Kaden Groves has won the eleventh stage of the Tour of Spain. After 191.2 kilometers from Alhama De Murcia to Cabo de Gata, the Australian prevailed in front of Dutchman Danny van Poppel and Belgian champion Tim Merlier.
The German veteran John Degenkolb tried a long sprint on the Gulf of Almeria and ended up in seventh place. “I was in a good position and I saw that there were still 300 meters to go. That’s when I put my heart into my hands. In the end I’m satisfied, although of course it could have turned out a little better. At the moment I can just do the guys don’t hit,” said Degenkolb.
As expected, there were no changes in the overall rating. Belgian Remco Evenepoel is 2:41 ahead of defending champion Primoz Roglic. The Slovenian had won the last three editions of the Vuelta and would catch up with record winner Roberto Heras with a fourth win. The Spaniard was initially denied his last victory in 2005 because of doping, but was awarded it again after a formal error.
Meanwhile, the next prominent drivers had to end the race prematurely. Brit Simon Yates did not start the eleventh stage on Wednesday due to a positive corona test. This was announced by his BikeExchange team. The 30-year-old won the race in 2018 and was fifth in the standings. Pavel Sivakov, who was ninth overall, suffered the same fate as Yates, as his team Ineos-Grenadiers announced. The second-class team Kern Pharma reported three positive tests.
On Tuesday, the two-time stage winner Sam Bennett from the German team Bora-hansgrohe had to give up due to corona. The number of corona cases at the Vuelta rose to 19. At the Tour de France in July there were 17 tasks due to positive corona tests.