Sean Quinn (EF Education Easypost) attacks(Image credit: Getty Images)
Remco Evenepoel at the start(Image credit: Getty Images)
Jonathan Klever Caicedo (EF Education-EasyPost) in the breakaway(Image credit: Getty Images)
Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) won the hilltop finish at La Laguna Negra.Vinuesa from a 26-rider attack, as the overall contenders let the breakaway enjoy a rare moment in the spotlight.
Herrada emerged from the move and used his final burst of power to surge away and win the stage atop the 6.5km climb through the trees.
Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) finished three seconds behind him, with Andreas Kron (Lotto Dstny) third ast eight seconds.
Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) was in the attack and finished fifth at 19 seconds after teammate Filippo Ganna worked hard for his team leader.
The GC contenders finished 5:55 down on Herrada, with the only attack coming from Remco Evenepoel in sight of the finish line as he tried to test his main rivals. The significant gap allowed Thomas to move up to 7:34 down on Kuss but he is only 18th overall.
The leading places in the overall classification remained unchanged, with Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) retaining his 26-second lead on Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates). Evenepoel is third overall at 1:09, with Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) fourth at 1:36.
The high pyrenees come on Friday after a 151 km stage to Zaragoza and a flat finish.
Herrada was the only rider from Cofidis in the 26-rider attack but survived the attacks and team tactics to win his third stage at the Vuelta a España and give Cofidis Tour third Grand Tour stage win of 2023.
"It's always hard to know when it can be your day but you have to try, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't," Herrada said after recovering from his huge final effort.
"I'm very happy. My goal was a stage win. I had to wait for the second week to make it happen but we did it. Now we can enjoy the rest of the race and keep fighting.
"I knew it was a good finish for me but it was complicated to even get in the breakaway. But I had good legs so I could be up there. It was hard to attack with the riders in the move and with Thomas there but I knew the finish suited me. I waited for the sprint and won it."
Kuss was happy to enjoy a fast but controlled day in the race leader's red jersey.
"It was not too bad, I think everyone wanted to do a nice pace at the end, so it was a bit strange," he said. "It took a while for the break to go but there were a lot of big, wide roads. There was an annoying wind all day, so it wasn't easy but it was all relative."
Kuss knows he could crack and lose the race lead but wants to keep believing.
"You always have to believe," he said. "It's pretty simple: I give my best every day and I'm enjoying every day that I have the red jersey."
How it unfolded
The Vuelta a España headed east from Lerma to the Laguna Negra hilltop finish, offering a chance for a breakaway as the overall contenders saved their legs for the expected big showdown in the Pyrenees on Friday to the summit of the Col du Tourmalet.
Most of the 163.2km stage was on flat roads and early attacks sparked a high-speed first hour of racing. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) crashed in the neutralised sector of the stage but got up, was treated by the race doctor and weathered the attacks.
Incredibly, nothing stuck for almost 60 km of racing, as different riders and teams fought with each other as they tried to go up the road.
Then, in sudden contrast to the early aggression, a break of 26 riders got away with 105 km to race. They suddenly rolled up the road and Jumbo-Visma were happy to let it go, even if Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) was in the attack.
Also in the move were Dorian Godon, Nicolas Prodhomme, Damien Touzé (AG2R Citroën); Luis León Sánchez (Astana Qazaqstan); Lukasz Owsian (Arkéa-Samsic); José Manuel Diaz, Eric Fagundez, Pelayo Sánchez (Burgos-BH); Joel Nicolau (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA); Jesus Herrada (Cofidis); Sean Flynn (Team dsm-firmenich); Jonathan Caicedo, Andrea Piccolo (EF Education-EasyPost); Rudy Molard, Lewis Askey, Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ); Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers); Julius Johansen (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty); Jan Maas (Jayco-AlUla); Jacopo Mosca, Otto Vergaerde (Lidl-Trek); Andreas Kron (Lidl-Trek); Jorge Arcas (Movistar); Alan Jousseaume and Paul Ourselin (TotalEnergies).
The 26 riders naturally worked together on the barren roads of northern Spain and gradually extended their lead out to over five minutes as Jumbo-Visma worked for race leader Sepp Kuss as well as their other GC leaders Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard.
With 50 km to race, the average speed was still up at 46.5km/h, with the gap expanding rather than falling.
Jumbo-Visma was in control but were perhaps also testing the nerve of the other teams by allowing Thomas to gain time and so move back up the classification.
The gap reached 6:00 with 20km to go, so the break was sure to fight for the stage victory. That changed the mindset in the attack, with Ganna playing a pure domestique mode for Thomas.
Johansen tried a solo attack on the approach to the climb to the finish but the Intermarché was soon pulled back. Ourselin was the next to try his luck and opened a 20-second lead. Kron attacked from the chase with Gregoiré on his wheel but Ganna sat on the front and motor-paced the chase for Thomas.
Riders were spat out of the back by Ganna’s pace, with only the better climbers able to hold the wheels.
Caicedo was the first to play his final cards in the final kilometre. He got a gap but was caught in the sprint to the line, Herrada the first to pass him as he sprinted to the finish.
Behind the overall contenders rode in team formations and watched each other as they headed to the finish.
Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bora-Hansgrohe) jumped away and then Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) chased him but they were eventually caught when Evenepoel made a late surge, happy to stay in control and avoid any big efforts. Those will come soon enough in the Pyrenees.
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.
