In shadow of drama Van Aert, Soler finally wins his Vuelta stage, O'Connor still in red

On a day with many shades of the Vuelta a España, Marc Soler won the stage to Lagos de Covadonga. The Spaniard of UAE Team Emirates arrived solo in the drizzle to take stage sixteen. However, the day was dominated by the drama of Wout van Aert. The battle for the red jersey was spectacular. Ben O'Connor had trouble following early on the final climb but divided well enough to keep Primoz Roglic from taking the jersey.

It was not yet D-day, but Tuesday's stage came close. Stage 16 in the Vuelta headed to the famous lakes of Covadonga via the grueling final climb. Before that, the riders also had to conquer two first-category climbs. It seemed ideal terrain for Primoz Roglic to take back the red from Ben O'Connor, although there were also chances for the breakaway riders.

Tough opening stage again, with the peculiar role of Van Aert

The flag was waved around 1 p.m. for the 181 kilometers. As is often the case on this tour, the pace immediately picked up, and it was Wout van Aert who—not entirely surprisingly—was keen on a breakaway. The Belgian seemed interested in the double green polka dot, but moments later, we saw him along the side crash. He briefly grabbed his arm, but the green jersey was able to continue and joined the peloton.

The following 30 kilometers were dominated by many breakaway attempts, where it was noticeable that several groups were pulling together. This made it difficult for O'Connor's team to chase. Eventually, the French gave a green light reasonably quickly, and we had a group of non-threatening men for the GC. In no time, they were cycling together ten minutes ahead.

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Battle for the polka dot jersey between Vine and Van Aert, Movistar races very hard

We again saw Van Aert lurking for points for the mountain jersey in the breakaway. The holder of that, Jay Vine, was also in the mix, along with teammates Marc Soler and Isaac Del Toro, on behalf of UAE Team Emirates. Other exciting names were Oier Lazkano on behalf of Movistar, William Junior Lecerf of Soudal Quick-Step, and Max Poole of dsm-firmenich PostNL.

The mountain jersey battle unfolded on the day's first climb, where Van Aert prevailed. He outplayed opponent Vine and scored four points in the battle for the polka dot jersey: 50 to 46. After this, the green jersey wearer pulled ahead for a while. Van Aert built up a minute's lead, and for a moment, it looked like a beautiful solo was in the making. However, the group in pursuit joined forces in time to catch the all-rounder.

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We saw a similar picture on the second to last climb, the Llomena. Van Aert kept watching Vine nicely and caught him in the last five hundred meters. Much more interesting was the action in the peloton: Movistar took control, pushed team O'Connor off the front row, and rapidly decimated the peloton. The moment was followed by a careful attack by leader Enric Mas, who accelerated but soon saw about ten men back in his wheel. However, the knives were sharpened, and it could be seen who was good and who was not. Richard Carapaz needed a moment; Roglic, Mikel Landa, and the red jersey could join more easily.

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Fate strikes: Vuelta loses absolute top contender Van Aert in slippery descent

In the descent of Llomena, the elite group met up with some of the earlier dropouts, after which we were startled by a horror crash: Van Aert hit the ground with Felix Engelhardt and slammed hard into a railing. For a moment, he seemed to recover from the shock, but moments later, the seriousness of the fall became apparent. Van Aert sat in the back of the car, under the raised lid, put his hands in front of his face, and then tears streamed down his cheeks. Surrender Wout van Aert, the proud holder of the points jersey and the man on his way to the polka dot jersey. Unbelievable, but true. The Vuelta a España lost its big star.

It was a real tearjerker, but the Vuelta a España had to carry on. People were mostly looking at each other in the breakaway, and the same thing was happening in the O'Connor group. Meanwhile, the final climb came in sight, which was tough enough for some shifts anyway. The red jersey still had Felix Gall, Valentin Paret-Peintre, and Bruno Armirail. At the front, Vine headed straight for his goal: accelerating from the foot of the final climb. Ion Izagirre, Poole, Filippo Zana, Del Toro, and Marco Frigo could go with him; the rest of the sixteen at the front were forced to drop out.

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Final climb brings beautiful battle on two fronts

Vine, however, appeared to have given his all ahead of teammates Soler and Del Toro. This was curious, as neither man had the strength to stay at the front. It was quite a blunder by UAE since the Australian was the strongest rider. Well, who could do it at the front? Poole, Frigo, and Zana. Soler came back at will, and Frigo had to pass moments later. In the group red jersey, Landa showed he had good legs; he put his man in front and attacked a moment later in his characteristic manner, hands in the bottom of the handlebar. Led by Paret-Peintre, his gap remained small. Mas then pushed on, and this put the red jersey in trouble.

The Australian showed toughness, hanging on at about ten seconds, prompting Mas to accelerate again. Roglic struggled and had to go deep to catch up. Carapaz hooked his wheel, as did Landa and the excellent David Gaudu. At the front, we saw the impossible: Soler, whose face almost burst from exhaustion, attacked and punched a gap with Poole and Zana. He headed for his so fiercely pursued stage win. O'Connor was fighting a lonely battle, away from the group of Roglic. His red jersey hung by a thread.

Soler appeared to have mentally cracked the men behind him with his resurrection: he won the stage in the fog atop the mythical lakes. O'Connor kept pushing and doing his best to keep the red. At the top, there were no more bonification seconds to earn, so it was suspenseful for the red jersey.

Results stage 16 Vuelta a España 2024

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