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Vuelta a España stage 18 report
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of stage 19 of the Vuelta a España.
Today is surely decision day for the GC battle between Ben O'Connor and Primoz Roglic.
Hola! We're ready to race.
Selfie of the day 🤳😎El selfie del día 🤳😍#LaVuelta24 pic.twitter.com/lQLwGeYka7September 6, 2024
It's show time!
Today's stage and the Alto de Moncalvillo mountain finish will sure see a C battle between Ben O'Connor, Primož Roglič and eveyone else fighting for the podium and top ten.
There will also be a battle for the stage victory.
Vamos!
As the Cyclingnews blimp takes height, the riders are in the neutralised sector of the stage.
139 riders are still in the Vuelta.
This is today's stage profile. Look at that finish!
This is the stage 19 map. A long loop before a hard finish.
Primož Roglič was cautious pre-race but seemed ready.
🇪🇸 #LaVuelta24 🎙️ What do you think of the Alto de Moncalvillo, Primož? pic.twitter.com/9dF77ZX21fSeptember 6, 2024
168.5km to go
They're off!
The stage includes a 90km ride to the foot of the Puerto de Pradilla, on gradually rising roads.
It will be hard for a breakaway to get away.
The Puerto de Pradilla is only 5.2km long, before a descent and another long valley ride to the foot of the Alto de Moncalvillo.
The last stage start in Logroño was four years ago, when the stage also finished on the Alto de Moncalvillo.
Primoz Roglic climbed to victory in 2020 and went on to win his second Vuelta.
🥰🥰Logroño, thank you for hosting La Vuelta 24!😍😍 ¡Logroño, gracias por acoger #LaVuelta24!🫶 @AytoLogrono pic.twitter.com/JUzpX5M0t0September 6, 2024
Thomas De Gendt and Eduardo Sepulveda (Lotto Dstny) made the first attack of the stage, others joined them but they were soon chased down.
155km to go
We have more attacks and more chasing. The speed on some fast roads has touched 60km/h!
To understand what could and what will happen today at the Vuelta, read Alasdair Fotheringham's preview.
23km covered and now there are 23 riders on the attack.
Gruppo compatto. The 50km/h speeds mens the attacks are quickly controlled.
Marc Soler was one of the riders on the attack but even the strong and aggressive Spaniard was brought to heel.
This is what Bahrain DS expects Neil Stephens to happen today.
🇪🇸 #LaVuelta24 | ST 19🚩 Logroño🏁 Alto de Moncalvillo🛣️ 173.5km🗣️ SD Neil Stephens: “A solid mountain top finish awaits the peloton today. We think a breakaway is gonna go out again.”#RideAsOne #rideforGino pic.twitter.com/azwrNT8EUuSeptember 6, 2024
At the Vuelta, you have to take the bull by the horns in you want to win!
🇪🇸 #LaVuelta24 | ST 19🚩 Logroño🏁 Alto de Moncalvillo🛣️ 173.5km🗣️ SD Neil Stephens: “A solid mountain top finish awaits the peloton today. We think a breakaway is gonna go out again.”#RideAsOne #rideforGino pic.twitter.com/azwrNT8EUuSeptember 6, 2024
Yesterday's stage wasn't a big mountain finish like today but a lot still happened.
This is our full report on Urko Berrade won from the break to give Kern Pharma their third stage win.
Vuelta a España: Urko Berrade takes solo win on stage 18
Ben O’Connor survived a dangerous late attack by Richard Carapaz to keep his his five-second overall lead intact, but the Australian admitted it had been anything but a straightforward day through the sierras of Alava.
'I'm glad I got through' - Vuelta a España leader Ben O'Connor survives EF Education attack
Carapaz is the third man and danger man in the Vuelta. He and EF planned their attack yesterday.
'We said we'd roll the dice' – Richard Carapaz and EF-EasyPost go all in at Vuelta a España
Back to today's stage and then attacks keep coming.
Edward Planckaert (Alpecin Deceuninck), Fran Miholjevic (Bahrain Victorious) and Vito Braet (Intermarché-Wanty) attacked and now Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) and Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty) are chasing.
Thursday was a bad day Mikel Landa on his local Basque roads. He was dropped when Carapaz attacked and with little support from his teammates he went on to lose 3:00, slipping from fifth to tenth.
Landa did no speak post stage but the Spanish press had dived headlong into the post-mortem.
"A T-Rex without a head devours Mikel Landa's podium options" was one scathing critique of his team's decision to send Pedersen, Cattaneo and Mauri Vansevenant up the road on a day like this.
This is Barry Ryan's story on what happened.
Mikel Landa's Vuelta a España dream collapses in 'the cradle of Landismo'
125km to go
Is the elastic about to snap and the break get away?
Edward Planckaert (Alpecin Deceuninck), Fran Miholjevic (Bahrain Victorious), Vito Braet (Intermarché-Wanty) Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) and Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty) have a 1:20 gap.
Eduardo Sepulveda (Lotto Dstny) is trying to get across to the attack but he faces a huge task.
Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates), Edward Planckaert (Alpecin Deceuninck), Fran Miholjevic (Bahrain Victorious), Vito Braet and Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty) are 1:25 ahead of Eduardo Sepulveda (Lotto Dstny).
The peloton now trails them by 4:00.
We have a break of the day but will they make it to the finish?
Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) has been involved in a crash.
105km to go
The peloton is lined out but the pace is steady.
Vine is back up and riding after crash. He is getting treatment from the race doctor's car.
Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates), Edward Planckaert (Alpecin Deceuninck), Fran Miholjevic (Bahrain Victorious), Vito Braet and Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty) lead by 5:00.
But behind Red Bull are leading the peloton and riding a steady tempo to keep the break under control.
100km to go
The riders are on the flat plains of the stage, passing sunflowers and fields, with a slight crosswind.
It's 25km to the foot of the Puerto de Pradilla climb.
The peloton passes through the feed zone, snatching musettes and taking on food and drinks.
After the feed, riders are now emptying their pickets in the green zone. Someone (hopefully) will clean up all their rubbish.
88km to go
The stage is steady now, with 13km to go to the Puerto de Pradilla climb.
This is the profile.
The breakaway is on the Puerto de Pradilla.
Their lead is down to 3:15 as Red Bull continue their relentless chase. They clearly want Roglic to fight for the stage win and the 10,6,4 second time bonuses awarded at the finish.
The break passes the summit of the Puerto de Pradilla with a lea of 2:40 on the peloton.
Both groups are playing with each other, both saving something for the finish.
Ouch! there was a crash in the peloton.
Jasha Sütterlin (Bahrain Victorious) crashed but is back riding. However there is some tension in the peloton as the kilometres tick down
Movistar raised the speed on the descent with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
Sepp Kuss is behind the split in the peloton.
The two groups are coming back together but it was a moment of tension.
60km to go
The roads are flat but there is a sense that the race will explode on the Alto de Moncalvillo.
Race leader Ben O'Connor has stopped for a natural break but is returning to the front of the peloton with a teammate and other riders.
He took advantage of the quiet before the storm.
50km to go
The gap to the break is slowly ticking down, second by second, like water torture.
just Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates), Edward Planckaert (Alpecin Deceuninck), Fran Miholjevic (Bahrain Victorious) and Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty) are up front now.
Vito Braet (Intermarché-Wanty) has dropped back and has been caught by the peloton.
The break of the day at the Vuelta a España.
The Vuelta a España passed through the Rioja wine region today.
32km to go
The steady pace in the peloton will surely make the Alto de Moncalvillo climb even more explosive.
25km to go
The break leads by 1:30 but they can sense the peloton behind them.
The Alto de Moncalvillo begins with 8.6km to go.
The profile of the Alto de Moncalvillo.
Red Bull, Groupama and Decathlon are leading the peloton as the GC battle nears.
12km to go
The attackers lead by just 35 seconds.
The break splits as their freedom ends.
Petilli accelerates but he is going nowhere.
Behind, the peloton is almost sprinting to have the best position into the climb.
9km to go
Red Bull are on the front and want to stay there.
Red Bull, EF and Decathlon are banging shoulders as they fight for position.
Red Bull have three riders working for Roglic.
The Red Bull trio are Lipowitz, Dani Martinez and Vlasov.
There are only 30 riders left in the front group. The break as caught and spat out as the climb started.
6km to go
Ouch. The gradient is in double figures now. This hurts.
Behind Roglic are Mas, Carapaz and Gaudu.
But the Red Bull train has dropped everyone!
O'Connor is in the chase group but everyone seems to have eased-up, preferring not to go with Roglic.
Un, dos, tres pic.twitter.com/XJD5fWYyEpSeptember 6, 2024
Vlasov goes deep and suffers, so Roglic takes over and goes solo.
He is spinning his way up the climb but at speed.
4km to go
Roglic already leads his rivals by 35 seconds!
Gaudu tries to chase alone but now Carapaz attacks too.
They are racing for the podium rather than trying to catch Roglic.
O'Connor is the chase group but he is losing the race lead to Roglic.
Landa is dropped and so will lose more time.
Mas accelerates to try to distance Carapaz and others.
O'Connor is suffering. He has to pace himself and race his own race to defend second place in the GC.
He leads Mas by 1:20. That is the gap he has to defend.
3km to go
Roglic leads Mas by 20 seconds. Will he hold it? Surely so.
Mas is arguably the best in this year's Vuelta. Can he fight back?
The O'Connor group is at 45 seconds.
Roglic powers on like a robot.
He will surely take the lead by at least a minute tonight.
Mas has done a superb ride and is only 30 seconds down on Roglic but 30 seconds ahead of everyone else.
Landa and Kuss have fought back to the O'Connor and Carapaz group.
𝙍𝙊𝙂𝙇𝙄𝘾 🆚 𝙈𝘼𝙎#LaVuelta24 pic.twitter.com/VyASBxiYr1September 6, 2024
1km to go
O'Connor is suffering and losing contact with his GC podium rivals.
Here comes Roglic!
Roglic suges to the finish to set-up yet another overall Vuelta victory.
Gaudu kicks hard to pass Mas at the finish to finish second.
Skelmose also mugs Mas and so the Spaniard misses out on any bonus seconds.
Ben O'Connor races hard all the way to the line but finishes 1:49 down on Roglic.
That could cost him a podium place.
Meanwhile, Roglic is already on the rollers, warming down. He does not even look to tired.
Thanks to attacks, shake-out and time gaps, Roglic takes the race lead but O'Connor is second at 1:54.
However Mas is third at just 2:20, with Carapaz a threat at 2:54. Gaudu is fifth at 4:33.
This is the first shot of Roglic winning the stage.
That was another thrilling finish. Red Bull and Roglic dominated but there was a real fight for the podium places and even the young rider's white jersey.
Roglic is about to pull on his 40th red Vuelta leader's jersey.
He hunted he did not want to win the stage but his teammates rode all day for him and especially on the start of the climb, when they dropped all the other GC contenders.
On the podium Roglic lists the trophy that shows the stage profile and the steep finish.
Roglic was, as so often, cryptical when spoke immediately after the stage.
"I had some really nice memories from this climb and it didn't disappoint," he said.
"I said I don't need the stage but I will not say their names but some guys (in the team?) decided we don't listen to you anyway, we pull, saying: 'We have nothing else to do.'
"I had to make a call and I say, OK, we have to all be on the same side, then we go for it."
Roglic refuted the idea that the job was done, that he has sealed overall victory in the Vuelta.
"Not really, uh," he said.
"We say all the time 'the queen stage is to come', the last one is tomorrow, the big one. Definitely super hard.
"Then we don't do the normal laps in Madrid. It's again a decisive day for the GC in the time trial.
It's far from done. It's better than five minutes behind. I'm happy with the way I'm functioning and definitely happy with the guys."
It was a hard day in the saddle, for everyone.
To read out full stage report and see our photo gallery and results, click below.
Vuelta a España: Primož Roglič seizes race lead with victory atop Alto de Moncalvillo on stage 19
Here is Roglic in red.
The Vuelta mountains continue for one last day on Saturday with stage 20 to Picón Blanco.
The 172km stage includes 7 categorised climbs? Roglic and Red Bull are in charge but the Vuelta is far from over.
Join us for full live coverage during the weekend. W'ell have full stage reports and news and interviews from Alasdair Fotheringham and Barry Ryan in Spain.
