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Saturday, August 31, 2024

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. - Neil Armstrong

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Current racing:

• August 17 - Sept 8: Vuelta a España
• August 28 - September 1: Renewi Tour
  

Upcoming racing:

• September 3 - 8: Tour of Britain
• September 8: Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec

Latest completed racing:

• August 25: Bretagne Classic Ouest-France
• August 20 - 23: Tour du Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine
• August 12 - 18: Tour of Poland
• August 14 - 18: PostNord Denmark Rundt
• August 13 - 16: Tour du Limousin
• August 11: La Polynormande
• August 10: Clasica San Sebastian
• August 5 - 9: Vuelta a Burgos
• August 4 - 7: Arctic Race of Norway
• July 27 - August 4: Olympic cycling

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Vuelta a España stage 13 reports

We posted the report from the race organizer with the results.

Here's the report from stage winner Michael Woods' Team Israel-Premier Tech:

Having been one of the most combative teams in this year’s Vuelta a España, Israel – Premier Tech finally got its reward on Friday as Mike Woods triumphed on Puerto de Ancares following a day-long breakaway.

The Canadian road race champion, who helped initiate a 24-rider lead group alongside teammate Dylan Teuns, went solo 4.6 kilometers from the top of the arduous climb and never looked like being caught.

Michael Woods wins Vuelta stage 13. ASO photo

This is IPT’s first Grand Tour stage victory since Woods soloed to win on Puy de Dôme at the Tour de France last year.

That run without success was not for the want of trying, though: in this year’s Vuelta alone, Marco Frigo finished second in Yunquera on stage 6, while George Bennett was in the group that contested for victory two days ago in Padrón, both having infiltrated successful breakaways.

“I’m on cloud 9 right now,” says Woods. “My big goal was to win a race with this Canadian jersey. I’ve had a tough season this year with illness and I’ve had a tough race with some bad luck, a lot of mechanicals, crashes and mistimed moments. So, this is a big moment of catharsis, a big moment of relief. The pressure has been building and to get this win now, I’m on cloud 9.

“I was super lucky to get in the break with Dylan Teuns, and Riley Sheehan did a great job and helped me a lot to get into the break. I was a bit isolated later on when we had Jay Vine, Brandon McNulty and Marc Soler attack me but I just tried to keep fighting with them. Then when Brandon and Jay crashed it really scared me and I hope they’re ok, but I knew that I was the guy to beat on that climb.

“I had Puy de Dome in the back of my head. I knew that as long as I was in striking distance of the other guys, I had a shot of winning on the final climb because it’s a good climb for me. I didn’t want to go as early as I did but with Mauro Schmid attacking me, I had to go then. It was a long four kilometers.

“It’s my third Vuelta stage win and I’m really proud of that. Just the Giro d’Italia stage win is missing. I’m not getting any younger so it’s always nice to win at this age. I’m going to savour this one.”

Here's the Vuelta report from second-place Mauro Schmid's Team Jayco AlUla:

Mauro Schmid rode to an impressive second place for Team Jayco AlUla on stage 13 of the Vuelta a España after making it into the breakaway for the second day running.

Mauro Schmid finishes second in stage 13. Sirotti photo

The Swiss champion, who is coming into some fantastic form as the Spanish Grand Tour only gets harder, was part of a large group of over 20 riders that escaped very early in the stage.

As the group was whittled down by the terrain, Schmid attacked a couple of times to try and steal a gap on his companions but he was reeled back in. Despite his efforts, he remained firm and was part of a select group of fewer than five as the steep summit finish loomed.

Schmid tried again as he rode away with Michael Woods at the foot of the last ascent. He went toe-to-toe with the Canadian champion for some time before Woods, a pure climber, broke clear with just over four kilometres to go.

Nevertheless, the 24-year-old kept battling to the line, holding off some strong climbers behind to secure a podium finish.

The result backs up a hard-earned fourth place that he earned on the stage 12 uphill finale, which came only a day after his teammate Eddie Dunbar claimed his maiden Grand Tour stage victory.

Mauro Schmid:
“I wasn’t expecting that, I knew the finish wasn’t very suitable for me, but somehow, I ended up in the break today and if I’m in the break then I’m always trying, at least. I tried to attack a few times before and I thought that if I could get a little gap, I had a better chance, but I knew that when it came to the last climb my chances were quite slim.

"I knew the chance for me to get into the breakaway was early because I still had quite tired legs from yesterday but I had a little feeling because the last few days it always took so long so maybe that was the reason nobody was expecting it so when Victor [Campenaerts] went from the start then I knew I had to be in the wheel and it turned out to be a good idea. I just tried to survive [on the last climb] and do my own pace from the bottom. When Mike went, I knew it would be difficult to stay in the wheel and then I just tried to do my rhythm.”

Here's the Vuelta report from stage 13 third-place Marc Soler's UAE Team Emirates:

UAE Team Emirates were once again on the offensive on stage 13 of the Vuelta España, with Marc Soler taking 3rd place on the uphill finale on the stage from Lugo to Puerto de Ancares (176km).

Marc Soler finishing stage 12. Sirotti photo

The original break saw 3 UAE riders up the road with Jay Vine and Brandon McNulty alongside Soler in the hunt for a third stage win for the Emirati team, though a crash with -19km on a descent saw Vine and McNulty come down. McNulty was worse off in the crash sliding out under a crash barrier though thankfully escaped with just some abrasions.

This left just Soler who had been acting as a decoy for the other riders though now was challenged with going for the stage himself. Though various attempts were made by Soler to get away it was Mike Woods (Israel Premier Tech) who proved the strongest on the steep ramps to the line and pulled out an impressive solo win.

Soler: “We gave it everything. Today the legs were a bit heavy and the idea was to collaborate with Brandon and Jay to go for a win for the team but unfortunately they crashed and the plans changed a bit. I did a big effort to close a gap after Campenaerts and Van Aert attacked and used up a lot of energy. Jay in particular was feeling good so we wanted to set something up for him in the final. Everybody is suffering in this Vuelta, it has been very hard one and we have a hard weekend ahead but we’ll try again.”

Stage 13 fifth-place Wout van Aert's Visma | Lease a Bike posted this:

Wout van Aert impressed in the thirteenth stage of the Vuelta a España, in which he finished fifth. In the breakaway of the day, the 29-year-old Belgian captured points for both the points and mountain classification, meaning he now leads both classifications. The stage win was for Michael Woods.

Wout van Aert finishing stage 13. Sirotti photo

The peloton prepared itself for a tough mountain stage between Lugo and Puerto de Ancares. Four categorised climbs awaited the riders in the 176-kilometre stage, with the steep final climb as highlight. After the start, Van Aert was part of a large breakaway group. The 24 escapees quickly gained a lead of more than ten minutes. 

Van Aert, who was already leading the points classification by a big margin, also set his mind on the mountain classification along the way. On the first three categorised climbs, the Belgian always reached the top first. That was enough to take over the lead in the mountain classification from Adam Yates. On the final climb, Van Aert chose his own pace. He finished fifth, well behind stage winner Woods. 

“This morning, I had not set my sights on the mountain classification”, Van Aert looked back. “I saw that Kaden Groves was in the early breakaway. He is second in the points classification, so I had to go with him. Once I was in the front, I decided to try to take all possible points. I never really believed in the stage win. Riders like Jay Vine, Brandon McNulty and Woods are better than me on the steep sections. Besides, I was too focused on the intermediate sprints. Climbs with an average gradient over seven per cent are tough for riders like me.” 

In the mountains classification, Van Aert now counts 13 points more than Vine. “In the Tour de France, I was already close to wearing the polka dot jersey several times. I always regretted that I never went for it then. Today I saw an opportunity, so I am very proud to wear this jersey. Tomorrow there is another beautiful stage. It will be a matter of surviving the hills. After that, we will see what is possible.” 

In the group of favourites, Sepp Kuss managed to follow the pace of Primoz Roglic and Enric Mas for a long time. The 29-year-old American limited the damage and eventually reached the line in 25th place. “I knew Roglic was going to accelerate on the Puerto de Ancares. I tried to follow as long as possible, but on the steep sections the legs exploded. It was good for my confidence that I was able to follow for some time. Therefore, I had nothing to lose today.”

Sixth-place Gijs Leemreize's Team dsm-firmenich PostNL posted this:

Looking to continue their good run of results at the Vuelta after third and second place finishes in the previous stages with Max Poole, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL once again set their sights towards the breakaway on Friday afternoon. A fast start saw a flurry of moves but a large group managed to escape quite quickly with Julius van den Berg and Enzo Leijnse initially present in it, before Gijs Leemreize jumped across in a counter attack; meaning the team had three representatives in the front group of 23.

With no GC threat up the road and no willingness to chase from the peloton, the gap quickly expanded to north of ten minutes and once again it became clear the break would fight it out for the win. Strong support from Leijnse and Van den Berg saw Leemreize come into the final climbs as fresh as possible, where he rode smartly to conserve energy and make it into the new front group of eight that started the penultimate climb together. Approaching the top of the summit a strong pace was set and Leemreize just had to let go of the wheels, riding at his own tempo as to not go into the red. From there, he completed what was almost a 20 kilometre individual time trial along the valley roads and up the steep final climb where he would ultimately go on to take a strong sixth place come the end of the day.

Gijs Leemreize finishing sixth. Sirotti photo

Leemreize said: “It was really fast from the start today. Firstly, there was a big group out front with Enzo and Julius in there for us, and I managed to then jump across with a few riders to it. I was really on the limit at that time actually but in the long valley I could recover and prepare for the final, with support from the guys. Then it got a bit tactical and I just had to stay smart and conserve my energy. On the second last climb when they attacked I just couldn’t follow over the top and had to do the flat part alone. I was around 30 seconds behind the group all the time, so then it was just a time trial to the finish. I think I paced it well in the end, so I think sixth was the maximum result possible, so we can be pleased with that.”

Speaking after the stage Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Phil West added: “Today was a bit of a mystery day as we thought it could have been a real GC day and a fight for the stage win from the GC group. However, with the momentum we have here we didn’t want to pass up the opportunity so once again we took a look towards the breakaway, but we wanted to try and get in there in an ‘easy way’ and without a long drawn out fight. In the end we were there with three guys which was good. It was another tough stage and we were able to go into the final with Gijs after some good support from Julius and Enzo in the group along the way. Gijs was able to ride a good final. He just couldn’t quite follow on the second last climb but showed real grit to continue. He actually almost came back to that group on the bottom of the last climb but from there it was basically every man for themselves, with everyone fighting their own way up the climb. It was a nice ride and I’m happy we were in the action once more and it’s great to see the guys show good teamwork each day here.”

Mikel Landa's Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this Vuelta report:

Puerto de Ancares made its first appearance in a decade at the Vuelta a España, and Mikel Landa used the steep climb – which was tackled from a different side than ten years ago – to gain more time on most of his opponents. Just 7.5 kilometers in length, but averaging 9.3%, Ancares dealt a blow to many of the GC riders’ hopes, its steep gradients taking its toll on them in the never-ending last two kilometers.

When the going got tough, Mikel Landa was there, making it into a small group that pushed on as the ramps stiffened, dropping the red jersey. One of the most experienced climbers in this Vuelta, Landa dug deep and managed to open a gap as he entered the final kilometer of the stage. There, he linked up with Kasper Asgreen – who had been part of the original breakaway – and the Dane, despite being empty after a whole day at the front, summoned the last drop of energy he had to pace his T-Rex Quick-Step teammate to the finish line.

Mikel Landa on the day's final climb. Sirotti photo

Landa, fifth at this year’s Tour de France, sits in the same place after this stage, but more importantly, he moved closer to the overall podium of the race, only 19 seconds separating him from third ahead of the penultimate weekend, which will bring another demanding climb, Cuitu Negru.

“Today was another hard day, and on the final climb it was all about finding your own tempo and doing your best to limit the losses. I did just that, also with some help from Kasper, to whom I want to thank for his effort and monster pull. In the end, it was a good stage for us. We continue with our plan to take it day by day, because there are plenty of tough hard climbs left at this race”, Mikel said at the finish.

Carlos Rodriguez's Team INEOS Grenadiers posted this Vuelta report:

Carlos Rodriguez put in another strong climb in Stage 13 of the Vuelta to close the gap to those above him on GC.

In white, Carolos Rodriguez drives to the finish. Sirotti photo.

Kim Heiduk infiltrated a 23-man breakaway earlier in the day. This group was given a huge lead on the final climb and the battle for the win would come from them.

Back in the GC group, Primoz Roglic (RBH) would launch an attack that would see him first of the GC men to cross the line, with Carlos digging deep to place fourth of the overall contenders.

And here's the Vuelta report from David Gaudu's Team Groupama-FDJ:

On the slopes of Puerto de Ancares, David Gaudu made a great comeback this Friday, both in the climb itself and in the Vuelta’s GC. Thanks to a very well-controlled effort, the French climber caught and dropped several of his direct rivals in the closing kilometres and took advantage of it to climb to ninth place overall after stage 13. The second week of racing will end with another two mountain stages this weekend.

David Gaudu near the end of the stage. Sirotti photo

And yet another summit finish on the menu! This Friday, it was towards Puerto de Ancares that the Vuelta peloton headed in what was a steep finish for stage 13. A 7.5-kilometre climb with an average slope of 9% was indeed to make the difference after 176 kilometres. Also, two races within one took shape quite early on. It appeared obvious that the breakaway would fight for the stage victory, and it actually formed much more quickly than in previous days. The Groupama-FDJ cycling team did not take part in it this time. “It was in line with our strategy,” explained Thierry Bricaud. “Today’s finish suited Rémy or David, but Rémy doesn’t feel well, and David cannot join the break. What’s more, tomorrow’s stage suits us well. We have to manage our energy and be smart.”

While the breakaway gained a fifteen-minute lead, the entire team then focused on protecting David Gaudu until the last forty hilly kilometres. “It was a pretty calm day until the foot of the final climb, then we knew that everyone wanted to be positioned, which is normal,” added Thierry. “The guys did a really good job, especially Stefan and Papach.” “I felt good all day, and I knew that it was going to come down to the final climb with the GC favorites,” said David. “I was well positioned on the last climbs by Sven and Quentin, and our approach to the last one was good too.”

While Michael Woods flew away to victory at the front of the race, David Gaudu found himself in the wheel of his rivals on the first slopes of the Puerto de Ancares. “They went extremely fast at the bottom; too fast to keep this pace all the way to the top,” explained David. “I then did what I’m used to do, which is manage my effort, take my own pace to catch the competitors one after the other.” Although he was distanced at the same time as the red jersey Ben O’Connor, the Breton gradually gained ground on the other favorites. “On a climb like today, it paid off, and I was able to give another push as I usually do halfway up the climb, to catch Carapaz, then Kuss, Lipowitz and finally the Skjelmose-Rodriguez duo,” explained David.

While Primoz Roglic got away at the front, the Frenchman found himself fighting with all the main outsiders, and only three of them beat him on the line, by a handful of seconds: Landa, Skjelmose and Rodriguez. “David handled it like a boss,” greeted Thierry. “He still lacks a bit of confidence, but above all he knows himself very well and he was able to manage his climb as he needed to. The most important thing is that he did it alongside the big guys. He keeps building confidence, for himself and his teammates, and he keeps the momentum of his start to the Vuelta going. It’s a great day and that will count for the rest of the race.”

Twenty-first on the line, David Gaudu also took his place back in the top 10 overall, in ninth position, 4’44 behind Ben O’Connor, but just some thirty seconds behind sixth place. “It’s a good day,” David said. “There are still five days to make gaps between the leaders and we’ll see where that takes us. We don’t forget that the goal is also to win a stage. Maybe tomorrow with the breakaway.” “Tomorrow is a great opportunity for Stefan and Papach,” Thierry added. “They will need to be in the breakaway, which won’t be easy because everyone will want to be there. We will race alongside them at the start to give them a chance to go and win the stage. In terms of GC, not much should happen. We will just have to be focused so as not to get caught out. The fireworks should come on Sunday among the favourites”.

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