Lights

Comments

Jesus Herrada of Cofidis crosses the finish line alone on stage 11 of the 2023 Vuelta a España. The Cofidis rider is smiling a big smile and slapping his chest with his left hand.

Vuelta a España stage 11 report: Herrada dials in the win

After breaking its Tour de France dry spell, Cofidis continues its streak of Grand Tour stage wins as the GC riders wait for the Tourmalet.

Joe Lindsey
by Joe Lindsey 06.09.2023 Photography by
Cor Vos
More from Joe +

Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) rode a tactically savvy race from the day’s major breakaway to take the 11th stage of the Vuelta a España on Yet Another Summit Finish on La Laguna Negra.Vinuesa. The main peloton with race leader Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) was largely disinterested in the chase and any major moves on the final ascent and finished almost six minutes behind the winner.

Results

Loading...

Loading...

Brief analysis

Filippo Ganna of Ineos Grenadiers drives an early breakaway attempt on stage 11 of the 2023 Vuelta a España. Green jersey wearer Kaden Groves is attentive on his wheel.
Whether it was trying to get in the break or making a big sacrificial pull on the final climb for teammate Geraint Thomas, stage 10 winner Filippo Ganna was again a main animator on the stage.

Up Next: stage 12

Another possible breakaway day looms with this 150.6 km ride from Ólvega to Zaragoza. A decidedly downhill start leads to a short, uncategorized climb that’s the perfect launching pad for a break, and then a long gentle descent and slow rise in elevation on another uncategorized climb before mostly a drop to the finish. The intermediate sprint comes late in the race at Villanueva de Gallego, 122.5 km in, and any action from Remco Evenepoel or other riders will come down to the situation on the road. Alpecin-Deceuninck will likely look to control to set up a third stage win for Kaden Groves, so this is a day for the sprinters and breakaway teams to fight it out ahead of the crucial stage 13 with its Col du Tourmalet finish. Beyond Groves, other riders to watch are Juan Sebastián Molano and Edward Theuns.

Quote of the day

“[Laguna Negra] is a climb where you really have to invest a lot, or have a full team doing work to make a high-enough pace to have a difference in the end. There were attacks from guys further down on GC but it was always going to be more or less the final kilometer for the GC guys.”

-Kuss on why the main peloton rode the final climb at a more-relaxed pace

American Sepp Kuss sits on the wheel of teammate Primož Roglič on stage 11 of the 2023 Vuelta a España. Behind, riders from Bahrain Victorious and Soudal Quick-Step follow in the pack. The pace and body language are relaxed on what was not a stressful day of racing.
Kuss was well-protected all day on what was an uneventful stage for the GC riders.

Further reading

Did we do a good job with this story?