S3: Wout Van Aert sprinted to win the championship, recreating the classic pose "Crane Spreading Wings", wearing red and green jerseys
Wout van Aert, the Belgian rider who has been troubled by crashes in this year's competition, especially after the Flanders Crossing, Wout van Aert broke his sternum, ribs and clavicle and missed two months of competition. He missed the championship by a few millimeters, which made him extremely eager to win.
And all this was swept away in the third stage of the Tour of Spain, Castello Branco Station, and sprinted to win the championship!
The Belgian followed the wheel of Kaden Groves (Alpecin Team) on the finish straight, and surpassed the Australian player 100 meters from the finish line, and maintained his advantage and crossed the finish line.
Wout van Aert, wearing a red jersey, waved his arms excitedly, which was the iconic move that the Red Bull-sponsored athlete once showed in the Tour de France, saying that the jersey "gives me wings".
"It paid off to be patient," said Van Aert in Castello Blanco, who finished third on stage one and second on stage two. "My plan was to do the opposite of stage two but still use my strength to start the sprint early. I thought I would surprise Groves and start the sprint even before 200 meters. Slightly upwards but fast, it was the perfect sprint for me. "I felt good on the stage yesterday and it was a little warmer today. The team was very strong and we controlled the whole race. They put me in the perfect sprint position. That gave me the confidence to finish the race." Van Aert will continue to wear the red jersey on Tuesday's fourth stage, which will see the first mountaintop finish, ending on the first level climb of Pico Veruecas. "Unfortunately, the fun is over," said Wout van Aert with a smile. "Tomorrow I will be happy to hand over the role of team leader to Sepp Kuss and Sean Uittedbrooks. It's a super hard climb and will be a first test for the GC riders. It will be very difficult for me to keep the jersey, so I will try to enjoy it as much as possible. ”
Race process
If you watched yesterday’s 2024 Tour of Spain S2 summary, you will feel so familiar. Because the two breakaways in the second stage staged the same drama again.
Ibon Ruiz from the Equipo Kern Pharma team and 40-year-old veteran Luis Ángel Maté (Euskaltel-Euskadi) became the only breakaway group after starting from Lusa. Later, their respective teammates joined to form an all-Spanish four-man group.
The route of the third stage includes two classified climbs leading to Castello Blanco. Maté was the first to climb the two climbs and won the King of the Mountains Polka Dot Jersey. The breakaway group was caught up with 20 kilometers from the finish. In the last 10 kilometers, the rhythm of the main group quickly increased under the leadership of the Ineos team, and the flat road speed exceeded 70 km/h. In the last 2 kilometers, Alpecin Team took over the control and entered the city center through a series of roundabouts. Victor of Lotto–Dstny Campenaerts tried to charge ahead of the flaming red flag but was quickly caught up.
The race ended in a group sprint, with Wout van Aert winning Groves and Joan Abelastri of Epsilon Euskadi in third. The Vuelta will leave Portugal on Tuesday for the first Spanish stage of the event.
Jerseys of Honor
Red Jersey for the Overall Results Wout van Aert Visma–Lease a Bike
Green Jersey for Sprint Champion Wout van Aert Visma–Lease a Bike
Polka Dot Jersey for Climbing Champion Luis Ángel Maté Euskaltel-Euskadi
Best Young Rider White Jersey Matthias Vacek Lidl-Trek
Stage Results
Overall Score
S4: Roglič wins the race at the top of the hill, takes the red jersey, Lennert van Eetvelt celebrates in vain
The three-time Vuelta champion took over the general classification lead after beating Lennert van Eetvelt and João Almeida.
The Slovenian was part of a six-man group that approached the finish line together. A move by Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) eventually separated the group, and then Van Eetvelt (Lotto–Dstny) launched a strong sprint after responding to Landa's acceleration. Roglič immediately followed the young Belgian's move. The Slovenian's huge speed in the last two hundred meters ensured that he passed Van Eetvelt and stole the victory at the finish line. Van Eetvelt initially raised one arm in celebration, thinking the victory was his, but then saw Roglič pass him from his left. Roglič said after the race that winning a stage and the general classification lead so early in the race was not part of his team's plan. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe set a frenetic pace at the front of the peloton for much of the race, seemingly hoping to win for their leader, but Roglič said that was not the intention.
“It wasn’t the main goal today, but when you see our guys riding so hard in this heat, I’m glad I could pull it off,” he said. “No one asked me [how I felt] and if they had I probably wouldn’t have said it, riding so hard and taking the win, but I had no choice.” On the eve of the start of the Vuelta in Portugal, Roglič admitted he was still in pain from a back injury he sustained in a crash at the Tour de France in July. But he showed no signs of discomfort as he rode closely behind Van Eetvelt before going on to claim another Vuelta stage win. Roglič now leads Almeida by eight seconds in the overall, followed by Enric Mas, 32 seconds behind.
How it went
At the start, a small group of climbers formed the breakaway, but as the kilometers wore on they began to spread out. With 35km to go, Bruno Armirail (AG2R LA MONDIALE) and Kern Pharma were 2 minutes and 12 seconds ahead of the peloton. Three riders were caught in the no-man’s land between the breakaway and the peloton. They were former Italian national champion Filippo Zana (Team Jayco AlUla), Euskaltel-Euskadi, and Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto–Dstny).
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe led the pace at the front of the peloton, gradually chipping away at the lead duo. Visma–Lease a Bike also joined the peloton, hoping to keep Van Eetvelt in position as they approached the finish. With 16km to go, the climb of the Veruelcas Col was fast approaching. Armilla and Castrillo were still less than two minutes ahead at the halfway point in Roturas. Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe still led the chase in the peloton, but UAE began to move up to target the finish. Armirail and Castrillo were eventually caught with 7km to go. Pavel Sivakov, Jay Vine, and Brandon McNulty picked up speed in front of the peloton, ultimately ending the lead duo’s potential stage win dreams. Sivakov continued to push as the grade began to rise, but his move was quickly shut down by Red Bull.
Jersey
Overall Red Jersey Primož Roglič Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe
Sprint Green Jersey Wout van Aert Visma–Lease a Bike
Mountain Polka Dot Jersey Sylvain Moniquet Lotto–Dstny
Best Young Rider White Jersey Antonio Tiberi Bahrain Victorious
Stage Results
Overall Results
S5: Pavel Bittner beats Van Aert to win, Roglič maintains overall lead
Bittner, 21, claimed his third career win on his Grand Tour debut.
Young Czech rider DSM-Firmenich PostNL claimed his first World Tour victory on Wednesday, overtaking Visma-Lease a Bike in the sprint on stage 5 of the Vuelta
The 21-year-old, who is making his Grand Tour debut, attacked from behind the Belgian in the flat sprint in Seville and won the race by a narrow margin of tire width after a long sprint. His victory was ultimately confirmed by the photo finish, with Alpecin Team's Kaden Groves in third.
After stage 5, the overall standings remain unchanged, with Primož Roglič still eight seconds ahead of João Almeida. EF Education-EasyPost dropped out of the race after a crash in the final 10km. Bittner’s victory at the Vuelta follows two career stage wins at the Vuelta de Burgos earlier this month.
“It’s incredible. I won my first career win a few days ago and now my first Vuelta, I still can’t believe it,” he said in an interview. “If we look back at the last few years, I think we’ve done a great job with DSM. A lot of work went into it, a lot of people were involved, and especially in the last few kilometers, the whole team was amazing. To beat Wout, who is one of the best long-distance sprinters in the world, in the long sprints was just crazy. “I told the guys, ‘We can really do it today. Guys, I really believe in myself.’ When the opportunity presented itself, I just sprinted all the way to the finish.”
Competition process
“This is the easiest stage of the whole race,” Wout van Aert said of the upcoming race at the sign-in at Fuente del Maestre. Stage 5 is the only stage marked as “flat” by race organizers, with no classified climbs and a flat finish in Seville. The main challenge for the team was the hot weather, with temperatures approaching 40°C in southern Spain. To keep cool, Marc Soler was spotted eating an ice cream near the start. In the sunshine, two riders bravely joined the breakaway. Equipo Kern Pharma, who had already escaped twice in the race, joined up with Txomin Juaristi (Euskaltel-Euskadi), who had escaped for the first time, shortly after the start flag fell, forming an all-Spanish duo.
The pair held out together for more than 100km in the fields under the blazing sun. They were caught up 38km from the finish, and Groves won the sprint ahead of Van Aert as the only intermediate sprint of the stage approached. Heading into Seville, the Alpecin Team took the lead, hoping to set the stage for the Australian's second victory of the year's race.
Van Aert took the lead in the sprint with about 200 meters from the finish, pulling Bittner behind his wheel. Bittner passed the Belgian’s right shoulder within sight of the finish arch, and then the two pushed the handlebars together to cross the line, and the Czech was the first to cross the finish line.
Jersey of Honor
Red Jersey for Overall Score Primož Roglič Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe
Green Jersey for Sprint Champion Wout van Aert Visma–Lease a Bike
Polka Dot Jersey for Climbing Champion Sylvain Moniquet Lotto–Dstny
Best Young Rider White Jersey Antonio Tiberi Bahrain Victorious
Stage Results
Overall Results
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