Vuelta a Espana: Mohoric wins in Cuenca

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Matej Mohoric (UAE Team Emirates) won stage 7 of the Vuelta a España from the breakaway, thinning out the 14-rider group on the late climb of the Alto del Castillo and dropping the remaining members on the descent, before holding his slim lead on the 10km run-in to Cuenca.

Pawel Poljanski (Bora-Hansgrohe) finished second, and Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) third, 16 seconds back, in a trio that also contained Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) – the only riders who could stay with Mohoric on the punchy cobbled climb.

Thirteen seconds behind them, Jetse Bol (Manzana Postobon) crossed the line in a second chasing trio, and by doing so leapt up into the top 10 overall. The Dutchman had started the day 8:55 down but the Team Sky-led peloton was happy to let the break carve out a substantial advantage, crossing the line 8:38 behind the stage winner.

That meant Bol jumped above Fabio Aru into seventh place, 46 seconds down on race leader Chris Froome, who finished safely alongside his main rivals on a day when Sky controlled proceedings in the peloton from start to finish.

The journey from Lliria to Cuenca looked fairly innocuous at a glance, but the gradual hike to 1000m and the constantly undulating terrain amounted to an altitude gain of 2700 metres on what was the longest stage of the 2017 Vuelta, at 207km.

Despite a couple of tense moments when the peloton split briefly on exposed roads, it was a relaxed day for the general classification contenders as, in the absence of any real appetite for a chase in the peloton, it soon became clear that the breakaway would go all the way.

With a lead of well over eight minutes, the 14 riders started exchanging blows on the approach to the Alto del Castillo, but the climb itself – a sharp two-kilometre ascent on narrow cobbled streets – was always going to be decisive. Mohoric led onto it, and he never ceded pole position as many others were quickly ridden out of contention. Only three could stay with the former junior and U23 world champion over the over the top, though he still had a weapon up his sleeve.

"I tried to save as much energy and to give my all in the finale. I knew it was well suited to me because I'm pretty good on the descents, so I knew if I came over the top with a few guys, I could go away on the downhill," said Mohoric.

The 22-year-old did just that, carving out an impressive advantage as he swept through the corners, and equally impressive was the way he held of the advancing trio as the road flattened out.

"It's incredible. It's been a long time since last big win," he added, his only other pro victory coming at last year's Tour of Hainan "I've always worked hard, and given my best, but it feels great to get a victory again."

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How it unfolded

With the rolling terrain and the late climb, coupled with the lack of top-tier sprinters and sprint-oriented teams here, there was a sense that a breakaway could make it all the way, and there was no shortage of interest in making it in there. The speed was blisteringly fast in the opening kilometres amid a flurry of attacks, with a move containing GC rider Wilco Kelderman needing to be neutralized, but a group of 14 formed after around 15km.

In there were: Alessandro De Marchi (BMC), Richard Carapaz, Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar), Pawel Poljanski (Bora-Hansgrohe), Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r La Mondiale), Floris De Tier (LottoNL-Jumbo), Matej Mohoric (UAE Team Emirates), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Arnaud Courteille (FDJ), Luis Angel Mate, Anthony Perez (Cofidis), Rafael Reis (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Aldemar Reyes and Jetse Bol (Manzana-Postobon).

De Gendt, in his second day in the break at this Vuelta, took maximum points atop both the Puerto La Montalbana (km51) and the Alto de Santa Cruz de Moya (km88) – the first two of the three third-category climbs on the 207km route.

In between, the break's lead had yawned out to seven minutes – a clear sign that there was little appetite in the peloton to chase and bring the race back together in the latter stages.

There was a brief injection of urgency in the peloton after the second climb as crosswinds blew and the peloton briefly split in two, though it soon came back together in the feed zone. There was more drama when a heavy crash occurred on in what was an innocuous phase of the race, bringing down Merhawi Kudus (Dimension Data), American champion Larry Warbasse (Aqua Blue), and Anthony Turgis (Cofidis). Kudus and Warbasse immediately abandoned the race.

Along the rolling roads some 1000m above sea level, the break continued to stretch out its lead, which rose to eight minutes with 70km to go. The urgency, however, returned just outside the 50km-to-go marker as the peloton approach a section of exposed roads. And sure enough, the bunch soon split to pieces, with far more damage being done than earlier in the day. No GC contenders were caught out, and Sky were in no mind to put the hammer down, so the groups came back together.

With the gap still more than eight minutes, the breakaway riders could afford to start playing with each other even before the final climb, and it was De Gendt who kicked it off with 23km to go, followed by a brief dig from Gougeard.

Inside the final 20km, De Marchi attacked but only succeeded in stringing the group out, while Mohoric and Gougeard gained a little more traction together, the former taking a gap onto the first switchback while the latter was quickly dropped as the road rose. Poljanski led the chase, trying to stick to the smooth strip of road surface next to the pavement, with Rojas and De Marchi making it over and Mate leading the others up. It was looking grim for many, though, not least Reis, who crashed in a collision with a race motorbike.

Soon only Rojas could hold the wheel of Mohoric, and over the crest of the climb, four had emerged at the head of affairs – Mohoric, Rojas, De Gendt, and Poljanski. Chasing hard at 15 seconds was the trio of De Marchi, De Tier, and Bol.

An insatiable Mohoric then attacked on the descent and carved out an impressive advantage as he swooped through the corners. Under the 3km to go banner, Mohoric held a lead of 10 seconds over the three chasers, who had him in their sights, but he gamely overcame the numerical disadvantage and fell to the ground after the crossing the line, revelling in the biggest win of his career.

The peloton had thinned out on the Alto del Castillo but there was no movement among the overall contenders, who finished in a relaxed fashion, their thoughts already turning to tomorrow's tough finish at Xorret de Cati.

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