Until Sunday, UAE-Emirates, with two 2024 Grand Tour titles in their pocket, was having a bad Vuelta a España, but Adam Yates took the win on a high mountains route with the first rest day looming, vaulting up the GC to 7th and seizing the blue polka dot jersey. Despite an assault on his second place on several fronts, Primož Roglič kept his spot and red jersey Ben O’Connor kept his lead.
The Course
Sunday might not have ended with a summit finish, but it shoehorned three Cat. 1 ascents into the latter half of 178.5 km, including a double climb of 9.6 percent Alto de Hazallanas. Puerto de El Purche was the first of the trio. Again, it was broiling hot.
Puerto de El Purche and Alto de Hazallanas twice – it’s going to be a brutal day at #LaVuelta24. pic.twitter.com/m87SyhsQCO
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) August 25, 2024
The bad news for UAE-Emirates before the start was that João Almeida, who plummeted from third to 26th on Saturday, abandoned with COVID-19.
An enormous breakaway formed in the first half of the race but by the crest of Puerto de El Purche its numbers were spread all over the slopes. At the crest, David Gaudu was the first of the eight riders left out front to tip over, putting him in the KOM picture.
Alto de Hazallanas I
Gaudu’s octet contained three UAE-Emirates riders–Yates, Marc Soler and Jay Vine–trying to salvage something from a Grand Tour that got away from them. They hit the foot of Alto de Hazallanas for the first time with 1:40 over a chase group containing Wout van Aert and Richard Carapaz, and 4:30 over the peloton. UAE-Emirates’ numbers were immediately thinned out when Marc Soler went backwards. Carapaz tried to bridge. From the leading group, Yates lit out for the peak by himself.
Yates gobbled up the maximum KOM points 40 seconds ahead of Gaudu and Vine and 1:40 before Carapaz. The peloton, down to 20 riders, was +5:15. On the descent, Carapaz found Gaudu and Vine. With 36 km to go, Gaudu, Carapaz and Yates were all ahead of Primož Roglič in the virtual GC.
Alto de Hazallanas II
Yates had inflated his gaps to 2:25 over Gaudu-Carapaz and 6:30 over the seemingly hapless peloton by the second ascent of Alto de Hazallanas. In the red jersey group third-place Enric Mas surged away.
By summiting first, Yates took over the KOM jersey from Roglič. Carapaz was 2:00 in arrears.
Mas,…
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