79 km
14:45
The next mountain classification
The next mountain classification awaits and it will be harder work for the drivers. Up to the Puerto de San Lorenzo (1347 m) there are 9.9 kilometers with an average gradient of 8.6%. At the top of the pass, a 1st category mountain classification will be held.
72 km
14:37
How far away can the escape group travel?
The big question at the moment is how far Jumbo-Visma will allow the escape group to travel. The distance hasn’t increased in giant steps for a few kilometers, which could be a sign that Jumbo doesn’t like to give the breakaways more than ten minutes.
70 km
14:33
Jumbo and UAE
There isn’t much new in the peloton. The Jumbo-Visma drivers continue to dictate the pace, while UAE is at the forefront. There are currently no efforts to close the gap again.
68 km
14:31
Longer time gap of the Vuelta
The 14 riders in the breakaway group managed a time of 9:20 minutes, making it the largest gap of a breakaway group to date in the Vuelta 2023.
65 km
14:27
Four riders with Vuelta stage wins
The first group includes four riders who have won at least one stage at the Vuelta. Remco Evenepoel has won four Vuelta stages in his career. Imanol Erviti from Team Moviestar celebrated two Vuelta stage victories in his career so far. Andreas Kron (Lotto–Dstny) and Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) celebrated victory in a Vuelta stage.
59 km
14:19
The situation is strengthening
The situation is beginning to solidify and the peloton continues to keep the breakaways on a long leash. Soon there are nine minutes between the groups. A distance that Jumbo-Visma can afford, because there is no one in the breakaway group who has an eye on the overall ranking.
51 km
14:10
Not interested in winning the stage?
The lead of the escape group continues to grow and is now 8:40 minutes after the mountain classification. A course that shows that Jumbo-Visma has little interest in bagging a stage win today.
50 km
14:09
Evenepoel strikes
Remco Evenepoel unsurprisingly hits the lead group and secures five points for the mountain classification in the first category. Andreas Kron, who is in the top ten of the mountain classification, shows little interest in the points and was at the team car shortly beforehand to pick up drinking bottles.
48 km
14:02
UAE is hanging on
In the peloton, UAE Team Emirates follows the Jumbo-Visma riders, who continue to dictate the pace in the peloton. There are still no major efforts to catch the runaways again.
46 km
13:55
Blick ins Peloton
Not much has changed in the peloton and it remains the Jumbo Visma team that has taken control. The gap to the front has increased to seven minutes.
45 km
13:52
The first mountain classification
The first mountain classification of the day is coming up. It goes up to the Alto de las Estacas (742 m), which was classified as a 2nd category mountain. After the climb has been overcome, there is a longer descent down towards Belmonte, from where the route heads south along the Río Pigüeña.
39 km
13:44
Six minutes
It’s already been six minutes since the breakaways have moved out in front. Jumbo-Visma has moved to the front of the peloton, but is not yet taking full risks.
37 km
13:41
Good situation for Evenepoel
Evenepoel is currently in a good position in the breakaway group. There is no one in the group who can pose a threat to him in the fight for the polka dot jersey. The second best rider in the mountain classification in the breakaway group is Andreas Kron and he has 71 points less than Evenepoel.
35 km
13:37
You position yourself
Some teams are now starting to position themselves in the peloton. Jumbo-Visma moves forward with a few riders to take control of the peloton. Meanwhile, the escapees left at 5:50 minutes.
35 km
13:33
How does Jumbo-Visma react?
It will be exciting to see how Jumbo-Visma reacts to the outliers today. The fact that you let them drive away for more than four minutes suggests that you don’t necessarily have a problem with the current situation – especially since you’ve worked a lot in the last few days. Even Evenepoel could be given a few minutes without him becoming a threat again in the overall standings in the final stages.
31 km
13:31
What can Denz do?
The escape group with the 14 riders has now been away for over four minutes because the peloton is currently letting them go. Nico Denz is still the only German in the group. But in the end he probably won’t achieve much, as the profile of the stage doesn’t suit him enough.
28 km
13:26
Fast paced
The pace in the leading group is still not great and the riders are traveling at an average speed of 56 km/h. So the distance has already increased to three minutes.
24 km
13:22
The group stands
The group now seems to be standing and you can ride away from the peloton together. There are now two minutes between the breakaway group and the peloton. The best-placed rider in the breakaway group is Remco Evenepoel, who is already 37 minutes behind.
19 km
13:15
The distance is getting bigger
In the leading group, the whole lotte is driven through and so the gap to the back is increased to over 50 seconds. The group consists of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ), Nico Denz (Bora-Hansgrohe), Jarrad Drizners, Andreas Kron (Lotto Dstny), Andrea Piccolo (EF Education-EasyPost), Imanol Erviti (Movistar), Max Poole (DSM-Firmenich), Hugo Hofstetter (Arkéa Samsic) as well as Paul Ourselin (Total Energies), Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek) and Lorenzo Germani (Groupama-FDJ).
16 km
13:14
Nobody has Jumbo-Visma with them
Jumbo-Visma is one of the teams that currently does not have any of its members in the top flight. UAE Team Emirates is also staying together in the peloton. From a German perspective, Nico Denz was able to finish at the front.
15 km
13:12
14 riders in the front
Together with Evenepoel, the second group is closing in on the front, meaning there are now a total of 14 athletes in the breakaway group, but will the peloton be able to pull away?
14 km
13:11
Evenepoel is on the way
Remco Evenepoel is one of those who wants to get into the breakaway group today and the Belgian from Soudal – Quick Step is in the chasing group, which can now continue to shorten the gap to the front.
10 km
13:09
Germani also there
Lorenzo Germani from Groupama – FDJ also went to the small leadership group. The race is currently in a phase with a disjointed peloton with many different groups.
9 km
13:07
It’s time to go downhill
The field has now started the descent together. Drivers keep leaving. Bernal and Storer are among those who can now move a little ahead of the field.
6 km
13:02
Long field
The field is stretched out and there are still some attacks in the peloton. But no one was able to drive away clearly yet.
2 km
13:00
The first kilometers
The route starts in Pola de Allande and goes through the picturesque valleys of Asturias, past the Puente del Infierno, until it finally reaches Soto de la Barca. At this point the route tackles an uncategorized climb at Tuña.
1 km
12:57
Let’s go!
The sharp start has taken place and 179 tough kilometers await the drivers from now on! The first attacks don’t take long to arrive and two drivers sit down a few meters on the field.
12:53
The remaining ratings
In the points standings, Kaden Groves from Alpecin – Deceuninck remains the overwhelming leader and leads with 228 points, ahead of Remco Evenepoel (152 points) and Jonas Vingegaard (120 points). The mountain jersey is worn by Evenepoel with 91 points, followed by Vingegaard (51 points) and Michael Storer (Groupama – FDJ/39 points). In the team ranking, Jumbo-Visma was able to move ahead by 25 minutes.
12:47
The field is rolling
The field starts moving and the neutral starting phase begins. It’s 3.7 kilometers to the official start.
12:38
The overall ranking in numbers
In the overall ranking of the Vuelta, Sepp Kuss has an eight-second lead over Jonas Vingegaard before the 18th stage. Primož Roglič follows as the third Jumbo Visma driver, 1:08 minutes behind. UAE Team Emirates’ Juan Ayuso is already four minutes behind and will find it difficult to prevail against Jumbo-Visma, who have three hot irons in the fire. He should orientate himself towards Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) and Enric Mas (Movistar Team).
12:34
Who else should you pay attention to?
Bahrain Victorious also delivered a strong team performance on Wednesday and may look to bring one of their riders forward today too. Remco Evenepoel is certainly worth paying attention to. If he decides to ride in the breakaway group, the Belgian has many options. His teammate Mattia Cattaneo also needs to be taken into account. Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) and Michael Storer are other names to be mentioned in the fight for the stage win.
12:24
Was plant Jumbo-Visma?
Over the past two days, the Dutch team Jumbo-Viesma and their leaders Jonas Vingegaard, Primož Roglič and Sepp Kuss have been aiming for stage wins, but what are the team planning for today? After the Angliru they are now in a situation where they have little to fear from the riders in fourth and fifth place overall, with Vingegaard eight seconds behind Kuss. Team director Marc Reef explained that the three top riders will also be allowed to drive freely on the coming stages.
12:17
Tough stage again
Another incredibly tough stage through the Spanish mountains is on the agenda on Thursday. The stage covers 179 kilometers and includes a total of five categorized climbs with a total gradient of 4,600 meters. The first and third of the day’s five climbs are too short to have much impact and were only rated category two and three respectively, but in the middle is the much tougher category one Puerto de San Lorenzo. Further hard climbs in the first category lead up to the Cruz de Linares and to the finish, the Cruz de Linares.
12:09
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to the 18th stage of the Vuelta a España 2023. The route leads from Pola de Allande over 178.9 kilometers to Cruz de Linares, where the ninth and final mountain finish of the 78th edition of the stage race takes place. At 12:47 p.m. the neutral start phase begins, before the sharp release follows at 12:55 p.m.!
