Pau, Tuesday, September 3rd 2019 – Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo-Visma) delivered a performance that overwhelmed his opponents in the individual time-trial from Jurançon to Pau (36.2km) to claim both the stage win and the leader’s red jersey after 10 days of racing at La Vuelta 19.
The Slovenian took the 36.2km hilly ITT in 47:05 and opened significant gaps over his rivals. Second spot went to Kiwi Patrick Bevin (CCC Team) at 25″ with Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck – Quick Step) in third.
Stage 10 ITT profile
The only member of the top 10 on GC to put in a convincing performance was Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Merida) who placed ninth a full 1’27” down. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) moved into second on GC, but after finishng 13th on the stage trails Roglic by 1’52”. Miguel Ángel López (Astana Pro Team) retained his third spot despite finsing 14th, 2′ down however it was Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team), who was leading the race before this time-trial, that suffered the most sliding to fourth on GC, a mammoth 3’ down.
Roglič is only the second Slovenian rider to wear La Roja in La Vuelta history. The first was Janez Brajkovič who took red after Astana won the Stage 1 TTT in 2013.
Cycling: La Vuelta Stage 10 RED LEADER JERSEY/ ROGLIC Primoz ROGLIC (SLO).
Stage 9: Andorra la Vella to Cortals d’Encamp, 94.4km
Young gun Pogačar rides the storm to take solo win, Quintana takes Red
Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates) bests both mountains and weather to take a first Grand Tour stage with a solo win in Cortals d’Encamp. A second place gives Nairo Quintana the race lead for the first time since 2016.
Cortals d’Encamp, Sunday, September 1st 2019 – The 20 year-old Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) claimed a spectacular stage win in Cortals d’Encamp after a short fast but action-packed day of racing.
Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) finished second to claim La Roja, 6” ahead of Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo-Visma). The Colombian climber leads La Vuelta for the first time since his overall victory in 2016.
The early action on a stage comprising five categorised climbs, featured a substantial breakaway by some 30 riders. A feature rider was Team Ineos’ Tao Geoghegan Hart who attacked form the outset and then did sporadically during the stage right up to the final climb to Cortals d’Encamp. He was overhauled by the main contenders, including Marc Soler (Movistar) Ben O’Connor (TDD), Geoffroy Bouchard (ALM) and Pogačar.
The terrain was already pushing the limits of the riders but a thunderstorm on a section of gravel road brought rain and hail made the race even more brutal, leading to crashes for Lopez and Primoz Roglic (TJV).
The stage and race lead were up for grabs after overnight leader Nicolas Edet (Cofidis, Solutions Crédits) destined to lose over six minutes after being dropped at the halfway mark, and it Soler who was striking out for a stage win. An attack by Quintana saw team ambitions take over and Soler was forced to stop three kilometres from the summit pull for the Columbian and sacrifice his chance at stage glory.
Pogačar had no such conflict and reiterating the statements he had made with wins at the 2018 Tour de L’Avenir and 2019 Tour of California he struck out to win by a full 23″ over Quintana with Roglič third at 48″.
Nairo QUINTANA takes second spot on the stage 9: Andorra la Vella – Cortals d’Encamp (94,4 km)
Nairo Quintana was sanguine over the chances of retaining his newly won jersey: “A very tough stage, where we always tried to ride on the attack to gain an edge on Roglic. I’m really thankful about what Marc Soler did there in the finish, as well as with all other team-mates. We always said we would be going day-by-day, seeing what Alejandro and I could do, supporting whoever is doing best, and the team has been protecting us both so far and we’ve been working together to take this jersey. There’s still a long way to go in this Vuelta. Roglic still has an advantage, considering the TT on Tuesday. We would have to make a big, big effort in the time trial not to lose the jersey, which is what will probably happen, but once we’re over it and together with the team, we will keep making efforts to take the jersey back and hopefully keep it until the end.”
Jakobsen bests Bennett on Stage 4, Roche retains race lead ahead of first mountain stage.
Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) claimed an early birthday present with his first Grand Tour stage win in El Puig, four days before turning 23 years old. The Irish champ Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) came close but a few millimetres prevented him from taking a second victory in two days and Max Walscheid (Team Sunweb) came third on the line. Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) made it safely to the finish to retain La Roja while Steven Kruijswijk (Team Jumbo-Visma) abandoned on the eve of the first mountain stage of La Vuelta 19.
Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) has led for two days at La Vuelta. The Irishman took over the race lead from Astana’s Miguel Ángel López and holds a slim lead of two seconds over Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team), with Rigoberto Urán (EF Education First) third at eight seconds.
The lead betters 35 year old Roche’s lone stage win back in 2013 on Stage 2 (Pontevedra to Baiona. Alto Do Monte Da Groba, 177.7km).
Stage 1 (Team Time Trial) Salinas de Torrevieja to Torrevieja, 13.4km
Stage winner Astana team finishing
Team Jumbo Visma crashes after water leaks onto the road from a watered garden
Stage 7 : Sint-Pieters-Leeuw to Geraardsbergen 173.1km
Laurens De Plus takes the win at the Binck Bank Tour
Laurens De Plus gave Team Jumbo-Visma it’s 41st win of the season when he finished four seconds behind the winner of the final stage compatriot Oliver Naesen (AG2R La Mondiale) on a stage that saw the peloton totally fragmented. The result saw De Plus finish with a 35 seconds gap to Naesen on GC. Leader for the previous three stages Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) stumbled but salvaged third spot one second behind Naesen. Fourth spot went to Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team) giving the Belgians the top four spots.
L-R: Naese, De Plus (Winner), Van Avermaet Photo: Cor Vos/Binck Bank Tour
How it happened
The race didn’t start to take shape until 60 km into the stage when a group of eight went clear. On the Valkenberg another seven riders broke free from the peloton and bridged the gap.
The race faced three ascents of the Muur van Geraardsbergen and Bosberg, and on the final pass While Stybar and Vanmarcke attacked, it was Oliver Naesen who pulled out the definitive advantage over the favorites taking De Plus and Van Avermaet with him. De Plus in the process managed to grab valuable bonus seconds at the Golden Kilometre taking him to five seconds behind Wellens.
The trio worked hard and pulled out 45 seconds over the chasers who seemed to accept their fate much to Wellens despair who could see his lead disappear.
Van Avermaet launched a final attack on the climb to the line but Naesen sensing a massive opportunity kept the wheel and passed the Olympic Champion.
Oliver Naesen beats Greg Van Avermaet on the line while Lauren de Plus takes third and the overall GC Photo Cor Vos/Binck Banck Tour
“It’s the first time I managed to beat Greg in a finish like that,” Naesen said after the finish. “I’m really proud of that. It’s a big relief. I hadn’t managed to win yet this season and that’s painful for a rider like me.
“I had a team-mate pulling at the front of the peloton to keep the gap with the breakaway small. On the last lap I went full on the Muur and Bosberg. Greg, Laurens and I are friends. We didn’t talk about anything in advance, but if you can take ten seconds with three guys on a reduced peloton you know you’re the strongest.”
For de Plus the bonus time proved truly golden as a finished four seconds behind his breakaway companions but 37″ ahead of Wellens to grab the overall.
Dembrowski takes the Finale while Hermans reigns supreme
Stage 6 : Park City to Park City, 125.9km
Dembrowski takes the Finale while Hermans reigns supreme
PARK CITY, UT – AUGUST 18: Ben Hermans (Israel Cycling Academy) takes the overall prize after stage 6 of the Larry H. miller Tour of Utah on August 18, 2019 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Hermans spent four days resisting the stiffest of challenges from his rivals to seal the overall win at the race dubbed “America’s Toughest Stage Race”. The Belgian, who took over the race lead with a solo win on Stage 2, finished with a 50″ margin over James Piccoli (Elevate – KHS Pro Cycling), with final stage winner Joe Dombrowski (EF Education First) at 1’32”.
“From the first time that I did
this race in 2014, I had a good feeling with this race and I kept getting
better results in the G.C.,” said Hermans, who was fourth overall in 2014 and
runner-up in 2017 at the Tour of Utah. “It’s really amazing. I really enjoy it
here. It’s amazing to ride for these crowds. And to be there on the podium in
the yellow jersey is really, really nice.”
PARK CITY, UT – AUGUST 18: Joseph Dombrowski en route to victory on Stage 6 of the Larry H. miller Tour of Utah on August 18, 2019 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
FINAL
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
HERMANS Ben (BEL) ISRAEL CYCLING ACADEMY 18:46:09
PICCOLI James (CAN) ELEVATE-KHS PRO CYCLING 18:46:59 +0:00:50
DOMBROWSKI Joseph Lloyd (USA) EF EDUCATION FIRST 18:47:41 +0:01:32
ALMEIDA João (POR) HAGENS BERMAN AXEON 18:48:35 +0:02:26
Stage 3 : Antelope Island to North Salt Lake, 138.3km
Hermans doubles up with a second solo win
NORTH SALT LAKE, UT – AUGUST 15: Stage 3 of the Larry H. miller Tour of Utah on August 15, 2019 in North Salt Lake, Utah. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Israel Cycling Academy’s Ben Herman knew that the first full day in the leader’s jersey was no day to relax. After an epic solo win on Powder Mountain the Belgian could have allowed his opponents to come to him, but instead, after biding his time for most of the day’s 139km, with one kilometre to go Herman launched a ferocious move that saw those rivals outwitted and out-gunned.
The speed of the attack saw him catch and pass the two leaders Kyle Murphy (Rally UHC Cycling) and stage one winner Lawson Craddock (EF Education First) to take the stage by 7″ over Murphy with Niklas Eg ( Trek – Segafredo ) third, closely followed by James Piccoli. The result extended Herman’s lead to 44″ over Piccoli with Eg at 1’06”. Murphy moves up to fourth spot overall, pushing compatriot Peter Stetina (Trek – Segafredo) down into fifth.
Hermans takes over race lead with solo win in the rarefied air of Powder Mountain
Stage 2: Brigham City to Powder Mountain Resort , 135.8km
Hermans takes over race lead with solo win in the rarefied air of Powder Mountain
Israel Cycling Acadamy’s Ben Hermans took a moment to salute compatriot Bjorg Lambrecht as a crossed the line alone atop Utah’s Powder Mountain, finishing solo after a punishing 16km climb to 2700m.
POWDER MOUNTAIN, UT – AUGUST 14: Ben Hermans (Israel Cycling Academy) comes to the line on stage 2 of the Larry H. miller Tour of Utah on August 14, 2019 in Powder Mountain, Utah. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
“I knew I had to be in really good shape on this climb. You can make a lot of time, you can lose a lot of time, on this climb. I hoped for the best legs. I had really good feeling on the climb, so I’m happy I was able to take the win,” said Hermans
Hermans, who finished second overall in 2018, started the climb part of a six-man breakaway that has formed 40km into the stage. Peter Stetina (USA) of Trek-Segafredo made an early break gaining 20 seconds but over the course of the brutal 14km (8.6mi) climb the Hermans, in the company of James Piccoli (Elevate-KHS Pro Cycling) and Trek-Segafredo’s Niklas Eg gradually shed their companions, and finally caught Stetina with four kilometres to go.
From there the Belgian maintained a steady pace despite the gradient rearing up to 16 percent, and managed to drop Eg and Piccoli. eg drifted away leaving the three riders battling along intheir own world of pain amongst the rock and thinning air. Despite the riders being in constant sight of each other thanks to the treeless terrain the gaps proved insurmountable.
Herman finally crossed the line 20 seconds ahead of Piccoli with Eg in third, 35 seconds down. Fourth spot went to Stetina at 58″. The gap to the peloton now became the focus but it was clear that barring a surge of pace the lead would pass to Hermans.
“Peter Stetina attacked quite hard and I knew that I had to set my tempo and look at the other guys. I kept my tempo until five or four K (kilometers) to go. From there, I knew that the chance was big that I could win the stage. It was still hard to get to the finish,” Hermans added.
The race gave the GC a massive shakeout with overnight leader Lawson Craddock (USA) of EF Education First, dropping to ninth on G.C., 2 minutes and 56 seconds off the lead, while Serghei Tvetcov (ROM) of Worthy Pro Cycling dropped from second place to 23rd overall. It left Hermans with a lead of 26″ over Piccoli, wiht Eg at 52″, Stetina at 1’10” and Joseph Dombrowski (EF Education First) fifth at 1’33”.
The Larry H. Miller Dealerships Most Aggressive Rider jersey went to Piccoli who said, “Today we had an extra bit of motivation. I always want to do the best I can here. I think there is lots to play for, and the team is going to do everything we can to continue fighting and to race strong.”
