Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) fought back a day after his collapse and took victory on stage 14. On the 156-kilometer stage from Sauveterre-de-Béarn to Larra-Belagua, the Belgian went on the offensive early. He was part of a large breakaway group from which he broke away well before the finish Romain Bardet (DSM-unternehmenich) solved. They rode together until around four kilometers from the end, then Bardet could no longer keep up with the pace.
Evenepoel, who had lost more than 25 minutes on Friday, took his second stage win of this Vuelta. Bardet came second. Third place went Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Dstny).
There were no shifts in the top positions in the overall standings. Sepp Kuss continues to lead ahead of his Jumbo Visma teammates Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard.
This is how the race went
After the start there was an attack and after a few kilometers a large group formed with Romain Bardet, Michael Storer and also Remco Evenepoel, who had lost a lot of time the day before and no longer plays a role in the overall standings. In the field, Jumbo-Visma initially controlled the pace, then later UAE took the lead and determined the speed in the field.
The group:
Soudal Quick-Step: Evenepoel
Ineos Grenadiers: Castroviejo
Bahrain Victorious: Caruso, Gradek
Lidl-Trek: Lopez, Ghebreigzabhier
Groupama-FDJ: Davy, Storer
Bora-Hansgrohe: Comb
Alpecin-Deceuninck: Groves
Lotto Dstny: Van Eetvelt
EF Education-EasyPost: Bissegger, Quinn
Intermarché-Circus-Wanty: Costa, Johansen, Petilli
Movistar: Oliveira
Cofidis: Carvalho, Fernandez
DSM company name: Bardet, Dainese
Archaea Samsic: Vauquelin, Ledanois
Rural-Insurance-RGA Fund: Nicolau
Evenepoel took 15 points in the first mountain classification. Bardet and Storer followed. Evenepoel and Bardet broke away from the group and then rode alone at the front. The two of them started the second climb of the day with a lead of around a minute over their former companions. The field was around four and a half minutes behind.
UAE set the pace in the field for a long time, then Ayuso attacked around 55 kilometers from the end. But Jumbo-Visma reacted immediately. Ayuso tried again, but again he couldn’t get away. The group of favorites had fallen apart due to the attacks, but many were able to catch up again.
Evenepoel also won the second mountain classification. He thus took the lead in the mountains classification of the Vuelta. The Belgian also won the third mountain classification. Michael Storer in pursuit was caught by Lennert Van Eetvelt and Jonathan Castroviejo. In the field, Bahrain Victorious took over the pace work and the gap to the leaders had grown to more than six minutes. Finally, it was the Jumbo-Visma team that controlled the field again.
Evenepoel left Bardet behind four kilometers from the end and took the day’s victory and the mountain jersey.
The profile of the stage:
2023-09-09 15:46:45
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