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Sunday, August 28, 2022
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2021 Tour de France | 2022 Giro d'Italia
Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still. - Henry David Thoreau
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Current racing:
- Aug 19 - Sept 11: La Vuelta a España
- Aug 28: Bretagne Classic Ouest-France
Upcoming racing:
- Sept 4: Tour du Doubs
- Sept 4: Maryland Cycling Classic
- Sept 4 - 11: Tour of Britain
Latest completed racing:
- Aug 23 - 26: Tour Poitou-Charantes en Nouvelle Aquitaine
- Aug 21: BEMER Cyclassics Hamburg
- Aug 16 - 20: PostNord Danmark Rundt
- Aug 16 - 19: Tour du Limousin
- Aug 11 - 14: Arctic Race of Norway
- Aug 14: La Polynormande
- Aug 9 - 11: Tour de l'Ain
- Aug 2 - 6: Vuelta a Burgos
- July 30 - Aug 5: Tour of Poland
- July 31: Circuito de Getxo
- July 30: Clasica San Sebastián
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from GC leader Remco Evenepoel's Team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl:
Featuring over 3300 vertical meters, six classified climbs and culminating with the ascent of the Collau Fancuaya, an Asturian ascent never before used at the race, stage 8 brough more changes to the general classification, but one thing that remained the same was the red jersey owner, who continues to be Remco Evenepoel, after the Belgian passed another important test.
Remco Evenepoel remains the owner of the red jersey. Sirotti photo
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl once again devoted all their energy in working for the 22-year-old, setting the pace at the front of the peloton from the first climb of the day and all the way until with three kilometers to go, when Remco took matters into his own hands. The youngest rider in decades to lead La Vuelta, he pushed a tempo so high that riders began being shed at the back, only two men being capable of matching his relentless pace on the gruelling double-digit gradients of Collau Fancuaya.
Evenepoel led the small group on the line, retaining the red jersey and his 28-second advantage over the closest opponent in the standings ahead of the week’s final stage, a result that left him content at the end of the day.
“The goal was to not lose time. I did that and even managed to gain more seconds over almost all the other riders, which is good. I did my best out there, the team was superb, taking care of me and controlling the race from the start, and I want to thank them for that. We keep the confidence and we’ll give everything again on Sunday, when we’ll try to keep the red jersey”, Remco said after becoming the youngest rider since 1985 to spend at least three days at the top of La Vuelta’s general classification.
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Here's the report from second-place Marc Soler's UAE team Emirates:
Marc Soler was one of the chief protagonists on a very tough eighth stage of the Vuelta a Espana which took the riders from La Pola Llaviana to Colláu Fancuaya (153.4km).
The Spaniard of UAE Team Emirates wasted no time and immediately went off on the attack animating the group and just falling short of clawing back Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
Marc Soler headed to the finish. Sirotti photo
The stage was decided on the last climb, 10.1km long, with an average gradient of 8.5% and stretches up to 17%.
The change of pace seemed to weigh down Soler’s pedaling, who at -6km lost touch with the head of the breakaway.
The Spaniard, however, recovered his strength and set off in pursuit of Jay Vine who managed to cross the finish line first, with Soler second at 43 “.
In the main group Almeida and Ayuso were unable to join the group of the Red Jersey Evenepoel, closing the stage in 12th and 13th place respectively.
Soler: “I’m tired but happy with this second place. In the end I decided to go at my own pace and do the best I could without thinking too much about anything else. Every day I give my best and try to help the team and, on days like today get ahead animate the race ”.
A lot of climbing is planned for tomorrow: 175.5km from Villaviciosa to Les Praeres. Nava, with 5 GPM and the last 4km at an average 13%.
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Here's the stage eight report from third-place Rein Taaramäe's Team Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert:
Rein Taaramäe showed his specialty again this Saturday by battling for the stage win on a mountain top finish at the end of a long breakaway. The double Vuelta stage winner fought on the Alto de la Colladona, the first of six climbs of the day, to join a leading group of ten riders in this eight stage leading towards the unprecedented Colláu Fancuaya.
Taaramäe was accompanied by other strong climbers and contributed to keep the advantage on the peloton above four minutes for most of the stage. The leading group eventually started the final climb Colláu Fancuaya (10 km at 8%) with a three minute gap. The Estonian climber managed his effort in pursuit behind Jay Vine, the stage winner on Pico Jano. Taaramäe finished third on the top and repeats his performance on the Etna in the latest Giro.
Rein Taaramäe leads Thibaut Pinot in the day's final meters. Sirotti photo
“I worked very hard to prepare this Tour of Spain and I'm probably in the best shape of my life. I felt good and I was confident, but Jay Vine was just incredible. When he accelerated with 6 kilometer to go, I didn't immediately have an answer. On such a regular climb it can be risky to dig deep, because there are never possibilities to recover. So I chose to climb at my rhythm, hoping for a difficult moment for Vine and a chance on the stage win for me. But in the end he was the strongest today so I had to settle with the podium. We'll keep trying.” - Rein Taaramäe
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And here's the report from fourth-place Thibaut Pinot's Team Groupama-FDJ:
Heading towards the Colláu Fancuaya on Saturday, Groupama-FDJ did everything to achieve its goal. On stage 8 of the Vuelta a Espana, the team put no less than three riders in the day’s breakaway, which was made up of ten men. Thanks to Bruno Armirail’s work in particular, the leading group was able to approach the final climb with a big enough lead to fight for victory. However, Thibaut Pinot could not compete with the eventual winner Jay Vine and then took fourth place at the top. Sébastien Reichenbach placed tenth just behind the favorites. There will be more chances.
Thibaut Pinot going deep on the final climb. Sirotti photo.
Before heading into the second rest day, a very hard weekend awaited the riders of La Vuelta. The first part, on Saturday, certainly featured only 153 kilometres. However, it included six climbs with a final 1st category ascent, tallying some 3700 metres of elevation gain for the day. It went without saying that the profile of the stage 8 was particularly appealing forthe Groupama-FDJ climbers.
The day, however, began with bad news as Jake Stewart was forced to leave the race due to illness. “It’s a shame for him, of course, but it’s also a shame for the group as he brought his freshness”, said Philippe Mauduit. “He adjusted well to this group, and he was doing a very strong start of the Vuelta. We would have liked to go untilMadrid with him, but nature decided otherwise”. They were therefore only seven left at the start of Pola de Laviana, but all seven were motivated. “It went full gas in the first climb”, said Philippe. “Thibaut, Quentin, Bruno, Seb followed the first attacks, but the breakaway eventually went after the descent. Bruno was there first, then Seb and Thibaut came back”.
While the time trial specialist had already taken a one-minute lead over the bunch with seven riders, the Franco-Swiss duo attacked from the pack. “It was the very last moment where they could do it”, claimed Philippe. “If they had waited three more kilometres, they would never have had the opportunity. They opened a door and went for it. They did well. The goal really was to have Thibaut or Seb, or even both, in the breakaway. It would have been a shame to give upafter 15-20 kilometres of fight”.
“We were really frustrated to have missed it with Seb”, added Thibaut. “We managed to get out of the peloton at the last minute, but there was already a good gap, so we had to lead a proper chase. It was hard, but we really wanted to be in front. When Bruno came back, it helped us a lot, but we still left a bit of energy with that move”. “I was told on the radio to wait,which I did”, indicated Bruno. “I then pulled to bring them inthe break. It took a lot of effort from us. I even doubted that we would make it back, because we were going full gas and we were not gaining time”.
However, after some twelve kilometres of pursuit, the Groupama-FDJ triplet bridged across to Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Qazaqstan), Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), Rein Taaramae (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Lucas Hamilton (BikeExchange- Jayco), Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) and Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck). From then on, the leading group swallowed the valleys and the climb in a very straightforward way. “The cooperation was good, everyone collaborated well”, explained Bruno. “I did more turns to spare Thibaut and Seb, but the group was working well together”. “The breakaway was always under pressure because the peloton never really gave a consequent gap”, explained Philippe. “Everyone felt compelled to cooperate. If the peloton had given us three minutes, some might have skipped turns and told us to take responsibility. We found ourselves in a situation where the other riders couldn’t afford such a thing, and that’s what allowed the breakaway to make it to the end again”.
The gap remained of about four minutes for a long time, but it slightly decreased as the breakaway approached the final climb of Colláu Fancuaya (10.2 km at 8.6%). Following hiswork, Bruno Armirail was distanced in the foothills. The leading riders rode tempo on the first slopes before everything exploded six kilometres from the finish. Jay Vine accelerated the pace and soon found himself as the lone leader.
“When he attacked, I tried to follow him, but he was clearly the strongest”, said Thibaut. “There was really nothing to do. I wanted to try to follow him rather than take my own pace, because I knew it would be impossible to catch him that way. Unfortunately, I went over my limit a little, and then I did what I could until the finish”. At the second level of the race,the climber from Melisey then reached the summit in fourth position, four seconds from the second place. Sébastien Reichenbach finished tenth on the line, surrounded by thefavorites including the red jersey Remco Evenepoel.
“When you come across a stronger rider than you and the terrain does not allow you to play it tactical, you can’t have any regret”, said Philippe. “There was a long valley before the final climb, it was impossible to attack on your own and then stay away. When you have done everything you needed to do, you can have no regrets”.
Thibaut Pinot had the same feeling on Saturday evening: “I’m obviously disappointed not to win because it’s a stage that suited me, but I lost to someone stronger. I am happy with my feelings today compared to what they were earlier in theweek. It’s the first time since the start of the Vuelta that theywere good. I am reassured and motivated for the rest of the race. Already tomorrow, there is a stage that looks like today’s one”.
“I am satisfied to see that the Groupama-FDJ jerseys are at the front of the race, and that the riders are still fightingeven when the situation can be difficult”, added Philippe. “Their goal is to win a stage and they are doing everythingthey can to achieve it. We will eventually find the right opportunity”. Bruno Armirail also drew positives from this eighth stage. “I feel quite reassured after today, because I’ve had some hard days since we arrived in Spain,” he concluded. “We now need to recover for tomorrow, and we’ll continue to try in the coming two weeks. Rudy got the red jersey, it was good, but we want more. Everyone is going well, and it’s a good sign”. In the general classification, Rudy Molard lost his second place on Saturday.
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