Vuelta a España: Roglic wins at Valdepeñas de Jaén

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Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) used his power and aggression to win yet another short but steep uphill finish at the Vuelta a España, distancing his overall rivals with a final kick through the narrow roads of Valdepeñas de Jaén in Andalucia. 

Roglič managed to open a three-second gap on his rivals at the line and so gained further time on them all and indicating his stage 10 crash had caused him few problems. 

Enric Mas finished second after going shoulder to shoulder with Roglič on the climb, with his Movistar teammate, Miguel Angel Lopez, taking third at five seconds. The other GC contenders finished lined out and at least seven seconds down, with Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) ninth at 11 seconds. 

Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) dug deep to finish tenth, also at 11 seconds down on Roglič, and so kept the race leader’s red jersey. He leads Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) by 58 seconds, with Roglič now at 1:56 and surely ready to take over at his will in the high mountains of the final week.  

Magus Cort (EF Education-Nippo) was in the break of the day and was only caught with 300 metres to go after another brave late solo effort. He needed to zig-zag up the finishing straight but was the most aggressive rider of the day.

Roglič appeared far more in control of his effort and his rivals. “It's always nice to win, you never know when it's the last one,” he said, playing down his dominance. 

“It was close again, eh? It was a hard stage. It was short but super hot again. I was also suffering a lot but luckily at the end I had enough for a win.

“It was a nice finish with a steep uphill where I can normally do well. It was a nice challenge and the team did an amazing job pushing hard all day and keeping the breakaway at a distance so big thanks to them.”

How it unfolded

The shortest stage of the Vuelta a España could have been the easiest stage but the uphill finish to Valdepeñas de Jaén after 133.6km in the saddle was always going to inspire a Flèche Wallonne race, with a strong breakaway attempt but also a chance for the strongest finisseur and even the overall contenders.  

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) and Alex Aranburu (Astana-Premier Tech) were the only two non-starters, leaving 169 riders in the peloton that rolled out of Antequera in the Andalucian hills north of Malaga. The Belgian sprinter has a mild fever and did not want to risk the rest of the season, while the Spaniard was injured in a crash on Tuesday.

The breakaway attempts started when the flag dropped at kilometre zero but the different stage ambitions meant that Team BikeExchange quickly closed down the move, keen to protect Matthews’ chances for the finish. 

A seven-rider attack was deemed too dangerous and some solo attempts were also swept up but after 20km five riders were let go. They were Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Fenix), Jonathan Lastra (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Magnus Cort (EF Education-Nippo), Joan Bou (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Harm Vanhoucke (Lotto Soudal). 

BikeExchange and Jumbo-Visma shared the initial chase to keep the break under control and their chances of victory alive. Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert also massed near the front at times, to defend the honour of Odd Christian Eiking leader’s jersey even if the five attackers were not a threat. Lastra was the closest at 42:16.

The rolling stage profile meant there was rarely a section of flat road but the five attackers worked valiantly together in the hope of staying away. However, the average speed for the first hour was a painful 47kph and so the break never pushed their lead out beyond two minutes.

Their breakaway’s gap faded to 1:20 with 30km to go and Movistar also sensed a chance of victory and perhaps a time gain. They started riding on the front with BikeExchange and Jumbo-Visma and so the break’s lead fell below a minute. 

The climbs became especially harsh in the final 25km, with the 8.8km Puerto de Locubín climb starting with 15km to go. 

The break fell apart on the lower slopes as the peloton upped the pace and fought for position for the key climb. 

Just as on stage 6, Cort used his superior climbing ability to push on alone in the hope of staying away from the peloton over the top of the climb and then on the final steep ramp up to Valdepeñas de Jaén. It was a brave move. 

Cort again paced his effort and gave his all, going near to cracking the strongest domestiques such as Mikel Nieve of BikeExchange. He kept a gap of 50 seconds for much of the climb as the Australian team paced their chase, no doubt based on Matthews’ threshold.

David de la Cruz (UAE Team Emirates) attacked two kilometres from the top of the Puerto de Locubín climb but he only served as the hare to chase for Jumbo-Visma as they also tried to hurt their rivals before the final climb. The high pace meant there were only 30 riders in the front group, with Eiking near the back and fighting to hold onto the leader’s jersey. 

Fortunately for the Norwegian the descent through the olive groves gave him a chance to catch his breath and recover for the final climb.

Cort dived down the descent, using his bike skills and nerve to hold a 25-second lead. He still had a 20-second gap as the climb through the narrow streets of Valdepeñas de Jaén began and bravely refused to surrender. However Jumbo-Visma sensed victory and rode to set up Roglič, with the work of Sepp Kuss and Steven Kruijswijk biting into Cort’s lead. 

Mas and Roglič lead the peloton as the climb turned and gradient steepened, both hesitating for a while, knowing the final kick to the line would be vital. 

Cort stayed away until 300 metres to go but then Roglič opened up his terrible finishing surge and cruelly swept past the Danish rider. Roglič was tucked low on the drops as Mas struggled to match him on the brake levers and danced on the pedal.  

There was only one winner and Roglič quickly opened a gap that allowed him to earn seconds on all his rivals. 

They were only seconds but surely weighed like minutes in their minds, giving Roglič a psychological as well as physical victory.