A powerhouse time trial specialist almost beat the best sprinter in the Vuelta a Espana.
Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) came from five places back to close on yesterday’s stage winner Kaden Grove. The Italian’s massive thighs almost pulled off a big upset. However, Groves held on to win by half a wheel with Dries Van Gestel (TotalEnergies) taking third.
On a stage previewed as a toss-up between a possible breakaway win and the sprinter throw-down, the escapes were kept in check. Nobody really snuck away on the category two climb of Collado de la Ibola. A compact and fast-moving peloton barreled toward Burriana with all the sprinters hoping this would be their day of champagne.
The final ten kilometers of the stage featured an exasperating number of roundabouts and pinch-points. There were several dicy moments but everyone survived except for a crash that took down four riders including two from Lotto Dstny. The Vuelta dodged a bullet and the inevitable criticism about course design.
In the closing k’s, the Alpecin-Deceuninck sprint train was on track and lined up in front of Groves. The Australian sprinter is doing an excellent impression of his teammate Jasper Philipsen in the Tour de France. The Belgian won four stages and now Groves, clearly the fastest of the fast in Spain, has two stage wins. Call him Jasper junior.
Nothing comes easy in winning a stage of a grand tour — but except for Filippo Ganna’s surprise attack — Groves’ victory looked meticulouly well-drilled and pre-ordained.
Spreaking of fast-men, race leader Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quickstep) jumped out and stole a six second bonus on an intermediate sprint. He now leads Enric Mas (Movistar) by 11 seconds and Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) by 17 seconds. A cheeky move, as they say.
Leave A Comment