La Vuelta (st. 15)

Main GC contenders reach El Barraco together -with Adam Yates (IGD), 15" ahead, the only exception- after yet another fierce battle and a winning break from Majka (UAD), which Carlos Verona was initially part of. Eiking (IWG) stays in red.

Stage 15 of the 2021 La Vuelta, over 197km from Navalmoral de la Mata to El Barraco with four categorized climbs, started at a completely crazy pace yet ended up leaving not many gaps between the GC contenders, again behind a breakaway where Rafal Majka (UAD) triumphed after spending half the stage solo in the lead.

The early splits featured Sepp Kuss (TJV), 9th overall and team-mate of former race leader Roglic, which meant that the Movistar Team had to quickly take themselves to the front to chase both the American and De la Cruz (UAD) down. In that, they enjoyed the tactical intelligence from Imanol Erviti, also part of the breakaway and able to create some echelons in the break at a crosswind section, which dropped both threats out of the group. As Imanol’s break was caught, Carlos Verona joined what would be the main attempt of the day, into a group that, however, never reached Majka and saw the Spaniard being caught by the GC guys right after the top of Mijares (Cat-1).

A final acceleration from Adam Yates (IGD), who obtained 15″ over the Mas / López group, was the only noticeable split between the main contenders at the finish. Eiking (IWG) remains the leader -with Enric and Miguel Ángel still 4th and 5th- before a long transfer (400km) to Cantabria, prior to the second rest day on Monday.

REACTIONS:

Enric Mas: “The route wasn’t the best to allow for the battle many people were waiting for, but other than that, we feel like the weekend’s overview is really positive for us. The legs felt quite well, so did Miguel Ángel’s, and even if Adam Yates put 15 seconds on us, they don’t seem too worrying at this point. We’ll see at the final week if those gaps have any effect on the GC outcome. We otherwise feel we’re in a good place at this point. I also want to say congrats to (Intermarché)-Wanty, because they did a hell of a job, taking responsibility at the front and controlling the race, setting the pace they wanted and keeping the breakaway at a reasonable margin.“

Miguel Ángel López: “(On the lack of attacks) It’s not a matter of too much ‘respect’ between us. The thing is, the race was so hard and fast from the very start, with the break not sticking after so many attempts, and with that wear and tear, the day turned into a stage we had to get through, because there weren’t big climbs at the end which could create big differences. We conceded a few seconds against Yates, but overall, I think we did OK today. We had Carlos at the front and, once he was caught, he did a great job for us in the finale, avoiding any setbacks for Enric and I. We’re through and OK.”

Cover picture (c): Photo Gomez Sport