“I don’t know!” he laughed at the exit. Sepp kiss when asked why so many people want LaVuelta to win. “I am only human, like so many others. “We are all competitors and sometimes it is difficult to see the human aspect, but yes, I try to be nice to everyone and do the best for people.” added the American, who had been attacked by his two teammates at the Angliru summit a day earlier.
I expected a day full of traps, ideal for the strategy with a double pass through the Alto de la Cruz de Linares (8.3 km at 8.6%). If they wanted, a candidate like Landa, Mas or Ayuso could throw themselves into an open grave after the first step in search of the surprise. If this were not the case, everything would be back in the hands of the Jumbo Visma, who continued to deny the stabbings, the betrayals or the quarrels that ex-cyclists like Purito, Millar or Pineau had pointed out. Cortina, one of the local heroes, warned: “The stage is one of those where there are crumbs everywhere and where you can see a great show.”
And it started with an initial 14-man breakout that soon halved. Eveneopel, for the fourth time in this Vuelta, Caruso, Kron, Poole, Ourselin and Bernal were the breakaways who crowned Tenebredo at the top with a gap of almost 10 minutes. Bernard and Piccolo had previously given in. They added time while Gesink of course set the pace in the group. At the front, Remco unleashed his fellow adventurers at the first change to try and score a big victory, with a performance at the top of its class. The first step left no consequences between the candidates. In addition, Jumbo took command. In the second step, Bahrain revolutionized the march through Poels to cut off the rest of the candidates.
At this point, Evenepoel was already reaching the finish line to celebrate his hat-trick at this Vuelta. Landa moved, but his attack was in vain. Vingegaard took out his fin and began to pull. The Basque shot a second time. But wasps were flying everywhere. Glory in Asturias went to Remco, a champion with great pride. There was no fight even between the favorites Vingegaard gave up 8” with a kiss that already sees the reddish sunset of Madrid.
Breathe calmly
“I was a little scared because Vingegaard’s pace was very strong. It worked very well for me and we ran with a more defensive tactic. The three of us as a team agreed on that before the Angliru stage and that’s what we did.” Everyone agrees. And then the strategy we wanted to pursue after this phase,” he commented. The American’s new role as leader suits him well: “I’ve never won a big victory and I never imagined being here in red. I don’t want to be a fraud, but I believe in myself more every day and I want to have the support of the team.”
His teammate Vingegaard doesn’t want to relax: “We have to keep fighting, LaVuelta is not over yet. There is a difficult stage on Saturday and we will work for Sepp Kuss. It’s nice to be able to give him something back from what he did for us. He deserves it: “Everything, he is a great companion.” Roglic, the third in the dispute, also commented in this direction: “I’ve said several times that I want Kiss to win. We did a good job.” confirmed the Slovenian, who will not be able to win the fourth title on a par with Heras this year.
However, he left a more ambiguous message: “There was a meeting with our directors and they told us that the decision is for Kuss to win, so we will try to implement it. I have mixed feelings, but we’ll try.” Of course it’s difficult not being able to play to win. I have my own opinion on the situation, but I will try to do my best.”
It was Brotherhood Day. There were no daggers at the back. No poison came from the embemmer, only sweet honey. There is peace in the beehive.
