Madrid (AFP)
First class for Florian Sénéchal!
The French rider from Deceuninck-Quick-Step offered his first stage victory on a grand tour, in the sprint, ahead of Matteo Trentin, Friday at the end of the 13th stage of the Tour of Spain, while the leader of the general remains Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert).
The official Deceuninck-Quick Step sprinter, the Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen, won Don Benito's intermediate sprint, 13 kilometers from the finish, but then suffered a puncture two kilometers from the final sprint. .
And while we were rather waiting for Arnaud Démare in the French ranks, it was Florian Sénéchal who concluded the work of the terrible train of the Belgian formation, which caused some breaks in the final, by offering himself a first prestigious success. , ahead of Italian Matteo Trentin (UAE).
The joy of Frenchman Florian Sénéchal, winner of the 13th stage of the Vuelta, disputed between Belmez and Villanueva de la Serena, August 27, 2021 JORGE GUERRERO AFP
"I did my sprint at full speed. Fortunately I had the radio to tell me that I had carte blanche, that Fabio was blocked, I don't know why. I have an incredible team, which dropped me off on a set. I say a thousand times thank you for what they did for me today, "Sénéchal reacted on arrival.
This is the first stage victory on a grand tour for the Frenchman, a specialist in classics and who finished 2nd at Gand-Wevelgem in 2020. Despite his concerns at the finish, Jakobsen nevertheless retains his first place in the standings. of the best sprinters.
The French Florian Sénéchal celebrates on the podium, his victory in the 13th stage of the Vuelta, disputed between Belmez and Villanueva de la Serena, August 27, 2021 JORGE GUERRERO AFP
- Borders -
Overall, nothing changes: the Norwegian Odd Christian Eiking keeps his red jersey, with 58 seconds ahead of the French Guillaume Martin (Cofidis).
Only the Colombian Egan Bernal (Ineos) managed to grab six seconds, but remains 7th overall.
The Norwegian Christian Eiking, still leader of the Vuelta, after the 13th stage, disputed between Belmez and Villanueva de la Serena, on August 27, 2021, and won by the French Florian Sénéchal JORGE GUERRERO AFP
Apart from this final runaway, the day was very quiet for the peloton, on the longest stage (203.7 km) of this Tour of Spain 2021.
The breakaway of the day was formed by three Spaniards: Luis Angel Maté (Euskaltel), Alvaro Cuadros (Caja-Rural) and Diego Rubio (Burgos-BH), who counted up to three minutes in advance, before being swallowed thirty kilometers from the line.
Only a few edging attempts disrupted the progress of the peloton about sixty kilometers from the line, which was quickly annihilated.
On Saturday, for the 14th stage, the riders will return to the high mountains, with a route between Don Benito and Pico Villuercas, with three passes: first the Port Berzocana (3rd category) as a warm-up, then the Collado de Ballesteros (1st category) and its average slope of 14% ten kilometers further, and finally a final at the top of Villuercas, a 14 km long climb at 6% average.
© 2021 AFP