Narration This is how we live the stage
Classification This is the general
Tense calm after the storm.
In the agonizing Vuelta, the candidates for the Santiago de Compostela podium gave the spotlight to the adventurers and gregarious in a day prior to the crucial stage this Saturday, designed by
Óscar Pereiro
and feared by
Primoz Roglic
.
But before that relentless duel, the sprinters and runners of the second step excelled on the way to Monforte de Lemos.
The most fortunate in the first meeting in Galicia was the Danish
Magnus Cort Nielsen
, who scored his third stage, the previous ones were in Cullera and Córdoba. Last chance for riders and sprinters. On Saturday the mountain returns and on Sunday the round closes with the time trial in Santiago de Compostela.
The Dane was the most successful of a group of escapees that also included
Simmons
,
Oliveira
,
Bagioli
,
Kron
,
Craddock
and
Roux.
The seven kept a frantic pulse with the peloton in the final kilometers and appeared at the finish line with only 18 seconds of advantage. A sigh, but enough to bring back a runner as solvent as Cort Nielsen. A cursed day for South African
Louis Meintjes
, tenth overall, who abandoned the race due to a fall that caused facial trauma.
A very intense day, the prelude to a Saturday that promises intense sensations.
Bernal's improvisation and courage intimidate Roglic.
The Slovenian fears no one more than the fine Colombian climber, that is why he does not leave him room for maneuver.
If it jumps, it sticks to him like a limpet, no matter the time or the place.
The Ineos runner adds an upward dynamic in the last week of the Vuelta, recovering feelings of strength and opposing the podium in Santiago de Compostela.
He is less than a minute from his compatriot
Miguel Ángel López
and is not overwhelmed by the urgency of the results.
"I'm going to attack, I don't care if I'm second or eighth," said the phenomenal Colombian climber.
Bernal's threat
His laurels in the Tour and the Giro take the pressure off him. When he jumps out of the squad, everything turns upside down. An earthquake that can cause a cataclysm this Saturday. An appointment full of traps designed by Óscar Pereiro, ambassador of the Vuelta. The Galician has drawn a non-stop stage, with five passes, among which
Mougás
stands out
, a first one just 56 kilometers from the finish line, located at the top of Castro de Herville, in Mos, in the home of the former Tour winner. It looks like the route of a classic from the Ardennes, with some
maddening saw teeth
. A perfect terrain for ambushes, those that Bernal likes so much and Roglic fears so much.
In the duel between Slovenian and Colombian,
Enric Mas
and Miguel Ángel López could obtain succulent rewards.
The Movistar couple need to
maneuver bravely
to displace Roglic.
In this strategy, Bernal could be an excellent ally.
Eusebio Unzué's riders have nothing guaranteed with Sunday's time trial, it could even be an obstacle to their interests.
For Enric Mas it is Saturday or never.
The Spaniard must dispense with a conservative plan and take risks, as Bernal does.
"Around there they say that the
cemetery is full of brave men
. I will take a beautiful memory of the Vuelta. I have suffered, I have been ahead, I have attacked, I have enjoyed," said the Colombian at the end of the Gamoniteiru stage.
"One is a masochist. I suffered every kilometer, even on the plain. I don't know how I managed to get ahead. I was busted, but I had to try," added Bernal, a mirror in which Mas should look at himself.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Egan bernal
cycling
sports
Back to Spain
Return to SpainEnric Mas vindicates himself in Velefique and Mikel Landa is shipwrecked
Return to Spain The time of Enric Mas against King Roglic
Tour of Spain 2021Roglic makes checkmate in the chess of Covadonga
See links of interest
Last News
Translator
2021 business calendar
Home THE WORLD TODAY
Master investigative journalism
Sweden - Spain, live
Stage 19, live: Tapia - Monforte de Lemos