Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) ascended to victory on stage 16 of the Vuelta a España atop the Lagos de Covadonga climb on a day that also saw action in the general classification.
Soler, Filippo Zana (Jayco-AlUla) and Max Poole (DSM Firmenich-PostNL) emerged as the strongest riders out of the early break on the final climb, and then Soler soloed clear with some 4 km to go. He went on to take his third career Vuelta stage win with Zana in second and Poole in third.
Behind, race leader Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-Ag2r la Mondiale) lost touch in the GC group with several kilometers still to climb, but the Australian managed to limit his losses well enough to the likes of Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Enric Mas (Movistar) to hold onto the red jersey – though only just – for another day.
The other big news from stage 16 was the abandon of Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), who crashed more than once on the day. The 29-year-old Belgian, who seemed like a lock to win at least the points jersey, instead left the race with less than a week to go.
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How it happened
- As ever at this breakaway-friendly Vuelta a España, there was a fierce battle to get into the move in the early goings of the day. Van Aert, Soler, Poole, and Zana were among those that made the move, as were other strong climbers like Soler’s UAE teammate Isaac del Toro.
- The peloton seemed content to let the break get a big gap and then fight for the stage win, though there were attacks in both groups even before the final climb. Mikel Landa (Soudal-Quick Step) and Mas both – unsuccessfully – tried their luck in the GC group on the Collada Llomena climb, and Van Aert made multiple solo efforts before crashing and then crashing again. He appeared to have injured his knee and generally looked unwell as he ultimately pulled out of the race.
- The remaining breakaway riders did not hesitate to attack each other even on the early slopes of the famous final climb to Lagos de Covadonga, and some of those moves left Soler behind. With 8 km still to go, Zana and Poole had distanced the rest of the escapees, but then Soler caught up, and then Soler and Poole dropped Zana with just over 7 km to go. Behind, Landa surged clear of the GC group on his own. The Basque climber only managed to get a few seconds’ gap, however, as Valentin Paret-Peintre (Decathlon) pushed a hard pace behind. A few minutes of riding at that tempo, however, seemed to wear away at O’Connor, who soon began to lose ground.
- Mas led the surviving GC riders back up to Landa, caught his breath for a moment, and then put in a big surge. At first, only Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) could follow, but then Roglič and Gaudu re-caught them, making for a dangerous quartet putting time into O’Connor. Out front, Zana caught Poole and Soler – but then Soler made his decisive attack. This time, he put the other breakaway riders behind him for good, pressing over wet roads to the top of the climb.
- Meanwhile, Mas made another big surge some 3 km from the top of the climb, but he was unable to drop Roglič and Carapaz. That trio eventually arrived together. O’Connor came across the line nearly a minute later, doing just enough to hold onto the race lead, with Roglič now only five seconds back in second place.
This is very special. I didn’t win a lot with this team and after two years, to win in this Vuelta, it’s very special.
—Marc Soler after his win
Brief analysis
- At the start of the day, Van Aert was the clear favorite to win the Vuelta points jersey and even had a shot at the mountains title, where he was tied for the lead with UAE’s Jay Vine. As important, he also looked to be rounding into fine form for a run at the upcoming World Championships. Now, the rest of his season is perhaps in question as we await word on the extent of his injuries. His success across the first two weeks of the Vuelta is looking like a rare bright spot in what has been an otherwise brutal year for the Belgian star.
- Soler’s stage win was a triumph of persistence. Coming into the stage with a trio of top three finishes at this Vuelta but no wins yet, he worked hard to get clear in the early break, and then he had to claw his way up to the leaders after initially watching other breakaway riders power away on the final climb. Then, he made multiple attacks of his own. In the end, all that hard work paid off.
- UAE came to the Vuelta with a deep squad and a solid chance at a sweep of all three Grand Tours, but has had an uneven race: riding aggressively but mostly outside the GC fight after losing João Almeida to COVID-19. To date, Adam Yates’ stage 9 win was its high point, but Soler’s victory gives them a third stage win even if the GC hasn’t gone their way after such a promising start.
- Roglič’s march towards red continues apace. O’Connor may sit atop the standings at the end of the day, but it is starting to feel inevitable that Roglič will tear the red jersey off of his shoulders soon. O’Connor just does not have enough time to play with any more to keep shipping seconds at every summit finish. There are still two left in the race, plus the finishing time trial in Madrid on ground that favors the Slovenian.
- For perhaps the third mountain stage in this Vuelta, Mas looked like the best climber in the race, but not by enough of a margin to actually put any time into Roglič. The three-time Vuelta runner-up does still have a few opportunities left to overhaul the three-time Vuelta winner, but he is running out of road.
Up next
Stage 17 will take the peloton into the foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains and then back down towards the Cantabrian capital of Santander, where the sprinters who have survived the many grueling days in the mountains could have a shot at another win along the Bay of Biscay.
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