Jonas Vingegaard reclaimed the red jersey at La Vuelta despite Visma-Lease a Bike being pipped to victory in the team time trial by UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
UAE co-leaders Juan Ayuso and Joao Almeida were the big movers in the general classification as they took eight seconds back on Vingegaard – and more on their other rivals – to move second and third respectively.
The short, almost completely flat course, containing not more than a dozen turns, was never likely to produce massive gaps between the top teams.
Nonetheless, it had enough in it to demand riders’ complete concentration and split the minor differences between the main contenders. Somewhat wavering wind conditions meant an early start was more favourable than a late one.
Lotto, with the lowest-placed best-ranked GC rider, were first down the ramp outside the Salvador Dali museum, yet still set a time quick enough to hold up until Lidl-Trek undercut them by a respectable 18 seconds. That was despite Carlos Verona misjudging a bend and taking a slow speed tumble over the barriers.
‘Like he didn’t see the corner’ – Lidl-Trek rider has awkward crash in team time trial
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Verona was one of only two riders to suffer a crash, the other being Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Matteo Sobrero in a much higher velocity incident. With his Sobreo’s mid-line slip, Sobrero managed to avoid affecting any of his team-mates and was able to remount and recover sufficiently to finish the stage. The rest of the team were able to continue on and set a time sufficiently impressive for them to finish 4th.
More impactful on the race than either accident was an anti-Israel protest, which saw a group of activists step into the road with Palestine flags just ahead of the Israel-Premier Tech team’s passage.
As Lidl-Trek enjoyed their time in the hotseat, the pre-stage top contenders were getting up to speed. Ineos Grenadiers set the fastest time over the first sector, but seemed to fade in the closing kilometres. UAE, the third from last team to set off, rode most consistently throughout, coming home to dislodge Lidl-Trek from the top step.
The penultimate starters, a team with the best TTT record in recent years, Visma-Lease a Bike, swung back and forth. They looked competitive through the first sector, but slipped to tenth by the mid-point, only to bring it back and finish strongly. As their four remaining riders entered the final straight, it looked as if they would run UAE close, but the clock ticked to red and they would have to settle for second and the overall lead.
Protestors try to block Israel Premier-Tech during Vuelta team time trial
Video credit: TNT Sports
The team of the incumbent red jersey, Groupama-FDJ, were not expected to challenge for the top spots. Nonetheless, with pedigreed time trialists Stefan Kung and Remi Cavagna in their line-up, a time to keep Gaudu in long term contention was required, and perfectly possible. By that measure, they can consider their performance a success. They, like Visma, faltered through the middle of their run, but recovered to finish ninth, their leader only 16 seconds down on first place overall.
Delight at the win for Joao Almeida, who viewed it as “good for team atmosphere” but also a personal success, as he moves up to 3rd in the general classification. The Portuguese rider admitted his ambitions reach higher and that he “would like to have the jersey”.
“It’s a beautiful jersey,” he said, “and I’ve never worn it before. It doesn’t matter when, though. We are closer and closer to it. We’ll give everything we have.”
He will have a chance as soon as Thursday, as the Vuelta takes on its first true mountain stage, with a finish in Andorra.
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