The 2023 Vuelta a España turned out a fair share of drama, controversy and unexpected moments between the opening stage in Barcelona through the closing metres in Madrid.
There was mayhem in the first stages: riders got caught in the dark on open roads after finishing the opening team time trial and organisers neutralised the second stage because of severe weather, taking the time for GC at the Alto del Castillo de Montjuic with 3.6km to go. Then Remco Evenepoel ploughed into one of the Andorra police after powering to the victory on stage 3.
All of that was forgotten amid the evolving Jumbo-Visma clean sweep and the intra-team rivalry between Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič.
In between, there was time in the spotlight for neo-pro Lenny Martinez, the surprising collapse of Remco Evenepoel on stage 13 to the Col du Tourmalet and his rebound to wins on stage 14 and 18, a surprise first WorldTour win for sprinter Geoffrey Soupe, and Filippo Ganna’s return to the top in the time trial as well as his debut as a bunch sprinter.
All of it provided plenty of drama for photographer Chris Auld, who captured these stunning images throughout the Vuelta a España.
Jumbo-Visma take on the controversial opening team time trial in Barcelona
Remco Evenepoel speeds along in the red leader’s jersey during an early stage of the race
Evenepoel held the race lead for three days during the opening week
Sepp Kuss celebrates with the crowd as he solos home to win atop the Javalambre
A breakaway win on stage 6 which would change the course of Kuss’ Vuelta
Juan Ayuso reacts after the finish at Javalambre, one of many summit finishes packing the Vuelta route
Thomas De Gendt, Diego Camargo, and Rui Costa in the break on stage 8 to Xorret de Catí
Young Frenchman Lenny Martinez spent two days in red during his debut Grand Tour
TotalEnergies’ Geoffrey Soupe was an unexpected sprint winner on stage 7
Riders speed through a village during a stage in the middle of the Vuelta
Lennard Kämna completed his Grand Tour stage win set at Collado de la Cruz de Caravaca
German champion Emanuel Buchmann comes to the finish on stage 9
World TT champion Remco…
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