Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) took his third sprint win at the 2024 Vuelta a España after a rain-soaked, nail-biting chase into Santander.
The break of the day tested the resolve of the peloton in the mid-stage hills and pouring rain and were only caught inside the final three kilometres. Other riders, including Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny), then made late attacks and so Alpecin-Deceuninck only hit the front in the final two hundred metres.
Groves then surged down the left to win in the green points jersey. Pavel Bittner (DSM-firmenich PostNL) followed him home to finish second, with Vito Braet (Intermarché-Wanty) third. Campenaerts sprinted from the attack to finish sixth.
Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and his principal GC rival Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) finished safely in the peloton, and so the Australian continued to lead the Slovenian by just five seconds. Enric Mas (Movistar) is third overall at 1:25.
Stage 18 to Maestu is another opportunity for a breakaway before the decisive mountain top finishes on Friday and Saturday and then the final time trial in Madrid on Sunday.
Groves celebrated with his teammates, rightly shouting into his team radio that they deserved their win after controlling the attacks, driving the chase and then leading out the sprint.
“It was quite a tough day, starting dry but wet at the finish. It made it quite dangerous out there,” Groves said.
“My team was so strong that thankfully they had a super day, to control the break with Kern Pharma and DSM. It wasn’t easy, they were a super team."
Groves won in the green points jersey after Wout van Aeet (Visma-Lease a Bike) crashed out on Tuesday. However, he proved he deserved to wear the jersey after his third win. He now leads with 222 points, with Bittner a distant second with 106 points.
“It was my last opportunity to win in this race and I had such a motivated team to control the breakaway. To repay them with win number three is pretty special,” Groves said.
How it unfolded
After Tuesday's mountain finish at Lagos de Covadonga, the Vuelta peloton was happy to enjoy a quieter day in the saddle and a long loop around Santander in northern Spain.
The 141.5km stage started in Arnuero and ended in Santander, with some climbs packed into the second quarter of the stage. The 90km of mostly flat roads to Santander favoured the sprinters but they would have to survive over the climbs.
Rain turned the skies grey, cooled the temperatures and raised the level of risk but everyone seemed keen to race yet again.
Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) perhaps saw the weather forecast and opted to abandon the Vuelta. The Israel team said he was fatigued and will now focus on preparing for his major end of season goals. Dries De Pestel (TotalEnergies) was also a DNS, while Van Aert was absent after his nasty crash during stage 16. He was expected to travel home to Belgium but the consequences on his injuries are still unclear.
The stage started fast as riders made early attacks but Alpecin-Deceuninck carefully controlled who could and who could not go up the road.
Jonas Gregaard (Lotto-Dstny), Thibault Guernalec (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Thomas Champion (Cofidis) and Xabier Isasa (Euskaltel-Euskadi) got away and the peloton was happy for a quartet to stay out front. Other riders were quickly closed down but they opened a gap of 1:00 on the flat roads, with 125 km to race. The stage became a cat-and-mouse day in the saddle for everyone.
The quartet opened their lead to 3:25 with 115 km to race but then started the climbs. Kern Pharma and DSM lead the peloton, doing favour to race leader O’Connor’s Decathlon AG2R team and the other sprinters’ teams.
The 8.7km Alto de la Estranguada climb came first after 55km and hurt Champion and Isasa. They got back on the descent and survived the second-category Alto del Caracol at the 70km point.
The break and the peloton took the long and wet descent cautiously, with many teams in the peloton pacing their effort to ensure their sprinters survived and were fresh for the finish.
The break held a gap of 4:10 with 50km but then the peloton upped the pace as the sprinter’s sensed their opportunity. Alpecin-Deceuninck and DSM-firmenich PostNL lead the chase for Groves and Bittner respectively. Kern Pharma also helped out.
The increased speed meant the third hour of the stage was raced at 47 kph.
Gregaard led the attackers through the intermediate sprint with 25km to go. Their gap was down to 1:30 but they bravely refused to give up, working together to stay away.
The breakaway used the wet conditions to take more risks than the peloton and so kept their lead, losing just seven seconds in five kilometres. The peloton was lined out in the chase but the tough conditions and rolling roads made it a painful pursuit match.
A surge in the attack saw Champion dropped but the peloton still struggled to close the gap. It was still 30 seconds with eight kilometres to race as the depleted and fatigued third-week peloton lacked the numbers and speed of the first week.
The GC contenders moved to the front to stay safe before the five-kilometre mark, after which times would be taken in the event of a crash.
Alpecin-Deceuninck packed near the front but could not control the race. Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) and Max Poole (DSM-firmenich PostNL) made a late attack to cross and pass the break. Campenaerts then joined them but the peloton was about to close the gap.
The catch came late, in sight of the finish line but Groves and Alpecin-Deceuninck got the rewards for their hard work.
Results
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