, wurden aber sofort von den anderen, unter ihnen auch Jai Hindley, verfolgt. Wegen des hohen Tempos in dieser Gruppe wurde die Spitzengruppe letztendlich eingeholt und im schweren Finale entbrannte der Kampf um den Tagessieg, den Evenepoel für sich entschied. Mit 13 Sekunden Rückstand gewann Jai den Sprint aus der Verfolgergruppe um den 4. Platz, und behielt damit seinen 10. Platz in der Gesamtwertung bei.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Sergio, Matteo und Danny haben einen wirklich guten Job gemacht, um in die große Ausreißergruppe zu gelangen. Dahinter im Feld haben mich unsere anderen Jungs sehr gut unterstützt. Am vorletzten Anstieg wurde ein wirklich solides Tempo gefahren, und wir haben in der reduzierten GC-Gruppe an der Spitze Vollgas gegeben. Der Schlussanstieg war unglaublich hektisch, aber unsere Jungs, die in der Ausreißergruppe waren, haben mir da sehr geholfen nachdem sie sich zurückfallen ließen. Von da an habe ich einfach versucht, den GC-Fahrern zu folgen, und am Ende wurde ich Vierter. Zwar nicht so schlecht, aber ich hoffe, dass ich es noch einmal versuchen kann, denn ich fühle mich hier von Tag zu Tag besser.“ – Jai Hindley

„Wir hatten drei Mann in der Spitzengruppe, Matteo Fabbro, Sergio Higuita und Danny van Poppel. Das Rennen hat viele Wendungen genommen und es war heute sehr viel Taktik im Spiel. Zum Schluss waren wir in einer sehr guten Ausgangslage mit Sergio in der 6-Mann Spitzengruppe. Leider wurde die Gruppe dann aber am letzten Anstieg gestellt. Somit war es dann Jais Aufgabe für ein gutes Tagesergebnis zu sorgen und das Beste für die Gesamtwertung herauszuholen. Jai wurde im Zieleinlauf Vierter, was eine riesige Leistung der ganzen Mannschaft darstellt, die sich heute wirklich aufgeopfert hat.“ – Jens Zemke, Sportlicher Leiter

Evenepoel, like a boss

Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) surged to victory atop the Alto de Piornal after an all out battle on the mountains of Extremadura on stage 18 of La Vuelta 22. UAE Team Emirates upped the ante with 100km to go, Enric Mas (Movistar) and his GC rivals attacked several times on the final ascent of the day… But the young Belgian responded with maestria. He eventually caught up to the early attacker Robert Gesink (Jumbo-Visma) inside the final kilometre and dominated a 3-man sprint against the Dutch veteran and Mas. Evenepoel takes his second stage win and his 13th La Roja, achieving the longest run atop the overall standings of a Grand Tour for a Belgian rider since Johan De Muynck won the Giro 1978 – the last victory to date for Belgium in a three-week event. Evenepoel has three more days to go to Madrid.

La Vuelta 22 rises on Thursday with a mountain stage featuring three categorised ascents on the way to an unprecedented summit finish atop Alto de Piornal. The peloton face 192km of racing with 3,550m of elevation. 136 riders start from Trujillo without Samuele Battistella (Astana Qazaqstan) and Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), who were ill.

Vine abandons, the breakaway impresses
It’s an all out battle from the start, with attackers covering 49.9km in the first hour before a 42-man break gets away. There is no direct GC threat at the front, as Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) is the best rider in the overall standings (16th, +26’20’’).

The Ecuadorian climber leads the virtual KOM standings after Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was forced to abandon in a crash that also involved Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers), 4th of the overall standings (+5’20’’).
Enric Mas (Movistar) has two teammates in the break: Nelson Oliveira and Carlos Verona. On the day after Rigoberto Uran’s victory at Monasterio de Tentudia, EF Education-EasyPost have five riders at the front: Hugh Carthy, Merhawi Kudus, Mark Padun, James Shaw and Julius van den Berg. The likes of Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Qazaqstan) are also up there.

Almeida’s move
Remco Evenepoel’s Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl are willing to let the break go. The gap is up to 9 minutes when UAE Team Emirates turn the race upside down just ahead of the first ascent of the day, the cat-2 Alto de la Despera (summit at km 109.7). Pascal Ackermann, Juan Sebastian Molano and Brandon McNulty launch Joao Almeida (6th overall, +6’51’’) on the move.
At the summit, the Portuguese gets back to his teammate and compatriot Ivo Oliveira, who was also in the breakaway. They’ve brought the gap down to 4’45’’. Astana Qazaqstan drive the bunch for Miguel Angel Lopez, 1’30’’ further down.

An all out battle on the Alto de Piornal
At the bottom of the first ascent of the cat-1 Alto de Piornal (km 151.2), Almeida trails by 3’15’’ and the peloton follow with a gap of 4’. Carthy attacks at the front of the race. Pinot and Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe) are the quickest to react. Carapaz sets off in pursuit and bridges the gap towards the summit with Robert Gesink (Jumbo-Visma) and Elie Gesbert (Arkea Samsic).
Joao Almeida trails by 2’30’’. He now enjoys the support of Marc Soler. In the peloton, Miguel Angel Lopez accelerates. Rodriguez struggles to react but the GC group gets back together, 45’’ behind Almeida.

Evenepoel’s raw power
At the bottom of the final climb (13.4km at 5.6%), the Almeida group trail by 1’14’’ and the GC group by 1’49’’. Gesbert attacks early on the ascent. Gesink joins him at the front with 8.5km to go and drops him a couple of kilometres later.
In the GC group, Mas accelerates for the first time with 10km to go. Evenepoel counters with 8.5km to go. They get back to the Almeida group. Mas tries again several times, but Evenepoel is always able to respond.
The duo eventually catch up to Gesink with 400m to go. Evenepoel unleashes his raw power to take a 2nd stage win in La Vuelta 22 and tighten his grip on La Roja with three days to go to Madrid.

La Vuelta 22 – Etappe 17

Ergebnisse, Etappenrennen, , , , , , , ,

Aracena – Monasterio De Tentudía – 162 Km


Photo by Plomi

1 URAN Rigoberto COL EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 03:42:28
2 PACHER Quentin FRA GROUPAMA – FDJ 00:00
3 HERRADA Jesus ESP COFIDIS 00:02
4 SOLER Marc ESP UAE TEAM EMIRATES 00:15
5 ELISSONDE Kenny FRA TREK – SEGAFREDO 00:26
6 CHAMPOUSSIN Clement FRA AG2R CITROEN TEAM 00:29
7 de MARCHI Alessandro ITA ISRAEL-PREMIER TECH 00:46
8 JUNGELS Bob LUX AG2R CITROEN TEAM 00:55
9 GESBERT Elie FRA TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC 01:09
10 CRADDOCK G Lawson USA TEAM BIKEEXCHANGE-JAYCO 01:30
11 MADER Gino SUI BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS 02:06
12 GUGLIELMI Simon FRA TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC 02:43
13 GONCALVES ALMEIDA Joao Pedro POR UAE TEAM EMIRATES 05:02
14 EVENEPOEL Remco BEL QUICK-STEP ALPHA VINYL TEAM 05:11
15 MAS Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 05:11

Gesamt:

1 EVENEPOEL Remco BEL QUICK-STEP ALPHA VINYL TEAM 65:14:05
2 MAS Enric ESP MOVISTAR TEAM 02:01
3 AYUSO PESQUERA Juan ESP UAE TEAM EMIRATES 04:51
4 RODRIGUEZ CANO Carlos ESP INEOS GRENADIERS 05:20
5 LOPEZ Miguel Angel COL ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 05:33
6 GONCALVES ALMEIDA Joao Pedro POR UAE TEAM EMIRATES 06:51
7 ARENSMAN Thymen NED TEAM DSM 07:46
8 O’CONNOR Ben AUS AG2R CITROEN TEAM 09:11
9 URAN Rigoberto COL EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST 09:33
10 HINDLEY Jai AUS BORA – HANSGROHE 11:40

Ausreißergruppe dominiert 17. Etappe der Vuelta

Die heutige 162 km lange Etappe verlief überwiegend wellig, ehe es zum Schluss hinauf auf den Monasterio de Tentudía ging. Obwohl der Kampf um die Ausreißergruppe gleich nach dem Start begann, konnte sich die Spitze erst nach rund 50 km erfolgreich distanzieren und bestimmte von da an das Renngeschehen. Im anspruchsvollen finalen Anstieg kam es zu mehreren Attacken aus der Spitzengruppe, und am Ende konnte R. Uran sich durchsetzen und den Tagessieg am Monasterio de Tentudía erringen. Dahinter hatte sich die GC-Gruppe im steilen Anstieg ausgedünnt, aber es gelang Jai Hindley mit den Favoriten mitzuhalten und die Ziellinie nur 6 Sekunden hinter dem aktuell Gesamtführenden R. Evenepoel zu überqueren.

Reaktionen im Ziel
„Wir hätten jemanden in der Ausreißergruppe haben sollen, um auf den Etappensieg zu fahren, das war auch der Plan. Aber Pläne gehen halt nicht immer auf. Wir wussten, dass es eine große Chance für die Spitzengruppe gibt, aber wir haben sie einfach verpasst. Das Gute am heutigen Tag war, dass Jai im Finale bei den Besten dabei war, was auch für die nächsten Tage hoffen lässt. Wir werden jetzt den Tag kurz analysieren und die Jungs wieder motivieren, ihr Glück zu probieren und wieder in eine Spitzengruppe zu gehen, um auf einen Etappensieg zu fahren.“ – Jens Zemke, Sportlicher Leiter

El Toro Uran powers to victory

An eventful finale of stage 17 of La Vuelta 22 saw Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-EasyPost) take the win at Monasterio de Tentudia, ahead of his breakaway companions Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) and Jesus Herrada (Cofidis). The Colombian star completes his treble of Grand Tour stage wins, after previous successes in the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia. On the uphill finish, Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) was the best of the GC contenders, 9’’ ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), who retains La Roja on a day that began with the withdrawal of Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma). On Thursday, the riders face a mountain stage with three major ascents on the way to another unprecedented summit finish at Alto de Piornal.

The peloton of La Vuelta 22 face new uphill challenges with stage 17 leading them to an unprecedented summit finish at Monasterio de Tentudia. The roads go up and down all day long, adding up to 2,500m of elevation. 139 riders start from Aracena, without the 3-time defending winner Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), following his crash in Tomares. Filippo Conca (Lotto Soudal) and Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) are also out of La Vuelta 22.

Soler, Herrada, Craddock… 13 riders at the front
Attacks fly from the start but a group of 13 baroudeurs only manage to get away after a first in which they cover 48.8km.
Clément Champoussin, Bob Jungels (AG2R Citroën), Gino Mäder, Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious), Jesus Herrada (Cofidis), Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-EasyPost), Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ), Alessandro De Marchi (Israel Premier Tech), Lawson Craddock (BikeExchange-Jayco), Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Elie Gesbert and Simon Guglielmi (Arkea-Samsic) make the break of the day.

Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl control the day
After such a hard battle for the break, the pace drops in the bunch. Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl control the peloton and the gap rises to 7’20’’ as the attackers enter the last 60km of the stage.
Fred Wright goes first through the intermediate sprint in Segura de Leon (km 133.2), meaning that Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) will have to wait at least for one more stage to virtually secure the green jersey. The peloton trail by 6’55’’.

Countless attacks
Craddock opens up the battle for the stage win with 19km to go. After a series of attacks and counter-attacks, he faces the final ascent (10.3km at 5% with very irregular slopes) with a lead of 10’’.
The American baroudeur opens a gap of 25’’ to his chasers and holds on until the last kilometre. As he is caught, Champoussin attacks, Herrada counters… But Uran eventually surges to victory in an eventful finale.
In the GC group, Enric Mas (Movistar) attacks with 3km to go but Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) controls his Spanish rival. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) eventually manages to open a gap of 9’’ to Remco Evenepoel, who keeps La Roja for a 12th stage in a row.