If the Australian won the first stage of his career in a grand tour, the day was especially marked by the abandonment of the French rider.
A great first for Kaden Groves: the Australian won the 11th stage of the Vuelta in the sprint on Wednesday at Cabo de Gata in Andalusia at the end of a day marked by the abandonment of Julian Alpahilippe and the progression of the Covid in the peloton. At 23, the BikeExchange sprinter won his first stage on a Grand Tour by dominating Danny Van Poppel (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Tim Merlier (Alpecin) on the line. “It’s an incredible feeling. This morning, with Simon (Yates) testing positive for Covid, the whole team was quite disappointed. I really want to celebrate, even though I wish he was with ussaid Groves, referring to his leader’s quitting on Wednesday.
The Belgian Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step) maintains his comfortable lead at the top of the general classification, with 2 minutes and 41 seconds ahead of the three-time Slovenian title holder Primoz Roglic (Jumbo) and three minutes and three seconds over the Spaniard Enric Mas (Movistar). The 22-year-old nugget, however, lost her luxury teammate Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step) who retired after falling in a bend 64 kilometers from the finish. The double world champion suffered a collarbone injury and was taken on a stretcher to the nearest hospital. Evenepoel thus loses a second teammate, after Belgian Pieter Serry tested positive for Covid on Sunday.
Mads Pedersen, who finished fifth in the stage, consolidated his green jersey, notably by recovering 20 additional points during the intermediate sprint 10 kilometers from the finish. On Wednesday, five new names joined the list of riders who tested positive for Covid since the start of Vuelta on August 19 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Among the latter, the Briton Simon Yates (BikeExchange), winner of the Vuelta in 2018 and fifth in the general classification before the start of the stage on Wednesday, the Frenchman Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers) and the three team members of the Ken Pharma Roger training Adria, Hector Carretero and Pau Miquel. In total, at least 21 retirements that have occurred in the peloton since the start of the Vuelta are linked to a positive test.
There is a little psychosis between the runners.
Miguel Angel Lopez
«There is a little psychosis between the runners (about Covid). We see that every day, several teams do not start in full. We must be very careful to wear the mask and continue to respect the rules“Explained Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) on Wednesday. The Evenepoel red jersey indicated that a retirement caused by the Covid “would be a real nightmare” for him. The International Cycling Union (UCI) announced on August 9 that it would implement the same health protocol in the Vuelta as in the Tour de France where 17 cases of Covid had been detected. Thus, the UCIstrongly recommends daily antigen testing of all team members (riders and staff)whether vaccinated or not».
As the Covid continues to spread in the peloton, the Spanish loop continues on Thursday with the first mountain stage in Andalusia and a difficult arrival at the top of the Penas Blancas, a first category pass 19 kilometers long at 6.7% on average.
