CHE ERRORE E CHE BOTTA PER GROVES 😱🚴🇪🇸 #EurosportCICLISMO #Ciclismo #Cycling #LaVuelta24 #Groves
Wout van Aert wins in Cordoba, thanks to stellar teammate Sepp Kuss
CyclingFriday, 23 August 2024 at 18:42
Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) claimed victory in the seventh stage of the Vuelta a España in scorching Cordoba. After a relatively calm stage, the finale with the 14% Alto climb created significant excitement, which persisted until the finish in Cordoba.
At the start, much of the talk revolved around Thursday’s hard-fought stage, where Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R) executed a major coup. The Australian suddenly finds himself five minutes ahead of other general classification contenders, establishing himself as one of the top favorites, if he wasn’t already.
Teams like Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, UAE-Team Emirates and Visma | Lease a Bike pointed fingers at each other but will have to join forces for the rest of the race to catch up with O'Connor.
Two riders did not start on Friday, adding to the three riders who dropped out on Thursday. Andreas Kron (Lotto-Dstny) suffered a concussion from a crash, while Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) was too ill to continue. This was a significant setback for both men and their teams, including GC riders Lennert Van Eetvelt and Antonio Tiberi.
Lone breakaway, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Visma | Lease a Bike collaborate
Without these two riders, the peloton set off at 1:30 PM for the seventh stage, with the question of whether it was a day for a breakaway being quickly dismissed. Only one man showed interest in the day’s break: Xabier Isasa of Euskaltel-Euskadi, who was given plenty of freedom. Visma | Lease a Bike and Alpecin-Deceuninck each put a man at the front to manage the gap.
It was up to Edoardo Affini and Oscar Riesebeek to ensure their leaders had a good position heading toward the 14% Alto climb, which in reality has a gradient of 5.7%. Forty-five kilometers from the finish, tension grew as the peloton approached the climb, and Isasa was reeled back in without too much of a fuss.
A bit later, the peloton passed the finish line in Cordoba for the first time, including an intermediate sprint with bonus seconds. Top favorites Van Aert and Groves picked up a few points, while the GC teams mainly focused on the upcoming climb, with Affini leading the charge.
Arensman and Uijtdebroeks struggle, Groves crashes
The Italian held on for a long time, stretching the peloton thin, before Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe took over, increasing the pace significantly, which came as a surprise to many. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma | Lease a Bike) was the first to drop from the group of GC contenders, along with INEOS Grenadiers’ Thymen Arensman.
Aleksandr Vlasov led the group on the steepest sections, following which Roglic attacked one kilometer from the top. Though the attack didn’t succeed, the Slovenian did snatch up a few bonus seconds at the summit of the 14% Alto climb. About thirty riders crested the climb together, including Van Aert but without Groves, who crashed badly right after the summit, ruining his chances.
Read more below the video.
Sepp Kuss tried to control the group of thirty, but UAE-Team Emirates was particularly active. Pavel Sivakov launched the first attack, followed by Marc Soler, who gained a 25-second lead. Decathlon AG2R helped Van Aert’s team in the group behind, likely trying to keep dropped riders like Uijtdebroeks, Arensman and white jersey Florian Lipowitz at a disadvantage.
As the descent ended, Soler still had a 20-second lead when Van Aert decided to attack himself. This triggered a response from UAE, who reeled him back in after a kilometer of chasing. It was then Kuss’ turn to work, keeping Soler within reach, ten seconds behind the leader.
Read more below the video.
🚴🏻🇪🇸 | Wout probeert het zelf! Het gaat niet hard genoeg in de achtervolgende groep om Soler terug te halen, dus dan versnelt de Belg zelf! 🇧🇪🇧🇪 #LaVuelta24 📺 Stream koers op HBO Max
The American did a fantastic job, keeping Soler within striking distance for his Belgian teammate, catching him with four kilometers to go. The group briefly hesitated, creating dangerous situations, with Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) and again Sivakov trying their luck.
Vlasov closed the gap to his former compatriot, unintentionally rolling out the red carpet for Van Aert. The Belgian launched his sprint early and held on strongly to the finish. Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) finished second, followed by Pau Miquel (Equipo Kern Pharma).
🚴🏻🇪🇸 | Vuurwerk in de finale. Ontelbaar veel aanvallen, maar net voor de streep komt toch alles bij elkaar. Daar maakt Van Aert graag gebruik van. Overduidelijk de snelste! 🥵😍 #LaVuelta24 📺 Stream koers op HBO Max
Stage 7 Vuelta a España 2024
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Il Lombardia 2024
Want to advertize on IDLProCycling.com? We’re already planning for the 2025 season
"The accident could not have been prevented, but what happened next certainly could": organizers work on GPS after Furrer's death
Meanwhile in the peloton | Bowling and playing soccer at Manchester United: INEOS Grenadiers shares nice footage
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL under review: Mistake with Jakobsen, but few teams with more potential
Wiggins sees huge financial setback doubled to nearly 2.5 million euros (!)
Latest Cycling News
Want to advertize on IDLProCycling.com? We’re already planning for the 2025 season
"The accident could not have been prevented, but what happened next certainly could": organizers work on GPS after Furrer's death
Meanwhile in the peloton | Bowling and playing soccer at Manchester United: INEOS Grenadiers shares nice footage
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL under review: Mistake with Jakobsen, but few teams with more potential
Wiggins sees huge financial setback doubled to nearly 2.5 million euros (!)
Popular Cycling News
November vacation month: Van der Poel receives wonderful card, Philipsen and Bernal enjoy, Evenepoel goes for a run
Bakelants notices remarkable trend in transfers: "Van Aert, Pogacar, Van der Poel: they all did that"
Meanwhile in the peloton | Bowling and playing soccer at Manchester United: INEOS Grenadiers shares nice footage
Vingegaard responds cryptically to rumors: "I read somewhere that I might have to ride the Giro"
Visma | Lease a Bike realizes that with Milan Vader a story comes to its end: "For a moment we feared for your life"
Latest Comments
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024
- This is not a gravel race. UCI fail, from the surface they are on to team tactics. In what country was the first "gravel race" in what country is the most popular gravel race? Go with the race model that created the discipline.
Barnes127411-10-2024 - And don't forget he has now won 4 of the big 10 races (Grand tours, Monuments and WC/OG) in one year with a chance to make that 5. (5 has only been done once before)Joostmehrtens05-10-2024