The two-time winner of the Tour de France Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) decided to advance the battle that is going to be fought in the two very tough Asturian stages – the first today, between Ribadesella and Angliru, and the second morning, starting in Pola de Allande and final in La Cruz de Linares – with an attack from the beginning of the only climb that was climbed yesterday, in the second category, in Bejes (Cantabria), and thanks to this he managed to gain an advantage of 1 minute and 1 second over the rest favorites, remaining just 29 seconds behind the overall leader, his teammate Sepp Kuss, who was seen struggling to keep up with the pace of the best. The Vuelta a España arrives in the Principality after two weeks of absolute dominance by Jumbo-Visma, which is currently on the podium of the race, with Kuss, Vingegaard and Roglic. The summits of the Principality are the main obstacle that the Netherlands as a whole has to overcome so that one of its three leaders wins the Spanish round and manages to complete the three major races of the season after winning the Giro (Roglic) and the Tour de France (Vingegaard).
Vingegaard wanted to culminate the Cantabrian day with a spectacular attack at the beginning of the Bejes pass, giving a true recital of ambition and desire in a climb of only 4.8 kilometers. It helped him win the stage and dedicate the victory to his teammate Van Hooydonck, seriously injured in a traffic accident that he suffered when he suffered a heart attack while driving. The Belgian was taken to the hospital in critical condition, although as the hours passed his condition improved. The 27-year-old cyclist lost control of his vehicle, crashing into five other cars when he was accompanied by his pregnant wife.
Surprising permissiveness
Even Vingegard himself was surprised to see that when he attacked none of the favorites tried to come out and neutralize him. The only ones who tried without success were Fisher-Black and Poels, who were later joined by the Spanish Mikel. Ayuso and Mas decided to stay with Kuss and Roglic. With only one kilometer left, when the Dane had already secured victory, Juan Ayuso first and Enric Más later reacted. It was late and Roglic was able to keep up with them. The only one who was seen to suffer was the leader, Stepp Kuss, who, in addition to time with his partner, lost some credit for the two colossal stages that will pass through the Principality.
Today’s stage, between Ribadesella and Alto del Angliru, is the queen stage of this edition of the Vuelta a España. A day that many of the greats fear because they are aware that in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro, anyone’s knees can weaken and in a moment of weakness they can lose all their chances of winning the overall standings. And even more knowing that the next day they will have to face the La Cruz de Linares stage.
Apart from the end, in the rest of the Cantabrian stage the highlights were the rainy sections, where lightning was seen. A stage that passed between constant attacks and neutralizations. Falls also made an appearance in the La Hermida gorge, the most spectacular being that of Luis León Sánchez, who was left lying on the asphalt. The one from Mula (Murcia), who had announced his retirement the day before, was finally able to get up and enter the finish line cheered on by all the fans.
Gijón’s Iván García-Cortina also took center stage with 10 kilometers remaining, when he began to lead the pack to bring Enric Mas well positioned at the beginning of the climb. There he finished his work and let himself go to save his strength. He regrets that his leader was not more attentive to Vingegaard’s attack.
2023-09-13 02:15:00
#Battle #Angliru #Spain
