Rinse and repeat. Four years after he last wore the red jersey of Vuelta a España, Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) once again claimed the provisional overall lead in Spain’s Grand Tour from a mid-first week day-long break, and once again promised to keep the lead for as long as possible.
In 2018, Molard held the lead in the Vuelta for four relatively straightforward days before finally ceding it to Simon Yates on the Covatilla summit finish. This time round, with the peloton set to tackle the 12-kilometre ascent to Pico Jano as early as Thursday, his determination to remain in the top spot will be put to the test far sooner.
In any case, capturing the Vuelta lead, as Molard explained, is a major step forward after in 2021 he had to quit the race on stage 16 with a collapsed lung after a crash that left him out of racing for over two months.
“It means a lot to me,” he told journalists. “Last year the crash was really bad, I didn’t know if I had it in me to get back to my best level. I was not in a good place over the winter, I had to spend nine weeks without doing any sport.”
“Finally I came back to race at the end of March. And now I’m the leader of a Grand Tour!”
Molard said that he had had to watch one rider, Bahrain Victorious racer Fred Wright, as the two were the only ones in a position to go for GC. And having taken some seconds on the top of El Vivero on the second ascent, Wright remains his closest threat overall.
“It’s a great day for me, I was thinking about it since yesterday when I stayed up on GC. I told my teammates it was possible to get the red jersey today and I did it, it feels so good. There was a lot of stress but this means a lot to me.”
After thanking teammate and fellow break rider Jake Stewart for helping him stay in contention for the lead, Molard said he was determined to try and hold on to the top spot for as long as possible.
“The Vuelta is a race which has always suited me. It’s open, unpredictable racing and that’s the kind I like” he said.
“We came here looking for stage wins, but for now we’ll focus on defending the lead as best we can. After everything that happened to me, this really means a lot.”
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