Ciccone expects changes at Vuelta a España as summit finishes loom

MOLINA DE ARAGON SPAIN AUGUST 17 Giulio Ciccone of Italy and Team Trek Segafredo competes during the 76th Tour of Spain 2021 Stage 4 a 1639km stage from El Burgo de Osma to Molina de Aragn 1134m lavuelta LaVuelta21 on August 17 2021 in Molina de Aragn Spain Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo MorenoGetty Images
Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) (Image credit: Getty Images)

All’s well that ends well. Giulio Ciccone endured a nervous moment when the Vuelta a España peloton was split by a mass crash 11km from Albacete, but the Italian succeeded in staying upright and then bridging back to the front group. On arriving at the finish, meanwhile, he learned that his Trek-Segafredo teammate Kenny Elissonde had inherited the red jersey after previous leader Rein Taaramäe (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), who lost time in the incident.

“I was stopped behind the crash, and I lost some places, but I passed on the right-hand side, and I was up there in the final so I didn’t lose time and I’m OK, I’m safe,” Ciccone said after pausing to congratulate Elissonde past the finish line.

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Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.