Carapaz secures second stage victory on stage 14 atop Sierra de La Pandera
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Remco Evenepoel suffers on stage 14's Sierra de La Pandera at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Carapaz wins stage 14 atop Sierra de La Pandera at Vuelta a España(Image credit: Getty Images)
Vuelta a Espana stage 14 breakaway: Richard Carapaz, Luis León Sánchez, Clément Champoussin,, Kenny Elissonde, Marco Brenner, Bruno Armirail, Alexey Lutsenko, Raul García, Filippo Conca and Mads Pedersen (Image credit: Getty Images)
Vuelta a Espana stage 14 breakaway: Richard Carapaz, Luis León Sánchez, Clément Champoussin,, Kenny Elissonde, Marco Brenner, Bruno Armirail, Alexey Lutsenko, Raul García, Filippo Conca and Mads Pedersen (Image credit: Getty Images)
Vuelta a Espana stage 14 breakaway: Richard Carapaz, Luis León Sánchez, Clément Champoussin,, Kenny Elissonde, Marco Brenner, Bruno Armirail, Alexey Lutsenko, Raul García, Filippo Conca and Mads Pedersen (Image credit: Getty Images)
Vuelta a Espana stage 14 breakaway: Richard Carapaz, Luis León Sánchez, Clément Champoussin,, Kenny Elissonde, Marco Brenner, Bruno Armirail, Alexey Lutsenko, Raul García, Filippo Conca and Mads Pedersen (Image credit: Getty Images)
Vuelta a Espana stage 14 breakaway: Richard Carapaz, Luis León Sánchez, Clément Champoussin,, Kenny Elissonde, Marco Brenner, Bruno Armirail, Alexey Lutsenko, Raul García, Filippo Conca and Mads Pedersen (Image credit: Getty Images)
Vuelta a Espana stage 14 breakaway: Richard Carapaz, Luis León Sánchez, Clément Champoussin,, Kenny Elissonde, Marco Brenner, Bruno Armirail, Alexey Lutsenko, Raul García, Filippo Conca and Mads Pedersen (Image credit: Getty Images)
Vuelta a Espana stage 14 breakaway: Richard Carapaz, Luis León Sánchez, Clément Champoussin,, Kenny Elissonde, Marco Brenner, Bruno Armirail, Alexey Lutsenko, Raul García, Filippo Conca and Mads Pedersen (Image credit: Getty Images)
Vuelta a Espana stage 14 breakaway: Richard Carapaz, Luis León Sánchez, Clément Champoussin, Kenny Elissonde, Marco Brenner, Bruno Armirail, Alexey Lutsenko, Raul García, Filippo Conca and Mads Pedersen (Image credit: Getty Images)
Vuelta a Espana stage 14 breakaway: Richard Carapaz, Luis León Sánchez, Clément Champoussin, Kenny Elissonde, Marco Brenner, Bruno Armirail, Alexey Lutsenko, Raul García, Filippo Conca and Mads Pedersen (Image credit: Getty Images)
The peloton racing stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Overall leader Remco Evenepoel racing stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Overall leader Remco Evenepoel racing stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
A general view of Jan City during stage 14 at the Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Clment Champoussin and Mads Pedersen lead the breakaway on stage 14(Image credit: Getty Images)
Richard Carapaz wins stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Richard Carapaz and Clement Champoussin on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Luis Leon Sanchez Gil on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Richard Carapaz leads the breakaway on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Richard Carapaz attacks on the Sierra de La Pandera to win stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Primoz Roglic on the Sierra de La Pandera on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Enric Mas 6th on Sierra de La Pandera on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Jay Vine in the mountains leaders jersey on Sierra de La Pandera on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Luis Leon Sanchez on the podium at Sierra de La Pandera on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Richard Carapaz celebrates winning on Sierra de La Pandera on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Richard Carapaz and Clement Champoussin on Sierra de La Pandera on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Carlos Rodriguez and Enric Mas on Sierra de La Pandera on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Joao Almeida 4th on Sierra de La Pandera on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Primoz Roglic 3rd on Sierra de La Pandera on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Alexey Lutsenko and Primoz Roglic on Sierra de La Pandera on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Remco Evenepoel limits his losses on Sierra de La Pandera on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Primoz Roglic goes on the attack on Sierra de La Pandera on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Remco Evenepoel on Sierra de La Pandera on stage 14 at Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Getty Images)
Richard Carapaz celebrates stage 14 victory at the Vuelta(Image credit: Getty Images)
Remco Evenepoel stays in the overall lead after stage 14(Image credit: Getty Images)
Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) attacked and distanced Remco Evenepoel (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) on the steep final slopes of the Sierra de La Pandera climb, landing his first counter-punch in the battle for overall victory.
Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) managed to hold off Roglič in the final kilometres and win the stage from the break of the day.
Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Qazaqstan) finished second just ahead of Roglič, just eight seconds down on Carapaz. Evenepoel suffered in the final three kilometres of the steep Andalucian climb but managed to limit his losses and stay in the leader’s red jersey. Other GC riders finished the stage before him and he lost 48 seconds to Roglič.
The young Belgian now leads Roglič by 1:49 with Enric Mas (Movistar) at 2:43.
The battle for the leader’s red jersey is suddenly back on and Sunday’s mountain stage to Sierra Nevada will be another chance for Roglič and another test for Evenepoel.
Evenepoel appeared to limp as he climbed off his bike but coolly walked to the podium area and gave a thumbs up.
Carapaz was happy to win another prestigious stage after losing any overall chance of victory.
“Today an important stage for us and it’s nice to take another stage victory,” Carapaz said.
“It took a while for the break to go clear, we went full gas for 70km but I got in it, then I was able to go clear alone. I knew this climb very well, I knew where the attack points where and where the top was, so went at my own pace. I didn’t take any risks out there. This boosts my morale for the rest of the Vuelta.”
How it unfolded
Several stages in this year’s Vuelta a España have been quiet affairs with a small break allowed to hang out front before the peloton reeled them in close to the finish. Saturday’s stage was totally different with a huge battle to go into the attack of the day and a tense ride in the peloton as QuickStep-AlphaVinyl protected Remco Evenepoel’s race lead.
Vincenzo Nibali, Robert Stannard and Hugh Carthy were the first to attack but they were pulled back in the first exchanges. Nibali immediately tried again with mountains competition leader Jay Vine but they were pulled back after opening a gap of just 15 seconds.
Davide Villella, Fred Wright and Bryan Coquard also tried their luck, as did Thomas De Gendt and Jasha Sütterlin after a super fast opening 40km of racing. Indeed the opening 50km were covered in just over an hour, at 49.2km/h. Riders were keen to get in a break to target the stage victory but the many attacks neutralised each other and the right combination of riders and teams never happened.
Things changed with 90km to go as some fatigue was finally felt in the peloton.
Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan) were the first to attack and they were joined by Clément Champoussin (AG2R Citroën), Luis Leon Sanchez (Bahrain Victorious), Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), Filippo Conca (Lotto Soudal), Kenny Elissonde and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo).
The peloton decided to let them go and they quickly opened a lead of 3:00 before QuickStep-AlphaVinyl took control and Rémi Cavagna put his moustache on the front and began to lead the chase. Carapaz was the best placed rider overall at 14:52 and so not a real threat, while Pedersen was riding to score points at the intermediate sprint and help Elissonde.
After a long ride through the olive groves, the gap was 4:00 with 50km to go. Carapaz lead over the Puerto de Siete Pilillas climb as the race headed to Jaén and looped out to the left. On the return to the town, the climbing to Sierra de La Pandera loomed large on the horizon.
Pedersen lead through the intermediate sprint in Jaén to score another 20 points and take his total to an almost unbeatable 267 points but he was not done. He then worked on the front to keep the break together and gave his all for Elissonde until 22km to go and the start of the two-part climb to the finish. The Dane’s work helped the break hold a lead of 3:30 on the peloton and he even poured cold water over the French climber before easing up.
The climb to the finish included two parts and two categorised climbs: the 10km Puerto de Los Villares at 5.5% and then, after a short descent, the 8.4km, 7.8% Sierra de La Pandera up to the finish line.
As the climb of Puerto de Los Villares began to hurt, the break split when Lutsenko upped the pace. He was joined by Sanchez, Carapaz, Champoussin and Conca. Everyone else was scattered down the road behind them.
QuickStep-AlphaVinyl lead the peloton until the final two kilometres. Esteban Chaves (EF Education-EasyPost) tried a surge and Jumbo-Visma also upped the pace to try to isolate Evenepoel. There was a sense something was about to happen. The reduced peloton crested the Puerto de Los Villares at just 2:40, after Ineos lined out the group to protect and set-up Rodriguez.
Sanchez jumped away over the top of the Puerto de Los Villares and was soon joined by Carapaz, who realised the benefits of riding together. Champoussin and Conca managed to join them with six kilometres to climb of the exposed and barren Sierra de La Pandera climb.
Chris Harper took over for Jumbo-Visma at the head of the ever-smaller group and suddenly the gap to the attackers was down to 1:30 and fading fast. Harper’s pace hurt everyone in the GC group and when he moved over with four kilometres to go, Primož Roglič surged away off the front.
For a while Evenepoel seemed cool and in control but then was unable to respond and was suddenly in trouble. Ayuso suffered a mechanical and was also distanced but got a bike from neutral service and even rode up to and past Evenepoel.
Upfront Carapaz gave his all to try and stay away from Roglič, Mas and Lopez, who were eating into his lead. The gap fell to 15 seconds with two kilometres to race, as Evenepoel was timed 40 seconds down.
Fortunately for Carapaz, the final kilometre was down a steep descent before a kick-up to the finish line. He dug deep and managed to hit the line first to win a second stage victory.
Lopez and Roglič finished just eight seconds behind him and they were a far more significant 48 seconds ahead of Evenepoel.
Suddenly the Vuelta was alive again with Evenepoel facing a real battle to defend his race lead in the final week.
Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
