An action-packed finale to an otherwise quiet stage 16 at the Vuelta a España saw chaos reign as race leader Remco Evenepoel punctured inside the final 3km of the stage to Tomares while his main rival, Primož Roglič, went on the attack before crashing in the final 100 metres.
Evenepoel, who has been in the leader’s red jersey since stage 6, raised his arm for team assistance with around 2.5km remaining of stage 16 as Roglič jumped away at the front of the peloton on the hilly finish.
He eventually rolled in at over three minutes down, though the Belgian would officially finish with the same time as the peloton thanks to the 3km rule, eight seconds down on the lead group and Roglič. That wasn’t before the official standings had briefly been published by the race to show Roglič as the new leader – a decision that was later reversed.
“[It was] a puncture on my rear wheel,” Evenepoel said later. “I wasn’t in the best position because we did a recon of the final yesterday, and we felt the roads were slippery.
“I was scared in the last 5km so I lost some positions and I wanted to move up on a steep bump, but my rear wheel just went off, so I felt I had a flat tyre. I’m happy that the 3km rule exists otherwise I would’ve lost a lot of time today.”
The 3km rule, which gives riders the same time as the group they were with at the time of their crash or mechanical problem, specifically applied to six sprint stages at the race while nine high-altitude finishes were ruled out. That left the application of the rule on the hilly finish of stage 16 up to the UCI commissaires.
Despite Evenepoel being granted the same time as the 26 men in the peloton behind Roglič and stage winner Mads Pedersen, he still shed eight seconds to his GC rival. The Slovenian, though, will have more to worry about, after hitting the deck in the sprint to the line after colliding with Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious).
Roglič suffered cuts to his elbow and looked to be heavily bleeding after the finish, though his full condition isn’t yet known.
“I heard that Primož crashed so I really hope that he’s OK and that he can continue the race,” Evenepoel said after the finish.
“We all know that Primož is really explosive and that a final like this is made for him. That makes it even more a pity for him that he crashed. You never want somebody to crash so I hope he’s OK.”
Aside from the drama of the stage finale, Evenepoel said he felt better than he had at the weekend, where he lost time to…
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