Vuelta Tour Of Spain

The 31-year-old Irishman claimed victory on Saturday amid a mass sprint in Utrecht, and backed up his points classification credentials with a second Grand Tour stage in as many days in Breda.

As the Vuelta packs up to make the transfer to Spain following its start in the Netherlands, it means Bennett – left out of the Tour de France for a second successive year – leads the points standings.

With such a strong performance to date, the BORA-hansgrohe rider is not ruling out a sustained push for the green jersey, but Bennett acknowledges the riders have barely scratched the surface of this year's race.

"There is a long way to go [and] anything can happen," Bennett said, quoted by Cycling News. "But we want the sprint jersey and we will start to commit more to look at points.

"We have two stages now, so we can make bigger decisions on when to take points and when to leave them. Hopefully we can compete for the green – that would be really nice."

Mads Pedersen nabbed second for the second day in a row, while Briton Dan McLay improved his day-by-day performance from sixth to third.

The race will resume on Tuesday, starting from Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Basque Country, with Edoardo Affini leading a top-six lockout for Jumbo-Visma in the general classification standings.

Affini is tied on the clock with three-time reigning champion Primoz Roglic, plus Sam Oomen, Sepp Kuss, Mike Teunissen and Robert Gesink.

STAGE RESULT

1. Sam Bennett (BORA-Hansgrohe) 4:05:53
2. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) same time
3. Dan McLay (Arkea-Samsic) same time
4. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) same time
5. Fabian Lienhard (Groupama-FDJ) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS 

General Classification

1. Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma) 8:20:07
2. Sam Oomen (Jumbo-Visma) same time
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) same time

Points Classification

1. Sam Bennett (BORA-hansgrohe) 117
2. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 80
3. Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) 34

King of the Mountains

1. Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) 3
2. Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) 2
3. Thibault Guernalec (Arkea-Samsic) 1

Astana Pro Team rider Izagirre made his move in the final 3km of Sunday's climb to Formigal to finish 25 seconds ahead of Michael Woods and Rui Costa.

The 31-year-old timed his attack well, something brother and team-mate Gorka failed to do earlier in the race, as he added a fourth Grand Tour stage victory.

An eventful final climb also saw overnight leader Roglic lose pace with Carapaz, who finished 55 seconds behind Izagirre but still did enough to take the General Classification lead and the red jersey.

Roglic was visibly struggling with around 2km to go and Carapaz took full advantage with a late attack, although he did not have the legs to keep up with Hugh Carthy in the final stretch.

EF Pro Cycling's Carthy bridged the gap to the other contenders and moved into second place, with Roglic slipping to fourth behind Dan Martin.

"We have been working very well this week, we have been performing well, and today we had a go," said Carapaz, whose INEOS team-mate Tao Geoghegan Hart won the Giro d'Italia on Sunday. 

"We have done very well, and this is the reward for the whole team. We had more than one scare and that encouraged Movistar to pull in the end. 

"I knew the end of the stage and, to begin with, I let others who were interested do a bit. There were many attacks. 

"I had calculated the distance and I attacked at the right time. There is still a lot of the Vuelta to go and we are going to defend it - it is a luxury to be able to defend it."
 

STAGE RESULT

1. Ion Izaguirre (Astana Pro Team) 03:41:00
2. Michael Woods (EF Pro Cycling) +00:25
3. Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) +00:25
4. Rob Power (Team Sunweb) +00:27
5. Michael Valgren (NTT Pro Cycling) +00:27

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) 24:34:39
2. Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling) +00:18
3. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) +00:20

Points Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 79
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) 61
3. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) 57

King of the Mountains

1. Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) 19
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) 18
3. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) 16

What's next?

After a rest day on Monday, the riders return on Tuesday with stage seven and have two climbs to navigate of the Alto de Orduna, involving an inclination of 14 per cent. The final climb takes place 18km from the finish line in what could be a decisive stretch.

After Friday's first mountain stage of the 2021 Vuelta, it was back to a near flat run from Santa Pola to La Manga del Mar Menor on Saturday, resulting in a mass scramble in the closing kilometre.

With his Deceuninck-QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere watching on, after travelling to join the team in Spain, Jakobsen was guided towards victory by a determined collective effort.

Florian Senechal led a burst at the front of the pack, spreading the peloton and allowing team-mate Jakobsen space to come steaming through to fend off another fast finisher in Alberto Dainese.

For 24-year-old Dutchman Jakobsen, it means that he has two stage wins already in this Vuelta – he also won twice in the 2019 race – and sits top of the points classification.

"It's very special to be here again," he said on Eurosport, as he celebrated his victory.

"The team did a perfect job. They kept the speed high, and even though I lost them a little bit I was still in a good position and I launched my sprint in the corner with 200 [metres] to go, and I was the fastest I think.

"It was about being strong, fast, and it's about timing. On a finish like this you need to be on time – I've been twice too late and this time I was perfectly right from the corner and I could do a full sprint to the line."

Jakobsen suffered a massive crash at the Tour de Pologne in August of last year, which led to him being put into an induced coma, and he spoke later of being thankful to have survived.

The Vuelta has been good to him, and on Saturday he said: "Two years ago I won twice – I'm extremely happy and grateful to be here. This is what we will keep on doing, trying to win sprints."

There was barely a straggler to be found, with the leading 136 riders on the stage all crossing the finish line within a minute of Jakobsen.

It meant the leading positions in the general classification were unaffected, with Primoz Roglic staying in La Roja as the general classification leader, the Jumbo-Visma rider still eight seconds ahead of Bora-Hansgrohe's Felix Grossschartner.

STAGE RESULT

1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick Step) 3:56:05
2. Alberto Dainese (Team DSM) +0:00
3. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) +0:00
4. Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:00
5. Itamar Einhorn (Israel Start-Up Nation) +0:00

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 29:14:40
2. Felix Grossschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:08
3. Enric Mas (Movistar) +0:25

Points Classification

1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) 180
2. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) 164
3. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 74

King of the Mountains

1. Pavel Sivakov (INEOS Grenadiers) 16
2. Michael Storer (Team DSM) 12
3. Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) 11

What's next?

After the rather routine nature of Saturday's ride, Sunday will be a wholly different story. It is back to the mountains for the 188km race from Puerto Lumbreras to Alto de Velefique. The riders will have it relatively easy in the first 90km, before the serious ascents begin with the category one Collado Venta Luisa.

Alpecin-Fenix rider Jakobsen edged out Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick Step) in Burgos on Sunday at the end of a 166.7-kilometre flat stage that started in Caleruega.

Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange) took third place as 23-year-old Belgian Jakobsen claimed his second Vuelta stage win after being led out brilliantly by his team-mates.

Primoz Roglic retained the red jersey with a lead of four seconds over Alex Aranburu following the defending champion's time-trial triumph on the opening stage.

Sprinter Jordi Meeus was among the Bora-Hansgrohe riders who were involved in a crash four kilometres from the end of the second day.

Diego Rubio (Burgos-BH), Sergio Martin (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Xabier Mikel Azparren (Euskaltel-Euskadi) made an early break on a hot, draining day for the riders.

Rubio looked the strongest of that breakaway trio and he tried to go solo, but was caught with a little over 20 kilometres to go to set up the sprint finish that was anticipated.

Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) hit the front with 200 metres remaining, with Matthews on his wheel, but it was Jakobsen who nipped in front to take the victory.

He said: "It's incredible. Yesterday someone put it in our team group chat [that they could win the first sprint of all three Grand Tours] and for sure it was a dream but I didn't want to think about it because the chance is always less high than it would be true.

"It just shows how everyone from team is really motivated. It was a team effort and we can be really proud. It was amazing to see all my team-mates there and everyone on the front line. I had a lot of support and this is how we can win sprints.

"Each of us can be very happy tonight and we start this Grand Tour in a good way."

STAGE RESULT

1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) 03:58:57
2. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep)
3. Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange)
4. Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates)
5. Alex Aranburu (Astana-Premier Tech)

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 0:08:32
2. Alex Aranburu (Astana-Premier Tech) +0:04
3. Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange) +0:10

Points Classification

1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) 50
2. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) 50
3. Alex Aranburu (Astana-Premier Tech 50

King of the Mountains

1. Sepp Cuss (Jumbo-Visma) 3
2. Sep Vanmarcke (Israel Start-Up Nation) 2
3. Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) 1

What's next?

A first high-altitude finale in Picon Blanco awaits the riders, who will start a demanding 202.8km third stage in Santo Domingo de Silos.

Jakobsen suffered life-threatening injuries in a high-speed smash on the opening stage of the Tour of Poland last year but has made an incredible recovery.

The Deceuninck-Quick Step rider showed great power and speed to take the stage win in Molina de Aragon ahead of Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ), with Magnus Cort (EF Education Nippo) crossing the line in third place.

Dutchman Jakobsen left it late to dart inside Demare for a magnificent victory in an uphill finish at the end of a 163.9 kilometre route from El Burgo de Osma.

Michael Matthews had talked up his chances of winning the stage, but the Australian could not get a clear run and had to settle for fifth place behind Alberto Dainese.

Taaramae was rocked when he went down as the pace was stepped up near the end, yet he remains the race leader by a margin of 25 seconds over Kenny Elissonde as he crashed in the final 3km.

Carlos Canal, Angel Madrazo and Joan Bou spent much the stage at the front after breaking away from the start, but they were caught with 13km to go

Jakobsen said: "It's a dream come true. After the crash, I was a long way back, but I'm happy I'm here.

"A lot of time and effort has gone into this by a lot of people, and it's also their victory. I'm talking about all the doctors and surgeons and medical staff in Poland, through to my second family here with the team, and everything in between.

"It's also their victory. It's also my family's victory because they're the reason I'm here."

STAGE RESULT

1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick) 03:43:07 
2. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) same time
3. Magnus Cort (EF Education Nippo) same time
4. Alberto Dainese (Team DSM) same time
5. Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 13:08:51
2. Kenny Elissonde (Trek–Segafredo) +0:25
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +0:30

Points Classification

1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) 100
2. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) 68
3. Alex Aranburu (Astana-Premier Tech) 50

King of the Mountains

1. Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 10
2. Kenny Elissonde (Trek–Segafredo) 7
3. Joe Dombrowski (UAE Team Emirates) 6

What's next?

A flat 184.4km stage five from Tarancon to Albacete is likely to end with another sprint finish unless high winds are a major factor.

The Australian, a late convert from indoor cycling, finished a comfortable 15 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel, though the Belgian still took the red jersey, which hands for the third day in a row.

Enric Mas remained in the hunt with a third-place finish, sitting 28 seconds behind Evenepoel in the General Classification, while Primoz Roglic could not keep pace and finished over a minute behind his rivals.

Juan Ayuso came fourth, 55 seconds off the lead, while Rudy Molard – second in the standings and 21 seconds behind Evenepoel – finished 35th on the day.

Evenepoel's charge to the top of the standings sees the Belgian become the youngest leader of the Vuelta since Ettore Pastorelli 34 years ago, taking the red jersey following an unprecedented summit finish at Pico Jano.

Three more days of action over the weekend before the next rest period in Alicante on Monday leaves plenty left to be decided, and there have been several surprises over the course of the week.

Vine's jubilation

Vine was understandably over the moon with his performance and found himself looking back on fulfilling a dream after a tricky start.

"It's almost unreal. At 70k to go, I missed the break; got a flat tyre in the first 5k. Even though it was still the team's plan if it all came back together for me to go on the final climb, it's unreal to be able to do it," he told Eurosport.

"From the GC group, it's incredible. I've been working towards this all year, after last year, coming so close. It's a dream come true."

STAGE RESULT

1. Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 04:38:00

2. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) +00:00:15

3. Enric Mas (Movistar) +00:00:16

4. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) +00:00:55

5. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +00:01:37

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 20:50:07

2. Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) +00:00:21

3. Enric Mas (Movistar) +00:00:28

Points Classification

1. Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) 127

2. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 118

3. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 47

King of the Mountain

1. Victor Langellotti (Burgos-BH) 13

2. Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 11

3. Ruben Fernandez (Cofidis) 11

Defending champion Roglic won his fourth stage of this edition of the race on the 33.7 kilometre route, which started in Muros and finished with a steep climb up to the Mirador de Ezaro.

Roglic clocked a time of 46 minutes and 39 seconds, edging Will Barta by one second, to take a 39-second lead in the battle for the red jersey.

Richard Carapaz of INEOS Grenadiers, who started the day leading the General Classification, is second after finishing the stage 49 seconds back in seventh.

Despite his advantage, Roglic is taking little for granted ahead of the final five stages.

"I felt strong - surprising. I thought I'd suffer a lot more," said Roglic.

"Today went quite fine. We know it's not a fun thing to do the time trial, but I had the legs.

"I'd rather be 39 seconds ahead than behind, but we need to keep our focus."

STAGE RESULT

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 46:39
2. William Barta (CCC Team) +00:01
3. Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) +00:10
4. Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling) +00:25
5. Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ) +00:41

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 49:16:16
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) +00:39
3. Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling) +00:47

Points Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 172
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) 113
3. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) 103

King of the Mountains

1. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) 76
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) 30
3. Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) 27

What's next?

A much longer challenge awaits the riders on stage 14, which is a 204.7km route from Lugo to Ourense that features a category three climb near its finish.

The demanding 18th stage concluded with a 14.6-kilometre climb - and it was with roughly with four to go that Lopez made his move. 

With a group of the world's best riders not far behind and primed to take advantage should he ultimately come up short, the Colombian knew he would likely need to maintain his aggression all the way to the finish. 

And despite the chasing pack edging a little closer in the latter stages, Lopez did enough to cross the line up in the clouds at the summit finish on Altu d'El Gamoniteiru, ending up 14 seconds clear. 

Missing out on first place will have been of little concern for Roglic, however, as the two-time Vuelta winner added another few seconds to his overall advantage over Lopez's Movistar team-mate Enric Mas as he enjoyed a strong conclusion to the last major climb of the race. 

Despite finishing well, Roglic stressed just how difficult Thursday's outing was after a superb effort when winning stage 17, while he was happy to be done with the high mountains at the Vuelta for 2021. 

"It felt like a queen stage, it was really hard, especially after yesterday's effort," he said. "It was extremely hard for me and I'm happy that I had something left to climb this mountain. 

"We were off duty [with Bahrain Victorious and Movistar Team pulling the peloton]. In my opinion, we could have gone easier! It was a hard pace and a hard day from start to finish. 

"I'm happy we're done with the big mountains. We're all feeling the efforts from the last two days and the three weeks before. 

"Still there are hard stages to come. Hopefully, we can do our best and finish it off." 

STAGE RESULT

1. Miguel Angel Lopez (Movistar) 04:41:21
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +0:14
3. Enric Mas (Movistar) +0:20

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 73:24:25
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) +2:30
3. Miguel Angel Lopez (Movistar) +2:53

Points Classification

1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 250
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 162
3. Matteo Trentin (UAE-Team Emirates) 123

King of the Mountains

1. Michael Storer (Team DSM) 59
2. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) 54
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 48

What's next?

Friday's 191.2km route from Tapia to Monforte de Lemos could be decisive. Considered "hilly" rather than mountainous, the peloton is likely to be tired after the exploits of Thursday, meaning opportunities for breakaways should be presented.

The UAE-Team Emirates rider went solo with 87 kilometres of the 197.5km route from Navalmoral de la Mata to El Barraco remaining and held off a chase led by Steven Kruijswijk.

Majka finished one minute and 27 seconds ahead of Jumbo-Visma's Kruijswijk for his first stage win in four years, with Chris Hamilton of Team DSM taking third.

"Sometimes you try and it's not easy to to get in break, but today I tried from the start," Majka said. "I didn't wait for nobody today. 

"I wanted to win the stage. I wanted to win for my father and my two two kids. I only thought of one thing.

"I had a bad start to the season and it wasn't easy for me and my family, especially when my father died. I wanted to win for him, for my kids and for my great team UAE Team Emirates."

There was no change in terms of the general classification standings on Sunday as race leader Odd Christian Eiking retained his 54s lead on Guillaume Martin, while two-time defending champion Primoz Roglic remains third.

However, there was some drama as Adam Yates jumped ahead of the peloton to snatch 15s on Eiking and the rest of the chasing pack in the battle for the red jersey.

INEOS Grenadiers rider Jonathan Narvaez abandoned the race midway through and Jonathan Caicedo did not start as they joined fellow Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz in dropping out.

STAGE RESULT

1. Rafal Majka (UAE-Team Emirates) 04:51:36
2. Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) +1:27
3. Chris Hamilton (Team DSM) +2:19
4. Adam Yates (INEOS Grenadiers) +2:42
5. Giulio Ciccone (Trek - Segafredo) +2:57

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 59:57:50
2. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) +0:54
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +1:36

Points Classification

1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 200
2. Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF Education–Nippo) 114
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 108

King of the Mountains

1. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) 50 
2. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) 31
3. Rafal Majka (UAE-Team Emirates) 29

What's next?

After a much-needed day of rest, the riders go again on Tuesday with a flat 180km stretch from Laredo to Santo Cruz de Bezana. It is the last clear stage for the sprinters, so expect a mass sprint for the finish line.

Soler looked like he could be cruelly denied victory in the final kilometre with a group of six chasing and appearing to be in striking distance, but there was little support as they looked to bridge the gap in the closing stages.

The 28-year-old's victory secured Spain's first stage win on any Grand Tour for almost two years, the last being Ion Izagirre in 2020 - bringing an end to a 121-stage barren run for the home nation.

The UAE Team Emirates rider finished four seconds ahead of a group of 10 riders behind him, which included Rudy Molard - who climbed to the top of the standings with a fourth-place finish to take the red jersey, with former leader Primoz Roglic finishing five minutes and nine seconds behind Soler.

Molard's lead puts him at the top for the first time since 2018, when he led on four occasions, and boasts five of the seven stage leads that French riders have had since 2018.

Daryl Impey came second ahead of Fred Wright, the latter still waiting for his first stage win of the competition this year but sitting just two seconds behind Molard in the standings.

Wright holds regret

Still seeking a first stage win this year, Wright was frustrated by the fact he was unable to catch Soler for the lead.

"I was feeling strong but I'm disappointed, I was just too marked. We should have caught him, plain and simple, but it just didn't happen," he told Eurosport.

"It's a shame that I'm close to that win again. I'm sure there will be better days."

STAGE RESULT

1. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 4:15:23

2. Daryl Impey (Israel-Premier Tech) +00:00:04

3. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) +00:00:04

4. Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) +00:00:04

5. G Lawson Craddock (Team Bikeexchange-Jayco) +00:00:04

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) 16:07:02

2. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) +0:02

3. Nikias Arndt (Team DSM) +1:09

Points Classification

1. Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) 127

2. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 118

3. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 47

King of the Mountains

1. Victor Langellotti (Burgos-BH) 13

2. Roger Adria Oliveras (Equipo Kern Pharma) 6

3. G Lawson Craddock (Team Bikeexchange-Jayco) 5

Three-time reigning champion Roglic crashed just before the line on Tuesday, having looked set to take the lead off Evenepoel, who has now held the red jersey for 12 stages of this year's event.

Roglic's chances of an unprecedented fourth straight Vuelta title are now over after the Slovenian elected to withdraw from the race, leaving Mas as Evenepoel's closest rival.

Yet the Spaniard was unable to close the gap on Wednesday as Evenepoel and his Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team managed the red jersey group, with both riders collecting the same time after a 162-kilometre route from Aracena to Monasterio de Tentudia.

Rigoberto Uran claimed a breakaway win, sealing his first individual success at La Vuelta, meaning the 35-year-old has now won a stage at each of the Grand Tours.

Jesus Herrada led until just before the finish, with Uran timing his final attack to perfection to hold off Quentin Pacher and become the fourth different Colombian rider to win a stage at La Vuelta since the start of the 2019 edition.

Mas had to settle for 15th, one place behind Evenepoel, and knows his Movistar team will have to come up with something special to topple the Belgian in the race's final days.

"We go day by day, I think every day is super important. Yesterday you all saw the crash of Primoz. We need to be very focused," Mas said. "It's not nice when somebody crashes. He's a super rider, a super good person. I think it's s*** that Roglic is not here anymore.

"I don't know what we're going to do tomorrow, but if we have good legs and a good feeling, and the atmosphere in the team is super good, we have to do something, no?"

Evenepoel betters Merckx 

He may hold a lead of over two minutes, but Evenepoel is not taking anything for granted, and delivered an expertly controlled ride to keep his rivals at bay.

"Pretty tough, it was not easy at all. Especially the run-in was really nervous and also a big road going quite steep. It looked easier on television than it was in real life," he said.

Evenepoel is the first rider to lead La Vuelta for 12 consecutive stages since 2019, when Roglic led for the final 12. The 22-year-old has now overtaken the great Eddy Merckx as fourth on the list of Belgians with the most days leading the race, after Gustaaf Deloor (32), Freddy Maertens (22) and Rick van Looy (13).

STAGE RESULT

1. Rigoberto Uran (EF Education–EasyPost) 3:42:28
2. Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) same time
3. Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) +0:02
4. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) +0:15
5. Kelly Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) +0:26

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 65:14:05
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) +2:01
3. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) +4:51

Points Classification

1. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 349
2. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) 149
3. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 133

King of the Mountains

1. Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 59
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Greandiers) 30
3. Thymen Arensman (Team DSM) 22

Fresh from claiming Slovenia's first Olympic gold medal in any cycling discipline, Roglic – who has triumphed at the Vuelta in the previous two years – was the last man out in Burgos.

The 31-year-old Jumbo-Visma rider set a blistering pace around the 7.1kilometre route, which he completed in just eight minutes and 32 seconds – six seconds clear of nearest challenger Alex Aranburu (Astana-PremierTech).

Aranburu had held top spot for much of the stage, but has to settle for second heading into stage two. Jan Tratnik, of Bahrain-Victorious, rounds out the top three, trailing Roglic by eight seconds.

Roglic was forced to abandon the Tour de France after a brutal first week but headed to Spain on a high following his success in Japan, and is aiming to become the first rider to win the Vuelta three times in a row since Roberto Heras in 2005. He is also bidding to draw level with Tony Rominger and Alberto Contador on three triumphs should he keep hold of the red jersey.

"It's a beautiful start, I'm enjoying it, and we hopefully can enjoy it as a team in the upcoming days," said Roglic.

Giro d'Italia champion Egan Bernal skipped the Tour and is considered Roglic's prime challenger, but the Colombian suffered on Saturday and lost 27 seconds to his rival.

Tom Piddock, who won a mountain biking gold for Great Britain in Tokyo, made his grand tour debut for INEOS Grenadiers, clocking in 36 seconds slower than Roglic.

"That was horrible. I've basically had three weeks of holidays," said Piddock.

STAGE RESULT

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 0:08:32
2. Alex Aranburu Deba (Astana-Premier Tech) +0:06
3. Jan Tratnik (Bahrain Victorious) +0:08
4. Tom Scully (EF Education-Nippo) +0:10
5. Josef Cerny (Deceuninck-QuickStep) +0:10

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 0:08:32
2. Alex Aranburu Deba (Astana-Premier Tech) +0:06
3. Jan Tratnik (Bahrain Victorious) +0:08

Points Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 20
2. Alex Aranburu Deba (Astana-Premier Tech) 17
3. Jan Tratnik (Bahrain Victorious) 15

King of the Mountains

1. Sepp Cuss (Jumbo-Visma) 3
2. Sep Vanmarcke (Israel Start-Up Nation) 2
3. Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) 1

What's next?

The Vuelta rolls from Caleruega to Burgos, a 166.7km flat route with a sprint finish, giving the sprinters an early opportunity to shine.

Pedersen, who was also victorious over stages 13 and 16, saw off challenges from Fred Wright and Gianni Vermeersch over a 138.3-kilometre stretch on Friday, adding to his lead in the Points Classification.

Remco Evenepoel, meanwhile, retained La Roja and is closing in on an overall victory after a long downhill ride to the line prevented any challengers from gaining time on the race leader.

Brandon McNulty, Jonathan Caicedo and Ander Okamika led a three-man breakaway at the outset of the twin-mountain stage, comprising two laps of a circuit containing the Puerto del Pielago climb, but they were hauled back with 49 kilometres remaining.

Pedersen's Trek-Segafredo team then fended off several attacks as the stage built towards a bunch sprint, in which Pedersen turned on the style to beat Wright to another important triumph. 

"It was definitely really hard to control the bunch today but man, the team did so impressive. Everybody was so dedicated and working really hard," Pedersen said after crossing the line.

"It's never easy in a final like this, it's a lot of good guys in the peloton in the end. I was really happy with the speed the boys could keep at the end. 

"Three wins is of course super, super nice. Tomorrow we have to finish the day and then in Madrid we'll see how it goes. But I think no matter what, we can be really happy with these three weeks in Spain."

Pedersen secures treble

As well as extending his commanding lead in the Points Classification standings, Pedersen's win made him the first rider to bring up three stage victories in this year's race. The Dane moves clear of Sam Bennett, Jay Vine, Evenepoel and Richard Carapaz, who have two wins apiece this year.

Pedersen had managed just one stage victory at Grand Tours ahead of the Vuelta, taking stage 13 at the Tour de France in July.

STAGE RESULT 

1. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 3:19:11
2. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) same time
3. Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck) same time
4. Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers) same time
5. Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 73:18:23
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) +2:07
3. Juan Ayuso Pesquera (UAE Team Emirates) +5:14

Points Classification

1. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 379
2. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) 174
3. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 133

King of the Mountains

1. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) 50
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) 26
3. Thymen Arensman (Team DSM) 23

Evenepoel had suffered a fall on Thursday but kept safely in the peloton in stage 13 to ensure history hunting Roglic – who crossed over the line in ninth on the uphill finish in Montilla – did not make a dent into his general classification lead.

A bunch sprint for the line was won by Pedersen, who recorded the first Vuelta stage win of his career, following on from a maiden individual success at the Tour de France earlier this year.

Pedersen, who already held the green points jersey, had to react sharply to an attack from Pascal Ackermann in the last 500 metres, but the Dane had too much power and had time to celebrate as he crossed.

Along with Kaden Groves and Bryan Coquard, Pedersen had previously reeled in a three-man breakaway of Julius van den Berg, Ander Okamika and Joan Bou.

Coquard had enough to overtake Ackermann, who just about held onto third place ahead of Fred Wright.

"It's super nice," Trek-Segafredo rider Pedersen told reporters after ensuring a Dane has won at least one stage at La Vuelta for four consecutive editions of the Grand Tour.

"We came here for a stage win and now we have won. We'll keep fighting to get one more.

"It's nice with a comfortable lead in the points jersey. We keep fighting for the stages and we'll see how it goes."

Evenepoel, meanwhile, has now held the red jersey for eight successive stages, the longest such streak for a Belgian at La Vuelta since Ferdi Van den Haute in 1978 (10 stages).

COVID not stopping Ayuso

A raft of positive COVID-19 cases have disrupted this year's race, but one rider who is able to carry on is Juan Ayuso.

The UAE Team Emirates youngster - who sits an impressive fifth returned a positive test result ahead of Friday's stage, and team doctor Adrian Rotunno confirmed the 19-year-old is fine to continue.

"As per our internal protocols Juan Ayuso was tested for COVID-19 and returned a positive result this morning. He is asymptomatic and analysing his PCR found he had a very low risk of infectivity, similar to cases such as we saw at this year's Tour de France," Rotunno confirmed to the media.

STAGE RESULT

1. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 3:46:01
2. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) same time
3. Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) same time
4. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) same time
5. Danny van Poppel (BORA-Hansgrohe) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 48:11:10
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +2:41
3. Enric Mas (Movistar) +3:03

Points Classification

1. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 247
2. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 96
3. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) 96

King of the Mountains

1. Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 40
2. Robert Stannard (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 21
3. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) 20

For Thursday's 15th stage, the riders took on the 230.8-kilometre slog from Mos to Puebla de Sanabria into a near-relentless headwind, with long spells of rain adding to the difficulty.

Deceuninck-Quick Step's Mattia Cattaneo had the lead up and over the final climb of a long day, with riders in the saddle for more than six hours, but the Italian was swallowed up by the chasing pack.

It was Philipsen who had the legs to provide the strongest sprint finish, the UAE Team Emirates star surging nearly a full bike length clear of German duo Pascal Ackermann and Jannik Steimle, who joined him on the podium.

Organisers neutralised the General Classification late on, with timings for the overall standings taken 3km from the finish.

That meant there was no change at the business end of things, with Primoz Roglic still leading the GC ahead of Richard Carapaz and Hugh Carthy.

The win for Philipsen will exorcise the demons of his agonising near-miss on stage four, when he was overtaken on the line by Sam Bennett.

STAGE RESULT

1. Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates) 6:22:36
2. Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) same time
3. Jannik Steimle (Deceuninck-Quick Step) same time
4. Fred Wright (Bahrain-McLaren) same time
5. Dion Smith (Mitchelton-Scott) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 60:19:41
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) +00:39
3. Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling) +00:47

Points Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 178
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) 113
3. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) 111

King of the Mountains

1. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) 89
2. Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) 34
3. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) 30

What's next?

The riders take on the 162km route from Salamanca to Ciudad Rodrigo on stage 16. It's a hilly one with a category-one climb around 30km from the finish line.

With the race resuming on Tuesday after a break to transfer from the Netherlands, the Slovenian moved up from third to take the red jersey with victory from Vitoria-Gasteiz to Laguardia.

Despite no other team members making the top 10 for the day, Roglic was ably supported by his fellow Team Jumbo–Visma riders, who helped him command the final uphill sprint to take victory.

After back-to-back stage wins for Ireland's Sam Bennett, it means Roglic has now reinforced his title defence, dethroning team-mate Edoardo Affini at the top.

Roglic edged Mads Pedersen, whose strong Vuelta continues apace with his third consecutive second-place finish, moving him up to ninth in the General Classification and second in points.

The former's team-mate Sepp Kuss lies second, 13 seconds off the overall lead, though the rest of their fellow Jumbo-Visma riders have slipped down the ranks ahead of Wednesday's leg from Irun to Bilbao.

Roglic happy to build early advantage

For the first time this year, Roglic has built a double-digit lead, and says he is happy to take the early advantage.

"It's really just the beginning of La Vuelta but it's always better to be 10 seconds ahead rather than behind," he stated.

"It was already a hard pace the whole day, with a super fast and hard stage. The finale was an opportunity to fight for the stage win. I had the legs so I gave it a go."

STAGE RESULT

1. Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo-Visma) 3:31:05
2. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) same time
3. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) same time
4. Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) same time
5. Pavel Sivakov (INEOS Grenadiers) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS 

General Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 11:50:59
2. Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) +13 seconds
3. Ethan Hayter (INEOS Grenadiers) +26 seconds

Points Classification

1. Sam Bennett (BORA-Hansgrohe) 127
2. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 118
3. Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) 34

King of the Mountains

1. Joan Bou (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 5
2. Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo-Visma) 3
3. Julius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost) 3

The 77th edition of the Grand Tour starts in Utrecht, with the opening three stages taking place across the Netherlands before the caravan transfers to Spain.

It is only the fourth time that the Vuelta has started outside of Spain, after doing so in Portugal in 1997, the Netherlands in 2009 and France in 2017.

Spanish riders have won 32 of the previous 76 editions, but not since 2014 has a Spaniard triumphed, when Alberto Contador tasted glory.

It is the longest wait for a Spaniard champion in the race's history, and in the last three years, it is Roglic who has dominated.

Meanwhile, Alejandro Valverde, the 2009 champion, will bid goodbye to his home Grand Tour.

Roglic's shot at history

Roglic won his first Vuelta title in 2019 and successfully defended in 2020, despite his heartbreaking defeat to Tadej Pogacar at that year's Tour de France.

He crashed out of Le Tour in 2021 but bounced back in style, winning Olympic gold in Tokyo before clinching a third-straight Vuelta triumph to match the feats of Tony Rominger (1992 to 1994) and Roberto Heras (2003 to 2005).

Now, Roglic has history in his sights. Only Heras has won the Vuelta on four occasions, but no rider has ever won it over four successive years.

The 32-year-old Roglic's Tour de France again ended early this year, as he watched team-mate Jonas Vingegaard storm to success and set up a rivalry with Roglic's compatriot Pogacar that should enthral for years to come; but at the Vuelta, Roglic is Jumbo-Visma's main man.

Roglic has won the Vuelta in all of his three appearances, reaching nine stage wins in this period, more than any other rider (Fabio Jakobsen is the next best, with five to his name). He also claimed the points ranking in both 2019 and 2020, and could equal Erik Zabel (three) as joint-second on the all-time list for that classification, behind Sean Kelly, Valverde and Laurent Jalabert (four each).

"Of course the record gives me more motivation, it's special," said Roglic in a press conference on Thursday. "We're going to fight for that."

There are some concerns over his fitness after the injury he suffered at Le Tour, however.

Roglic said: "At certain moments I still feel some pain, but it is already much better than before. We'll see. If I get to the start here, it means I'm ready too. But I'll have to wait and see in the coming days and weeks to find out how it really goes."

Roglic could also feasibly set a record for the most stages wearing the red leader's jersey. He is currently level with Herras on 36, 12 behind Alex Zulle's haul of 48.

A last dance for Vuelta veterans?

Valverde, of Movistar, will be making his 16th Vuelta appearance. The 42-year-old has achieved more podium finishes in the general classification than any other rider, having done so on seven occasions, including his 2009 success.

If he completes the race, Valverde, who has won 12 individual stages at La Vuelta, will equal Federico Etxabe, Chente Garcia Acosta and Inigo Cuesta as riders who have finished the most times (14).

"To win a stage would be incredible," Valverde said on Thursday. "I don't believe I will be at the same level as the best during 21 days, but we do have a team-mate who can be among the top three or perhaps even win. What I see for myself is that I will try to win a stage."

Chris Froome, meanwhile, is a two-time Vuelta champion who is out to prove himself once more.

The seven-time Grand Tour winner has been struggling with COVID-19 in the build-up this time but is set to make his eighth appearance in the race, having finished on the podium four times, taking the 2011 and 2017 titles.

The first of those victories was only awarded to Froome in 2019 after original race winner Juan Jose Cobo was disqualified for a doping offence.

In a stellar career, Froome has become the first British rider to win all three of the biggest races in cycling.

Cort claimed a breakaway victory up the summit of Alto de la Montana de Cullera following a 158km route on Thursday.

EF Education-Nippo rider Cort finished just ahead of two-time defending champion Roglic, who could not quite catch the Dane up the 1.9km climb.

However, Roglic's efforts proved too much for Kenny Elissonde, who was dropped on the final ascent and had to relinquish La Roja to Slovenia's Olympic gold medallist.

Indeed, Elissonde fell out of the top 10 altogether, with another pre-race favourite – Colombian star Egan Bernal – rising to fifth in the general classification standings, 41 seconds behind Roglic.

Though Roglic's lead at the top of the GC is 25 seconds, the stage victory belonged to Cort.

"This one is special for me in a very different way. The stages I win are always in sprints and I'm very happy to show I can also do it in other terrains and finish off a breakaway like this today," he said.

"I knew we still had a chance. It's hard to know how big the gap is because they go fast in the bunch before a climb like that to get position.

"I could see we had a little gap. For me it was about getting as quickly as possible to the top. I hoped that none of my breakaway companions could stay in the wheel and I'd keep the bunch behind me. It was very close and I'm very happy that I kept Roglic just behind.

"I looked back with 150 metres to go and I could see him coming. I sprinted with everything I had and I luckily could keep him behind me."

STAGE RESULT

1. Magnus Cort (EF Education-Nippo) 3:30:53
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) same time
3. Andrea Bagioli (Deceuninck-QuickStep) +0:00:02
4. Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) +0:00:04
5. Enric Mas (Movistar) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 21:04:09
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) +0:25
3. Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Movistar) +0:36

Points Classification

1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) 131
2. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) 130
3. Magnus Cort (EF Education-Nippo) 67

King of the Mountains

1. Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 10
2. Kenny Elissonde (Trek–Segafredo) 7
3. Joe Dombrowski (UAE Team Emirates) 6

What's next?

A 152km route from Gandia to the Balcon de Alicante takes La Vuelta into the mountains. There are six categorised climbs, including a category one summit finish. This is when Roglic, Alejandro Valverde, Bernal and the other favourites could really break clear.

After losing out on Tour de France glory to Tadej Pogacar in dramatic fashion in September, Roglic quickly laid down a marker in the final Grand Tour of the year.

The Slovenian attacked on the category one ascent of the Alto de Arrate – the final test on the 173-kilometre stage from Irun to Eibar – and beat Richard Carapaz to the line to take a five-second lead in the General Classification.

Only eight riders managed to stay within 10 seconds of Roglic, with Jumbo-Visma team-mate Tom Dumoulin and 2009 champion Alejandro Valverde – both considered among the other contenders for glory in Spain – already over a minute behind in the GC.

Roglic said: "It's nice to win. I'm really happy. The team showed again that they're all really strong. They worked perfectly through the whole stage and in the end I was able to win so it's a beautiful start.

"It was already hard before the final climb, and then we were going full gas. We have crazy guys like Sepp [Kuss] and I'm just happy to win it in the end.

"It's a strange season so I'll just enjoy the leader's jersey, starting from tomorrow, and the fact that we're racing."

Thibaut Pinot lost over 10 minutes, while Chris Froome, contesting his final Grand Tour with INEOS, finished more than 11 minutes back.

STAGE RESULT

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 4:22:34
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS) +00:01
3. Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) +00:01
4. Jhoan Esteban Chaves (Mitchelton-Scott) +00:01
5. Felix Grossschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe) +00:01

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS 

General Classification  

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 04:22:24
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS) +00:05
3. Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) +00:07 

Points Classification  

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 25
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS) 20
3. Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) 16 

King of the Mountains

1. Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) 10
2. Quentin Jauregui (AG2R La Mondiale) 6
3. Enric Mas (Movistar) 6 

WHAT'S NEXT? 

The 151.6km ride from Pamplona to Lekunberri includes three categorised climbs, the last of which lasts for 9.4km at an average gradient of 7.9 per cent.

Roglic was sent sprawling after touching wheels with Wright with just 150 metres remaining at the end of a dramatic stage 16 on Tuesday, and withdrew from the race the following day.

Three-time reigning champion Roglic had been second in the overall standings, and his withdrawal leaves Remco Evenepoel as the overwhelming favourite to clinch victory when the race concludes in Madrid on Sunday.

Speaking to Jumbo-Visma's team website on Friday, Roglic expressed his displeasure at the way his race ended and singled out Wright for blame.

"I can walk a little bit. I am happy with that for the moment," Roglic said. "After the crash, it took me time to straighten things out. I asked myself, 'how can this be?'

"My conclusion is that the way this crash happened is unacceptable. Not everyone saw it correctly. The crash was not caused by a bad road or a lack of safety but by a rider's behaviour.

"I don't have eyes on my back. Otherwise, I would have run wide. Wright came from behind and rode the handlebars out of my hands before I knew it."

Jumbo-Visma director Richard Plugge was equally unhappy with Wright's behaviour, adding: "Ten years ago, the older riders were sounding the alarm because the younger ones showed less respect, took irresponsible risks, and pushed their way through everything. 

"The younger ones of yesteryear are the older riders of today. But you still hear the same discussion, even though we are a generation ahead. So that has to change. 

"I'm glad that Primoz is speaking out, looking in the mirror and naming the behaviour of riders as well."

Bahrain Victorious rider Wright is second in the Points Classification standings, but is some 205 points adrift of Mads Pedersen after losing out to the Dane across Friday's 19th stage.

Roglic's withdrawal marks his latest setback during a difficult year. He was forced to leave the Tour de France ahead of the final rest day after suffering injuries sustained in a crash with a stray hay bale on stage five in July.