Fresh from a second stage victory in the Vuelta a España, Alpecin-Deceuninck sprint ace Kaden Groves has confirmed that he will push for a berth in the team's Tour de France lineup in 2025.
One key element to Groves' latest Vuelta triumph - and he now has six in his palmares - was how the Australian managed to stay with the front group of 60 on the dauntingly long, but very steady category 1 climb of Puerto de Leitariegos. That was something Groves had also managed to do on the even harder Alto del 14% climb on stage 7, of course, but an untimely fall just at the summit that day then wrecked Groves' chances of fighting it out with Wout van Aert for the sprint in Cordoba.
This time around was a very different story - after a fast but fairly straightforward descent off the Leitariegos, Groves neatly out-sprinted Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) at the stage 14 finish in Villablino. It was the second time Groves had managed to beat the Belgian in the Vuelta a España after his stage 2 victory in Ourem, but as he said afterwards, being able to win in possibly his last opportunity in this year's Vuelta was a specially good feeling.
"It's been a very tough week, and I had a win on stage 2 but also a second and a third and it's nice to capitalize on my form here," Groves told reporters. "It's rare for me to win with final climbs, but I had the legs to do it."
Being in good shape on the climb was arguably as important as having the condition to beat Van Aert, and as Groves put it, "I felt good there, a lot of it was a headwind so that helped, plus Visma rode a solid pace."
"I was quite worried that if the climbers had started attacking each other, I wouldn't have made it to the finish in the front. But fortunately, that didn't happen either."
"Then it was a slight uphill for the sprint and while it's always tough against Wout, my team did a great job keeping me out of the wind and giving me a great leadout, especially Eddy Planckaert."
"I wasn't feeling great because I had spent a good deal of energy in the break yesterday, [Friday] but the team kept me calm and kept me in a great position all the way through."
The sprint itself was a tight one, Groves said, but he knew he had won as soon as they hit the line. "I was feeling pretty confident I had him by half a wheel or so. Generally when you win you know, and Wout's been giving me a hard time this week but now I can say we're even."
Groves also changed strategy and that undoubtedly helped swing the pendulum in his favour, he said. "The last times here I've been second or third in the sprints, I've somewhat hesitated because we arrived so fatigued at the line that no one wants to lead out - something Wout actually does really well. But today I saw the finish line at 200 metres to go and I drag-raced him to the line."
On an exceptional day for the Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinters, both Groves and Jasper Philipsen won on the same day - Groves in Spain, Philipsen in the Renewi Tour. Following a recent renewal of his contract, the Australian said he hoped that next year he would be racing alongside his Belgian teammate in the Tour de France.
"Ideally next year I can race there along with Jasper," Groves said about a possible Tour debut following one Giro d'Italia and - to date - six Vuelta stage victories. "We're different sprinters, I'm more suited to reduced sprints, so hopefully there'll be a place for both of us in the Tour and we can race together like we have done so well in the past."
Meanwhile, back at the 2024 Vuelta, Groves recognised he'd be looking for one more possible chance at a bunch sprint on stage 17 into Santander. But on Sunday at Cuitu Negru's crunch summit finish, all eyes will be on another Australian, Ben O'Connor, in his latest battle to stay in the lead.
Asked directly who was going to win the Vuelta, Groves answered "As a fellow Australian, I hope Ben-O (Ben O'Connor). But I think that if Primoz [Roglič] is on a good day, tomorrow [Sunday] he could take the red."
