Vuelta a España: Molano sprints to stage 12 victory

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Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates) sprinted to victory on stage 12 of the Vuelta a España, the Colombian taking advantage of Alpecin-Deceuninck's lead-out misfortune on the run to the line in Zaragoza.

Green jersey Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) took second place after he was forced to come from far back after getting boxed in and dropping his chain in the final 200 metres. Meanwhile, UAE Team Emirates had punched their way to the front, dropping Molano in prime position to win his second career Vuelta stage as Boy van Poppel (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) rounded out the podium in third.

"Thanks to my team. They were amazing today," Molano said after the finish. "I'm very happy to win a stage in the Vuelta last year, now this year. After the incident it's not easy to return but now it's OK and I'm very happy."

Up to the final 300 metres, Alpecin-Deceuninck had done everything right to deliver Groves to a third stage win of the race. However, the Australian got caught up behind his own lead-out and up against the barriers as UAE Team Emirates manoeuvred to the front on the right-hand side.

With a powerful burst of speed, Portuguese track star Rui Oliveira piloted Molano around the outside into clear air, having taken the decision to do just that at the flamme rouge, and a clear gap to Van Poppel and the rest. The Colombian, who won the final stage in Madrid last year, was left with a simple task over the closing 150 metres.

"It was really chaos," Oliveira said. "Our strategy was to go up the left side because the wind was coming from the right and it was bending a bit on the left. We knew it would be important to time the sprint well because of a bit of a headwind. But at 500 metres to go I saw it was a bit chaos to get on the inside – some guys are completely crazy.

"At 1km to go we were a bit stuck, but I knew we had to wait. I knew I had the legs from the other day, and I knew that if we timed it well, I could provide a really good lead-out. I decided to go at 450 metres to go. I knew I had good legs, and I knew I had Molano on the wheel so when I saw him passing… Fuck, for me this victory is just like mine. I'm so proud."

Further back, Groves was left with too much to do, first closing the gap to Van Poppel after getting his right foot back in the pedal, then blasting past Oliveira on the way to a clear second behind the winner.

Away from Molano's 22nd career victory and UAE Team Emirates' 48th of the season, there was little to write home about during the 150.6km stage.

However, there was some movement at the top of the GC standings as Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) snatched four bonus seconds on the late intermediate sprint to move to within 23 seconds of main red jersey rival Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep). Otherwise, the general classification remained the same, with Sepp Kuss set to start stage 13 to the Col du Tourmalet in the race lead with a 26-second advantage over Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates).

How it unfolded

Stage 12 of the Vuelta a España signalled a return to prominence for the sprinters of the 160-man peloton, with no classified climbs featuring on the 150.6km easterly run from Olvega to Zaragoza.

It's rarely pan-flat at the Vuelta, though, and there was a small hill early on and a long, gradual slope mid-stage to contend with before the downhill/flat run to the finish over the final 40km. As a result of there being no mountain classification points to pick up, and with no real chance of any break making it to the line, it was no surprise to see two men from the Spanish wildcard teams venture up the road.

Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH) was joined in the move by Abel Balderstone (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) in jumping off the front of the race in the early kilometres of the stage, the peloton offering little resistance or sign of concern for the two-man attack.

Seeking a third stage win for points classification leader Kaden Groves, Alpecin-Deceuninck duly took to the head of the peloton to control the gap, a position they'd occupy for the bulk of the day.

A multi-rider crash in the middle of the peloton after 40km of racing brought the only real drama of a dull day at the Vuelta, with Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) going down alongside Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep), Dani Navarro (Burgos-BH) and several others.

There were thankfully no abandons or major injuries as a result, with all riders getting back into a peloton which, at 100km to go, rolled along at just under two minutes down on the breakaway duo.

That advantage gradually wore away as the kilometres passed, hitting the minute mark at just inside 70km to go and the 30-second mark 20km later. Balderstone was the first of the two breakaway riders to give up the ghost, dropping back at 45km to go, leaving Bol to fight the impossible fight alone.

The Dutchman wouldn't repeat Burgos-BH's heroics at Javalambre four years ago, however, when he took second behind teammate Angel Madrazo. He kept going for a few more kilometres before being brought back into the fold with 38km to go.

That left Alpecin-Deceuninck to lead the way to the finish – and before that, the intermediate sprint 19km out – with UAE Team Emirates and Jumbo-Visma lined up behind. The Dutch squad were preparing for the sprint, with Primož Roglič striking out behind green jersey Kaden Groves to take second across the line and with it four bonus seconds to move to 23 seconds behind GC rival Remco Evenepoel.

Jumbo-Visma joined dsm-firmenich, Bahrain Victorious, and Soudal-QuickStep at the front racing into the final 10km, though Alpecin-Deceuninck weren't far from the action, of course.

It was Soudal-QuickStep who led the way into the final 5km, the Belgian squad seeking to protect leader Remco Evenepoel ahead of the sprint finish, with all GC contenders coming through the 3km mark safe and intact.

The finale, however, was left up to the sprint squads as Alpecin-Deceuninck got back on the front with Groves at the end of the lead-out. Behind them, other sprinters battled for the prime wheel of the man in green, but it was the Belgian squad who stayed in control heading into the final kilometre.

The team looked all set to deliver another victory before things unravelled just 300 metres from the finish. Groves was caught between his last lead-out man, the barriers on the left, and advancing sprinters on the right, leaving him with nowhere to go.

Meanwhile, metres away, moving in clear air were Oliveira and Molano. The pair were unimpeded as they shot through to deliver a comprehensive victory while Groves, held up once more after briefly dropping his chain, was left to bang his handlebars in frustration at his second-place finish.

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