EVENPOEL CONTINUES TO HIS THING
The peloton of cyclists in this stage of La Vuelta follows Remco Evenepoel as best they can, who continues to set a devilish pace on the ascent to Puerto de la Cruz de Linares.
When Evenepoel sets the pace 😅
When Evenepoel sets the peace 😨#LaVuelta23 pic.twitter.com/wbAtiECZRK— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) September 14, 2023
KILOMETER 132
In addition to the duel between Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic, It will be necessary to see if any of the Spanish cyclists standing out in the general classification try to predictably take third place on the podium from Sepp Kuss.
KILOMETER 128
Once we have passed Alto de Tenebredo, the only thing left to do is the double ascent to Puerto de la Cruz de Linares. There are 50 kilometers left until the end of the stage.
KILOMETER 122
Remco Evenepoel continues to do his thing. The Belgian cyclist also crosses the summit of Alto de Tenebredo in first position. It has done so in 13 of the 37 qualifying ports that have been uploaded.
KILOMETER 121
What a way to climb Evenepoel! He has reduced the leak to six runners now. The Belgian stays, Bernal, Caruso, Kron, Poole and Ourselin…
KILOMETER 119
Alto de Tenebredo, we remember, is a third category peak. It is a 3.4 kilometer port with an average gradient of 9.3%
KILOMETER 118
The escape begins the climb to the ‘trap’ of Alto del Tenebredo, with the occasional ramp of more than 20%. Spanish stays Imanol Erviti…
KILOMETER 117
After the previous rise, Remco Evenepoel He has already mathematically secured victory in the Mountain Grand Prix in this edition of the Spanish round.
KILOMETER 113
It seems that the difference has stabilized at around ten minutes. Behind, there are no attacks at the moment and the structure of the race remains stable.
KILOMETER 104
The difference between the breakout leading Evenepoelas always, and the peloton is almost ten minutes long.
KILOMETER 100
The long descent from the San Lorenzo pass leads to the breakaway and the peloton towards the third ascent of the day. It is a third-class port, Alto de Tenebredo.
KILOMETER 79
The escaped cyclists are in the middle of the climb to the Puerto de San Lorenzo and this tough first-class peak is already claiming its first victims, in the case of Hugo Hofstetter and Lorenzo Germani, who cannot keep up with their fellow escapees.
KILOMETER 76
Comment that Remco Evenepoel could seal the mountain classification today in this Vuelta a España 2023. He could be the first Belgian cyclist to win this award since Thomas de Gendt in 2018.
KILOMETER 72
More than ten minutes for the escaped cyclists and the chances of them reaching the finish line on their own increase. There are less than five kilometers until the ascent to Puerto de San Lorenzo begins.
KILOMETER 59
Meanwhile, the advantage of the group that is escaping continues to increase. The Jumbo Visma continues to shoot from behind, although the truth is that he is not imposing a hunting pace in the slightest.
KILOMETER 55
Once the descent of this first pass of the day is completed, the cyclists will undertake the ascent of the Puerto de San Lorenzo. It is a first-class summit, with 10 kilometers of ascent with an average gradient of 8.5%
KILOMETER 59
The platoon with Kuss and Jumbo-Visma in front is already almost 8 minutes away. Relaxing legs for what’s to come…
KILOMETER 41
The group of escapees begins the ascent to the Height of the Stakes, the first scoring port of the day. They do it with a maximum advantage of more than six minutes with respect to the group in which they travel Sepp Kuss and the rest of the favorites.
KILOMETER 39
As we have commented, Remco Evenepoel He plays in the group of escapees and, if this escape continues to prosper, he will be one of the great candidates to achieve stage victory. The Belgian has already achieved two wins in the current edition of the Spanish round and this could be the first time that he wins three stages in the same edition in one of the three Grand Tours after achieving two in LaVuelta 2022, LaVuelta 2023 and the Giro of Italy 2023.
KILOMETER 37
More than five minutes for the escapees just at the moment in which the Jumbo Visma takes command of the operations in the platoon. He is the only one really interested in keeping the race under control with three of his cyclists occupying the first three places in the general classification.
KILOMETER 35
The escapees, with a five-minute advantage, are already on their way to the first ascent of the day in today’s stage: Alto de las Estacas, second category (5.2km at 7.4%).
KILOMETER 21
Of the escapees, the cyclist best placed in the general classification is Remco Evenepoel. The Belgian is 37′ 38” from Sepp Kuss.
KILOMETER 18
The advantage of the 14 escaped cyclists is increasing rapidly and they already have just over a minute and a half over the peloton.
KILOMETER 12
Cyclists are joining the lead in the race and this group does offer certain guarantees that the breakaway can finally be formed.
KILOMETER 10
Egan Bernal, Julien Bernard and Lawrence Germani They stand out right now at the head of the race and try to link up with them Remco Evenepoel.
KILOMETER 8
Attacks continue to occur, although none of them succeed. The last one to try is Egan Bernal and be careful because it starts now Remco Evenepoel looking not only for a possible stage victory but also to leave the mountain classification in sight.
KILOMETER 4
The first movements are already taking place among those cyclists looking to form a getaway. Ander Okamika and Jonathan Caicedo They have been the first to move.
KILOMETER 1
¡THE STAGE BEGINS! After a neutralized route of just over three kilometers, the launch start is now taking place.
In terms of regularity ranking, Kaden Grooves is practically assured of victory. The Australian cyclist has 228 points, 76 more than Remco Evenepoel, the second place.
Remco Evenepoel He has won first position in 10 La Vuelta 2023 climbs, at least twice as many as any other rider, three of them in the special category and four in the 1st category.
Today will be a very important day for the future of the mountain classification. The Belgian Remco Evenepoel starts with a significant advantage of 40 points over Jonas Vingegaard, his immediate pursuer.
As you well know, Primoz Roglic took victory in yesterday’s stage at the top of Angliru. The cyclist has equaled Valverde, Wüst and Perurena in stage victories in La Vuelta (12 each), surpassed only by Delio Rodríguez (39), Van Looy and Jalabert (18), Karstens (14) and Rominger (13).
The hottest topic in this Vuelta a España is the management that the Jumbo Visma is able to carry out with three cyclists with a chance of taking the victory. It seems that, once the final victory is assured, those responsible will leave some freedom to their leaders so that it is the road that finally defines the winner.
As for the ‘mortals’, the trio of Spanish cyclists stands out, composed of Juan Ayuso, 4′ 00” from the leader, Mikel Landa, 4′ 16” and Enric Mas, 4′ 30” from Sepp Kuss.
The general classification reveals one more day the tight control that Jumbo Visma is exercising in this race. Sepp Kuss barely kept the leader’s jersey after yesterday’s stage ending in Angliru. The American maintains an 8-second advantage over Jonas Vingegaard and 1’08” over Primoz Roglic, his two teammates.
The finish line is located high, in what will be the second ascent to Puerto de la Cruz de Linares, a first-class elevation.
Today five scoring passes will be climbed, three of them first category, including two ascents to Puerto de la Cruz de Linares. Previously, the Alto de las Estacas (second category), the Puerto de San Lorenzo (first category) and the Alto de Tenebredo (third category) will be climbed.
There are two really decisive days left to define who will finally be the winner in this edition of the Spanish round and today the first of them is being held.
Good morning !!! Welcome to the live broadcast of the 18th stage of the Vuelta a España with a 178-kilometer route between Pola de Alland and La Cruz de Linares. Ready? We start…