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Without looking up from the handlebars and the asphalt on which his front wheel was rolling, Jay Vine completed an extraordinary one-two finish at the Vuelta a España.
The 26-year-old Australian won on Thursday at Pico Jano and this Saturday he has given a recital through the high Asturian mountains, breaking his fellow escapees in the first kilometers of the unprecedented Colláu Fancuaya and raising his arm to the sky at the finish line.
The Alpecin runner, a Belgian team that also has Mathieu Van der Poel among its ranks, is still the best climber in the Spanish race.
He has legs and the conviction to attack, a mix that has handed him two of the eight stages of this edition.
In Asturias he was clear: he had to accelerate from the start.
The Australian got into the good break of the day, although not without effort.
Alejandro Valverde and Richard Carapaz tried in the first kilometers of the stage, but the peloton did not let them, and ten prestigious men triumphed, although they have now become second-tier citizens in the peloton.
There were the Spaniards Mikel Landa, in other times fighting for the general classification, and Marc Soler, winner at the arrival in Bilbao, along with eight other runners including Jay Vine: Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Bruno Armirail (Groupama- FDJ), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama), Sebastien Reichenbach (Groupama), Rein Taaramäe (Intermarché), Lucas Hamilton (BikeExchange) and Mads Pedersen (Trek).
The Groupama trio took up the pace of the breakaways from the start and kept the peloton at bay during La Colladona (6.4 km at 7%), La Mozqueta (6.8 km at 6.6%), Santo Emiliano (5 .7 km at 5.3%), Tenebreo (Bonus; 5.3 km at 6.2%) and Perlavia (4 km at 7.7%), the five ports that predicted the unprecedented and fearsome Colláu Fancuaya: 10, 1 kilometer of ascent at 8.5% average slope with ramps that reached 19%.
A leg-breaking stage that remained stable and without attacks for most of its route, crushing the legs of the riders with the relentless pace of the Quick-Step, which was driving the group of favourites.
A game of cat and mouse that continued to the foot of Yernes, the small municipality on which the Colláu Fancuaya grew, the second of the five unpublished hilltop finishes of this Vuelta after Pico Jano.
Vine has triumphed in both.
At the foot of this unknown port, the escape arrived three and a half minutes behind the peloton.
Margin, a priori, enough for escapees considering their quality.
The beginning of the ascent was flat, but after kilometer 5 of the ascent, the ramps already exceeded 10% and were close to 19%.
Alaphilippe shattered the group of favorites with several kilometers of frenetic pace that cut off, among others, Sepp Kuss, Primoz Roglic's lieutenant, and diminished the advantage of the breakaway after two minutes.
At that moment, 5.8 kilometers from the finish line, Vine accelerated.
Without flinching, accumulating pedal strokes and without getting up from the bike, the Australian left Landa, Soler, Pinot and Taaramae, the strongest of the group, behind.
Carapaz suffered from behind, one of the great disappointments of this first part of the Vuelta, and Joao Almeida, who always seems to die.
Also Juan Ayuso, splendid on Friday, let himself go a few meters due to the pace of the Quick-Step.
The race experienced a television blackout as Vine continued to widen the gap on Soler, who had managed to get away from Pinot and Taaramae.
Landa, far from his best form, had given up several meters before.
The man from Alpecin had victory in his pocket and the only thing left to know was what would happen in the group of candidates to win the Vuelta.
And the usual thing happened: Evenepoel attacked.
The young Belgian took with him Mas, Roglic (who did respond today) and Carlos Rodríguez, champion of Spain and now leader of Ineos for the general classification.
The 21-year-old from Almuñécar took over from Ayuso as a Spanish promise who endures with the stars of this edition.
Vine pressed in the final stretch before the push of Soler, who tried to perform a small final time trial to see if he would put fear into his rival's body, but he exploded.
The Australian, without weaknesses, extended his lead at 43 seconds at the finish line and celebrated his victory.
At 1:20, Evenepoel, Mas and Roglic arrived after a timid final acceleration by the Spaniard, who failed to steal the position from the Belgian.
Carlos Rodríguez appeared 13 seconds behind the favorites and Ayuso 50 seconds behind.
Both continue with podium options in an unpredictable Vuelta that maintains distances between Evenepoel and Mas: 28 seconds on the way to Les Praeres, the hell of this Sunday.
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