Persistence paid off big time for Marc Soler in the 2024 Vuelta a España as the ever-aggressive Catalan finally managed to secure a long-sought victory at the mythical Lagos de Covadonga summit finish.
UAE Team Emirates have opted for three-rider attacks on four occasions to date in the Vuelta mountains - Sierra Nevada, Ancares, Cuitu Negru and Covadonga - and Soler has been in all of them. But while constantly in the thick of the action, it wasn’t until the most prestigious mountain stage of all that the Catalan could finally triumph himself.
Accompanied by Isaac del Toro and Jay Vine to the foot of the Covadonga in a forward break of eight, initially Soler had the toughest of times keeping in contact with Filippo Zana (Jayco-AlUla), Max Poole (DSM-firmenich PostNL), after the Italian and Briton surged clear on the lower slopes.
However, rather than pay the price for his multiple breakaway efforts, Soler was finally able to bridge across to the two other stage leaders, and then go clear with four kilometres to go. His solo triumph was both the third win of his career in the Vuelta a España and the third for UAE Emirates in this year’s race, after Brandon McNulty’s victory in the opening time trial and Adam Yates at Granada.
For Soler himself, claiming a win at Covadonga was a well-earned reward for his breakaway tenacity.
“I’ve had a lot of shots hit the goalposts, but this time I finally scored,” Soler said. “This break was a very high level, so when I went for it the first time I didn’t feel exceptionally confident. But the second time it worked out fine.”
Both Poole and Zana looked stronger than Soler, who described Poole as the man to beat. “I was on the limit all the time but I also saw the others were weakening a bit and I kept my rhythm,” he said.
“Poole was the man to beat and I saw a lull in one section and I just went for it, and it paid off.”
In five breaks in total in the Vuelta so far and with three third places before Tuesday's victory, Soler said that rather than feeling frustrated or losing motivation because of his failure to succeed up until Covadonga, it had encouraged him to keep trying.
“Hitting the post time after time and getting in so many breaks gave me the confidence that I needed because it showed me I was staying strong despite all my efforts,” Soler explained.
“I want to dedicate this win, too, to my wife and kids. My second child’s been born recently and I’ve spent a long time away from home preparing for the Tour and Vuelta. So it’s a very special victory.”
If Covadonga is a victory for the history books, given the climb enjoys a similar prestige in the Vuelta as Alpe d’Huez in the Tour de France, or the Mortirolo in the Giro d'Italia, Soler’s repeat presence in the Vuelta breaks was by no means new. In 2022, he was in no less than seven, with only the first, to Bilbao being rewarded with a victory. And as he said afterwards at Covadonga, he did not feel much stronger in this year’s race, rather he was just striking lucky with the results.
What made the different to previous years, though, was the ‘mass attack’ strategy currently being employed by UAE in the breaks, with Vine and Del Toro the two other teammates alongside Soler on stage 16.
“A win for any of the three would have been great,” Soler said. “They were both equally important players in the stage today and my thanks to both of them.
“I’m still the same rider as when I won back in 2020, but I’ve certainly found my place here in UAE, [Sports Director Joxean Fernandez] Matxin really helps me and I know what I’ve got to do and when to make the most of the opportunities they give me.”
After the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France victories with Tadej Pogačar, UAE’s fight for a third Grand Tour win was always something of a long shot given their two main GC hopes, Yates and João Almeida, had already been at peak form working for Pogačar in July. While Almeida was forced to abandon with COVID-19, Yates claimed a spectacular mountain stage victory in Granada. Soler said the team is continuing to be in the thick of the action and winning regardless of their now limited options overall.
“We’ll keep fighting, maybe I can get in a break again but hopefully I’ll be able to help a teammate to win. Then we’ve got the King of the Mountains jersey with Jay [Vine] and if we can get a top 10 overall for Adam [Yates] and Pavel [Sivakov], then so much the better.”
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