Roglic makes the race hard, leaves virtually everyone behind and beats Mas in the sprint: O'Connor suffers one minute hit by Slovenian

The riders started Saturday afternoon around 1:30 p.m. in Úbeda, where it was - how could it be otherwise - scorching hot. From there, the riders in charge could prepare for a 159-kilometer ride toward the finish in Cazorla. The first half was not insurmountable: it would gently wind up and down each time. In the second half, the two categorized climbs would be on, consecutively, the Puerto Mirador les Palomas (7.3 kilometers at 5.7 percent) and the Sierre de Cazorla final climb (4.8 kilometers at 7.1 percent, but with frightening percentages!).

Immediately after the starting signal was given, it was game on. More than half of the riders seemed to have the ambition to sneak into the breakaway, resulting in a barrage of (failed) attacks. First, that one, then that one again. Again and again, it was in vain. Marc Soler, sprint revelation Pau Miquel, and even Wout van Aert tried. However, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, the team of GC leader Ben O'Connor, and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, the team of Primoz Roglic, closed the gaps.

It took about 60 kilometers before a group finally managed to break away. It started with a trio consisting of Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla), Gijs Leemreize (dsm-firmenich PostNL), and Harold Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan Team). Almost as a matter of course, several counterattacks were also visible, with five guys eventually able to make the crossing: Gijs Leemreize (dsm-firmenich PostNL) Mathis Le Berre (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Luca Vergallito (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) and Oier Lazkano (Movistar).

So we had an octet in front while the peloton—it took a while—then decided to settle. In no time, the advantage of the eight went to about four to five minutes. In the peloton, Decathlon controlled AG2R, for whom Tejada was the best-placed rider at almost seven minutes—there seemed no problem.

Yet, somewhat out of nowhere, Israel-Premier Tech suddenly got involved in the chase debates in the peloton. Riley Sheehan worked hard, reducing the lead by quite a bit. Then Dylan Teuns, from whom we expected a bit more this Vuelta a España and especially in this stage, was able to work hard, probably in the service of Michael Woods. However, getting under three minutes was not so easy.

Meanwhile, Schmid had begun a solo venture from within the breakaway group. The Swiss champion first went full for the mountain points on the Puerto Mirador les Palomas, took full advantage, and then continued on his own. His technical skills were handy in the downhill, as he took big (!) risks. For Visma | Lease a Bike, meanwhile, it was a hard blow. Wout van Aert suffered mechanical failure, while Cian Uijtdebroeks - again! - had to pass.

Schmid, who looked extremely strong, was eventually accompanied by the other breakaway riders (only Leemreize got released). And so there was again a seven as tête de la course. It was racing and pacing there, while Israel-Premier Tech didn't get any closer: three minutes remained in front.

At twenty kilometers from the finish, the breakaway's lead had shrunk to two minutes. Would the blue shirts manage to pull it all together? It seemed unlikely initially, especially since they needed help from other teams. With seventeen kilometers to go, it was also the end of the race for Thymen Arensman, who had another bad day and had to pass.

The leading group then battled for position, while shortly before that, there was a remarkable crash in the peloton. This included Giulio Ciccone, the so-far invisible Italian of Lidl-Trek. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) also struggled in the favorite group. The Portuguese were constantly riding at the back of the group.

So, how was the lead of the leaders? The various attacks broke up the leading group. Only Vergallito, Lazkano, and Tejada held on, with a minute-and-a-half lead seven kilometers from the end!

At the foot of the final climb, the difference was one minute, although it had to be said that the collaboration at the front of the race was lacking. So Tejada started fast, knowing the peloton was going full speed ahead. There was a crash in the peloton at the start, including shadow favorite Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny). The Fleming did not fall but had to put his foot down. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe man Aleksandr Vlasov was also there, after which Roglic tried to escape. O'Connor - who had wings in his red jersey! - followed closely behind the Slovenian.

A small group managed to escape for a while, but no Almeida was among them. Kuss wasn't there either, while Van Eetvelt had to rejoin because of the fall. However, everything came together, and I looked forward to new attacks. But first, they had to catch the three leaders. Roglic then went on a severe attack at two kilometers. O'Connor was lucky that Felix Gall managed to do the work for him.

With another acceleration from Roglic, O'Connor already had a little more difficulty. Only Mas and Landa were able to follow the ex-Schansjumper. At 1.1 kilometers from the finish, Roglic caught up with the last leader, Tejada. What was going to happen next? At least Mas didn't want to take over, which again benefited O'Connor! Yet it wouldn't happen for the Aussie, who slowly but surely got further away. Roglic only had to deal with Mas, who was no match for the sprint. Landa finished third, while O'Connor - counting bonification seconds - took about a minute. That is promising!

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