Vuelta a España: Cavagna wins stage 19

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Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-QuickStep) won stage 19 of the Vuelta a España on Friday, triumphing with a 25km solo bid from the break of the day.

Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) took second place, leading the peloton home five seconds after Cavagna had crossed the line. The QuickStep pair of Zdenek Štybar and Philippe Gilbert trailed in metres behind, while Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) took fifth, grabbing three seconds on his GC rivals.

Cavagna, who has been one of the most aggressive riders of the race, finally got a reward for his efforts as he left his breakaway companions on the windy, flatlands of Castilla-La Mancha in central spain. He built a 30-second gap to his breakmates, preserving the same lead over the rest of the field in the closing kilometres of the stage.

The Frenchman's advantage proved enough for him to stay away to the finish and survive on the 8 per cent ramp to the line for a much-deserved win – his second of 2019.

"I tried to do my best today. It was my last chance in the Vuelta," Cavagna said after the stage. "I gave it everything and I'm really happy because it's my first win in a Grand Tour.

"I sat on all day. My team leaders were behind me so I could keep quiet in the breakaway and save myself. I made my attack 25 kilometers from the finish line, and from that point on, I really went for it.

"I couldn't go any faster than I went. I heard that I had 45 seconds, but only in the last corner did I know for sure that I was going to win. I'm really happy to finish the Vuelta like this."

Earlier in the stage, there was more than a touch of polemica, as race leader Primož Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) slid out, along with several of his teammates, on a wet corner with 65km to go.

Valverde, teammate Quintana, and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) avoided the carnage, with Movistar pushing on at the front of the race while Roglič and youth classification leader Miguel Ángel López (Astana) chased behind.

After 15km of chasing and with the groups almost back together, Movistar finally called off the pacemaking, bringing the big GC squabble of the day to an end.

Roglič remains in the race lead, though now 2:47 up on Valverde, while Quintana stays third, at 3:31. Roglič, Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R La Mondiale) and López all keep hold of their points, mountain and young rider classification jerseys for another day, as the race moves one day closer to Madrid.

How it unfolded

Stage 19 of the Vuelta a España, a transition stage in between the final two mountain stages of the race, would provide a chance for the punchier sprinters or the breakaway, with a rolling day culminating in an uphill finish (700 metres at 8 per cent on a cobbled road) in the walled city of Toledo, south of Madrid.

With climbing from the off, it didn't take much time for a small group to get away and establish themselves shortly after the stage got under way.

The break of the day was made up of 11 riders – Silvan Dillier (AG2R La Mondiale), Domen Novak (Bahrain-Merida), Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Lawson Craddock (EF Education First), Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), Tsgabu Grmay (Mitchelton Scott), Ben O’Connor (Team Dimension Data), David de la Cruz (Team Ineos), Nikias Arndt (Team Sunweb), Peter Stetina (Trek-Segafredo) and Shane Archbold (Bora-Hansgrohe).

They quickly built a one-minute by the top of the first, and only, climb of the day, the third-category Alto de la Paramera. Katusha-Alpecin, CCC Team and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA worked in the peloton with their riders all missing out on the move, but the break wouldn't be brought back.

The opening stages of the day were fairly quiet, standard flat stage fare. Archbold dropped back from the break after 50km of racing to help his team work for their sprinter Sam Bennett.

Rain started to fall at the midway point of the day, and the peloton responded by speeding things up a bit, bringing the break's advantage from 3:50 down to 1:30. They lay around a minute back when the big incident of the day occurred, on a small descent some 65km from the line.

It was there that the majority of the Jumbo-Visma team slid out on a wet corner, with race leader Roglič among those riders to hit the deck. Youth classification leader Miguel Ángel López (Astana) was also caught out, while in the front group Movistar drove the pace.

The lead group, which included Valverde, Quintana and Tadej Pogačar, kept pushing on for 15 kilometres over the windy flatlands after the crash, against one of the core unwritten rules of cycling. But the Roglič's chase group closing in 50km from the line, Movistar knocked off the pace for the two groups to merge into a peloton.

Roglič's teammate, the indefatigable Tony Martin, proved the major casualty of the incident. He along with Marco Marcato (UAE Team Emirates) were forced to abandon after the crash.

The race briefly calmed down after the controversial move passed, though it picked up once more with 30km to go as the peloton split in the crosswinds. Roglič was once again caught out, as Valverde and López made the front group while Pogačar bridged.

It was a short-lived move, though, and things soon came back together. Up the road, the break continued to ride, 1:10 ahead of all the drama down the road.

They wouldn't stick together for long after that though, as Cavagna decided to set off alone 25km from the line. The Frenchman has been out front day after day at the Vuelta – in the crosswinds, attacking at the start of stages, in the break, and also to set up teammate Fabio Jakobsen for the win on stage 4, so it was fitting to see him out front once again.

Cavagna swiftly gained 20 seconds on his former companions, holding the gap into the final 10km, while the peloton lurked a minute back. Five kilometres later, as he reached Toledo, he was still 30 seconds ahead of the break and 45 seconds ahead of the charging peloton.

Arndt, Craddock and Armirail attacked the break but didn't put a dent in Cavagna's lead. The trio, along with the remainder of the break, were brought back inside the final 2km, but Cavagna persisted, carrying a 30-second lead under the flamme rouge.

By that point it was already over, and Cavagna had some time celebrate as he crossed the line. Bennett, who had done a great job getting up the hill, was five seconds short of his third stage victory, while Cavagna's teammates Štybar and Gilbert proved strongest of the rest.

Results

General classification