Stage 19: Ávila to Toledo, 165.2km
Rémi Cavagna reigns in Toledo
Toledo, Friday, September 13th 2019 – A flat stage on the way to Toledo offered more craziness at La Vuelta 19. While rain swept through the area causing pile-ups Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) stormed to an impressive solo win after dropping all his breakaway companions with 25km to go. This is the first Grand Tour stage victory for “the TGV from Clermont-Ferrand” .
Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo-Visma) retains La Roja despite several scares. The race leader was involved in a crash that also saw Miguel Ángel López (Astana Pro Team) hit the deck with 67km to go. After remounting Roglič and the others involved had to chase their way back to the peloton. A litel while later Roglič had to do the same after Bora-hansgrohe split the bunch in the wind. The efforts clealr took their toll and the Slovenian lost three seconds to Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) in the uphill sprint.
While the crash was no doubt caused by the inclement weather there were harsh words directed by riders at Movistar who seemingly rode on at pace forcing Roglic and company to ride hard to catch-up despite an unwritten rule that the race leader shouldn’t be taken advantage of if they suffer a mishap.
The crash also deprived Roglič of his road captain Tony Martin ahead of the crucial stage in the Sierra de Gredos.
Stage 19 Video Summary (courtesy of La Vuelta)
Miguel Angel Lopez spoke about the day’s events and summarised riders sentiments:
“I am more or less OK after my crash. Many riders crashed in front of me and I had no any chance to avoid it. I have some abrasions on my hand and right leg, but in general, everything is good. Fortunately, I have a very strong team in this race and my teammates did a perfect job to bring me back in front.
“Indeed, we had to spend a lot of energy to reach the first group as Movistar pulled hard in front after that crash. Of course, nobody was happy with that, I’d like to see more respect in the peloton. But all we could do, just to give our best to come back. In the end of the day I am still fourth in the general classification and still have the white jersey on my shoulders. I hope to recover as well as possible after the crash, because tomorrow will be the last important stage of La Vuelta. We will try to do our best“
Stage 19 Results and GC