Unlike in the past, the organizers of La Vuelta a Espana didn't place any ridiculously steep climbs on the route of the first week and so far, the results are not surprising. With its gentle gradient of 6%, the mountaintop finish to the Pal ski resort in Andorra didn't create any separation among the big GC guys who crossed the finish line together. With the exception of the enigmatic Juan Ayuso, who blew yet another chance of leading a superteam like UAE in a Grand Tour.
Returning after 15 years as a stage finish in La Vuelta, many cycling fans hoped that the ascent of Pal would offer the viewers the same quality of entertainment as it did in 2010 when Igor Anton and Ezequiel Mosquera fought a memorable battle, leaving Nibali behind. Unfortunately, that was not the case today and the signs were clear from the start. The team of the race leader, Visma Lease a Bike had no intention of keeping the Red Jersey on the shoulders of Jonas Vingegaard and they allowed a breakaway of 10 riders to take both prizes of the day. The black and yellow mountain train spared the peloton on the slopes of the penultimate climb of the day, Alto de la Comella, climbing it one minute slower than the times recorded in the past by world-class climbers Froome, Chaves, and... Thomas De Gendt.
The Yellow Bees didn't budge on the final climb either, wanting to be sure Jonas gets rid of the Red Jersey and the team takes the rewards that come with it, less work in the next days and extra time to recover for their leader.. Lidl-Trek was the only team that wanted to test the legs of their rivals and Giulio Ciccone placed his attack in the drops with 3 km to go. Vingegaard followed easily and took a few turns with him until he probably realized that it's not worth it to push full-gas without a stage victory at stake and not much terrain left to create important gaps.
From that moment, the pace dropped significantly and many riders were able to catch up including two of Jonas' teammates, Kuss and Jorgenson. At the finish line, the group of 12 riders led by Almeida clocked a climbing time of 24 minutes 38 seconds on Pal, 18 seconds slower than Igor Anton in 2010. The stage winner, Jay Vine, was the strongest rider of the day, being just 50 seconds slower than the GC group after riding alone the last 20 kilometers from the breakaway.
Tomorrow's stage will bring another mountain top finish to a ski resort in the Pyrenees, Cerler also makes a long-awaited return to La Vuelta after 18 years. While it has some steep sections, it also has a couple of descents and a soft finish, so it's not very likely to see an all-out war between the GC favourites. It all depends on Jonas Vingegaard and if he decides to wait for Angliru. The most ridiculously steep climb of them all.
Course Details: 10,5 km at 6,1% average gradient
24:38 - Almeida, Vingegaard, Ciccone, Gall, Bernal, Tiberi, Kuss, Pidcock, Jorgenson, Hindley, Pellizzari, Riccitello (25.34 km/h)
25:29 - Jay Vine (24.72 km/h)
24:20 - Igor Anton (25.89km/h)
25:58 - Jose Maria Jimenez (24.26 km/h)
25:59 - Escartin, Mercado, Heras, A.Osa, Sevilla, Casero (24.25 km/h)
24:52 - Jose Maria Jimenez (25.34 km/h)
25:08 - Fernando Escartin (25.07 km/h)
25:28 - Roberto Heras (24.74 km/h)
25:23 - Rominger, Riis, Jaskula, Indurain, Mejia (24.82 km/h)
