The mighty Lagos de Covadonga was the centerpiece and summit finish of Tuesday’s 15th stage of the 79th Vuelta a España, where Marc Soler took a hat trick of career Vuelta stage wins–another breakaway success–and Primož Roglič came within 5 seconds of Ben O’Connor’s red jersey. It was a terrible day for Wout van Aert, as he crashed out of the race.
The Course
Although the summit finish on mythical HC-rated Lagos de Covadonga drew the imagination, one couldn’t discount the effect of the second Cat. 1 of the day, 7.5-km, 9.3-percent La Collada Llomena.
Lagos de Covadonga today at #LaVuelta24.
That’s it, that’s the tweet. pic.twitter.com/bTkBazgr5e
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) September 3, 2024
With breakaways having the time of their lives in this Vuelta, it was natural that a big one would form on Tuesday. Sure enough van Aert, three UAE-Emirates fellows in Jay Vine, Isaac del Toro and Soler, and 13 other riders–none under an hour from the red jersey–got loose and hit the first Cat. 1 Mirador del Fito with a big lead. Van Aert serious about winning both the green and blue polka dot jerseys, crested first to restore a gap over Vine in the KOM standings.
At the midpoint of the route’s 181.5 km, the escapees’ lead was 9:30. Van Aert decided to go solo on the way to La Collada Llomena but came back in time for the climb. Movistar grabbed the reins in the peloton for the middle climb of the day, and Oier Lazcano dropped back from the breakaway to help his team streamline the red jersey group.
Three kilometers from the top, Enric Mas attacked, Roglič sewing up the tear. Fifth-place Mikel Landa was the next to skip away, Pavel Sivakov bringing him back.
Vine didn’t bother contesting the KOM points with van Aert. Van Aert and del Toro crashed on the long descent into the valley but remounted and carried on for a while before the Belgian abandoned.
🚨 Wout van Aert abandons #LaVuelta24. Our thoughts and support are with you, @WoutvanAert. We’ll see you next year, Champion. ❤️
🚨 Wout van Aert abandona La Vuelta. ¡Todo nuestro ánimo y apoyo! ❤️ Te esperamos el año que viene, campeón. pic.twitter.com/cdFZqsGTh8
— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) September 3, 2024
Lagos de Covadonga
Now down to an intrepid dozen, the Vine breakaway started the slog up the Vuelta’s monster 6:00 ahead of a peloton that had grown slightly…
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