Vuelta a España stage 15 LIVE: Enric Mas defends lead on hilly and undulating terrain in shortened stage
Palma del Río to Córdoba, 189.7 km
90KM TO GO
A group of eleven have got up the road, and the peloton has let them have a minute -it appears we have our break of the day, before we've even arrived at the first uphill of the day. There are no representatives from Visma however, which might make harm their hopes of survival. They will surely want to chase for their men Van Aert and Brennan.
While the fight to get into the breakaway continues out front, with Enzo Paleni instigating a new move in which about ten or so riders have a lead of a few seconds, at the back of the peloton Richard Carapaz has had to have a bike change. He's tried many ambitious attacks already at this Vuelta - does he have another one lined up sometime today? You sense if any of the GC contenders is going to make an unlikely attack today, it's him; and the team have said that GC remains their priority.
A group of six riders went clear for a little while, but was brought back, and more moves have followed since - all to no avail. There's still a lot more flat roads to take on before they arrive at the first climb.
OFFICIAL START
And they're off! There have already been a flurry of attacks, and the peloton is stretched out in one long line - there are clearly many people who want to get into the break today. This is a battle that could rage for some time.
Perhaps the man to look out for more than anyone else in terrain like this is Wout van Aert. He won his first stage of this year's Vuelta just two days ago - will he add a second today?
The riders have set off from the neutralised start, with many readying themselves to try and get into the break. Though it undulates for most of the stage, the parcours begins with a flat stretch, which will give some more heavier rouleurs a chance to get into the break.
This certainly doesn’t seem like a GC day on paper, with only two classified climbs, but anybody still wanting to move up on GC will be consciously aware of the lack of opportunities to come in the final week.
There will be a couple of flat stages following tomorrow's rest day before the all-important time trial on Thursday, and then just one hilly day before the climactic queen stage on Saturday, prior to Granada’s finale. Might that prompt some ambitious attacks from GC riders today? The intensity of the shortened parcours might be conducive to such bold moves.
Despite the changes to the parcours, the nature of the stage hasn’t been altered too much, but will instead become a more intense version of the medium mountain stage originally planned. This was always unlikely to be a day for the GC riders, and only one of the three climbs has been taken out, so it will still be the puncheurs and breakaway specialists who will be gunning for victory today.
You join us later than planned, as the stage has been considerably reduced due to the enactment of the extreme weather protocol. The organisers deemed the temperatures dangerously hot, and have consequently taken out a considerable chunk of the parcours. Here’s our lowdown filling you in with all of the details.
Vuelta a España stage 15 shortened by 70km to protect the health of the riders in extreme heat
Hello and welcome to stage 15 of the Vuelta a España!
