Oops, thanks: Soler lets Van Aert go, Skjelmose overdresses, and was Pacher too honest for his own good?

The tenth stage of the Vuelta a España belonged to Wout van Aert. The Belgian Visma | Lease a Bike star was part of the breakaway, rode dominantly, and ultimately sealed the deal with an attack toward the final climb. Piece of cake, although he might as well have faced more competition. Quentin Pacher rode with Van Aert to the finish, while Marc Soler was left kicking himself.

Pacher finished second in the stage and the Frenchman of Groupama-FDJ was at peace with that. He took turns pulling all the way to the final kilometer and refused to let someone else do all the work for him. "Van Aert attacked at the intermediate sprint, and I just tried to follow him for as long as possible. I did try to find a place to attack him, but that's not easy because he's so strong on all fronts. I followed, hoping I still had something left in the tank. I can only be satisfied because I was up there with the best today. The strongest man won."

Van Aert and Pacher pulled ahead due to the stage winner's attack and because Soler, Junior Lecerf and Juri Hollmann, as fellow breakaway riders, let it happen. Soler was hanging on to the UAE-Team Emirates car when Van Aert decided the race. "I made a mistake," the Spaniard admitted to Spanish media after the race. "I don't really know what to say. I tried to make up for it on the final climb, but it didn't work."

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Marc Soler

Skjelmose was just as hot in 26 degrees

Mistakes weren't only made in the breakaway group on Tuesday, the day after the rest day. Mattias Skjelmose admitted at the finish that it was no easy day in the peloton. "It went quite well. I felt better than in the first week. I just made the mistake of wearing my regular cycling gear in these temperatures instead of my summer clothing. Because of that, I was just as hot as in southern Spain."