His first two 2024 Vuelta a España stage wins came from bunch sprints, but on Tuesday Wout van Aert sealed the hat trick from a breakaway. Van Aert beat his breakmate Quentin Pacher in a sprint in Baiona. Ben O’Connor stayed safe in red on a day when the GC battle was dormant. Michael Woods remained at 24th on GC.
The Course
Although there had been four bunch sprints and two Roglic stage wins, the story of the 79th edition weighed heavily in favour of the breakaways. O’Connor soared into a big lead with his solo raid from an escape, and Richard Carapaz and Adam Yates rocketed into third and seventh respectively with their fugitive exploits on Sunday.
Tuesday, the first stage back after the first rest day, again tilted towards the escape. A long, early Cat. 2 might spark it, but three categorized climbs including a Cat. 1 would sustain its flame in the latter half of 160 km from Ponteareas to Baiona.
An intriguing stage to resume #LaVuelta24 after the first rest day.
Will it be a day for the breakaway or will the GC men try something despite the final climb coming 20 kilometers from the line? pic.twitter.com/irRWdib0vZ
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) August 27, 2024
Sure enough, a breakaway centered around van Aert shook loose its bonds on Cat. 2 Alto de Fontefría. This small, merry band was kept on a short tether in the flat middle of the route. The peloton relaxed before the first of the three consecutive climbs and the van Aert gang hit Alto de Vilachán with a 6:00 buffer. By the peak of Cat. 2 Alto de Mabia only 40 seconds had been shaved off.
Van Aert attacked through the intermediate sprint just before the final climb, Alto de Mougás, and Pacher joined in.
The duo crested a half minute in front of their breakmates and 4:30 ahead of the greatly reduced peloton. Van Aert topped it first and found himself tied at the top of the KOM classification with Yates. Twenty kilometres remained.
It would be Belgium vs France for the stage win. Pacher couldn’t unload the green jersey and sat up soon after the sprint began.
Two Cat. 2 and two Cat. 3 climbs are placed evenly along Wednesday’s 166.5-km route.
2024 Vuelta a España Stage 10
1) Wout van Aert (Belgium/Visma-Lease a Bike) 4:42:28
2) Quentin Pacher (France/Groupama-FDJ) +1:39
3) Mark Soler (Spain/UAE-Emirates) +3:45
68) Michael Woods (Canada/Israel-Premier Tech) +11:07
2024 Vuelta a España GC
1) Ben O’Connor…
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