Lights

Comments

Eddie Dunbar punches the sky in celebration of victory on stage 20 of the 2024 Vuelta a España.

Vuelta stage 20 report: Dunbar doubles up

There were some worrying moments for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, but Roglič successfully defended his lead before the final ITT.

Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-AlUla) wins stage 20 of the 2024 Vuelta a España. Photo: © Cor Vos

Kit Nicholson
by Kit Nicholson 07.09.2024 Photography by
Cor Vos
More from Kit +

On one of the toughest Grand Tour stages of the season, any drama waited until the last climb of the 2024 Vuelta a España. One or two GC contenders tried something, but ultimately it was underdog Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-AlUla) who enjoyed some breathing room on the Cat.1 finale, soloing to his second stage win of the race.

Enric Mas (Movistar) led the GC favourites home just seven seconds later, narrowing his disadvantage to second-place Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) to just nine seconds, as Primož Roglič’s (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) lead stretched over two minutes. Otherwise, besides Carlos Rodríguez’s jour sans, there were otherwise few changes to the overall standings going into the final time trial.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe had a rather interesting day away from the spotlight with three riders abandoning – including key mountain domestique Dani Martínez – and the early distancing of Aleksandr Vlasov hanging the Sword of Damocles over the team on a crucial and immensely challenging parcours. However, Roglič and his remaining teammates successfully weathered the storm, which could ultimately be contained in a teacup as the GC race was effectively neutralised on the brutal gradients.

At the end of stage 20, Roglič had an increased lead of two minutes and two seconds over second-place O’Connor.

How it happened

T-Rex QuickStep certainly had confidence in Mikel Landa, taking control early and laying their cards on the table.
T-Rex attack.
The move that won the day.
Berrade attacked a few times, seen here launching from the back of the red jersey group, drawing a response from David Gaudu.

Loading...

Loading...

Quotes of the day

Ten days after taking a surprise victory on stage 11‘s flat finish, Dunbar was a popular winner atop the infamous Picón Blanco.

I said to a few people after the stage win last week that it was never the way I expected to win a Grand Tour stage. I always imagined winning on top of a climb, whether it was from a breakaway or the GC group, and I just felt good that second part today and I backed myself on that climb. This one definitely feels a bit sweeter.”

Roglič was very relaxed after the finish, though he was not willing to indulge the idea he’s already won the Vuelta. However, he is “one day closer than yesterday.”

We just have to finish top, uh? I mean, it’s simple, uh?”

Brief analysis

A head-on image of the breakaway on stage 20 of the 2024 Vuelta a España, Marc Soler in the polka-dot jersey of best climber with his four remaining companions.
Soler attacked relentlessly on stage 20, resulting in a trip to the podium for both himself as most combative rider and his teammate Vine taking the mountains jersey.

Next up

Just like this year’s Tour, the 2024 Vuelta will finish with a time trial. It’s not especially long and it’s quite flat. The TT specialists will thrive on the course, and the climbers will just hope they don’t lose spots on the GC leaderboard on the final day of the race.

Originally appeared in our Vuelta stage-by-stage preview.

Did we do a good job with this story?