Discover the Stage 15 highlights
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WEB: https://www.lavuelta.es/es/
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APP: https://www.lavuelta.es/es/applicatio...
PODCAST: https://www.lavuelta.es/es/la-carrera...
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DeportesTranscripción
00:00The second week of La Vuelta ends with a short but intense mountain stage.
00:10Ben O'Connor will try to hold off Primoz Roglic and the rest on the steep slopes of
00:14Quitu Negru, only visited once before by the race in 2012.
00:18I watched the replay of that stage, what was it, 2012 or 2015, on that climb, it's pretty
00:25epic, it's pretty hard, yeah, just got to tackle it, done lots of hard climbs in my
00:31life so this will just be another one onto the list.
00:34O'Connor's biggest GC threat is clearly Roglic, but lots of riders are also targeting the
00:39podium on a day where big gaps could open up.
00:43What are you expecting today?
00:44I think there's going to be a war for the red jersey, Roglic is close and there are
00:49lots of riders who want to get onto the podium, so I'm expecting a big battle.
00:56Today's a very important stage, a very nice one too, and I have lots of ambition, I just
01:01want to do well and hopefully enjoy it.
01:04I think Roglic will try to take red, he's the one with the most options, but we'll try
01:09to be up there and defend our chances in the best possible way.
01:15Quito Negru is making everybody nervous and it should be an epic final.
01:20We've already had some high gradients since the start of this Vuelta, but it's going up
01:26another notch today.
01:27It won't be slow all day long, and slow doesn't necessarily mean easy or calm, it's going
01:32to be very intense, but yes, in terms of pure speed, the last kilometres won't be very fast.
01:40Stage 15 is a real beast, with three climbs to tackle even before reaching Quito Negru,
01:45two of them are classified Category 1.
01:48The final difficulty itself is simply brutal, 19km at more than 7% average gradient, ramping
01:54up to 24% in the last 3km.
01:58It's going to be spectacular and a potentially decisive day in this Vuelta.
02:09It took around a dozen kilometres for seven men to get a small gap, Asgreen, Sheehan,
02:14Gregar, Wijn, Frigo, Ezequiere and Castrillo, but several teams were unhappy with that move
02:20and the attacks just kept coming as they approached the first climb, the Alto de la Coladiela.
02:27Marc Soler and Mike Woods setting off in pursuit, with UAE apparently determined to blow the
02:32race to pieces.
02:33Adam Yates was also on the move, and so too was Pavel Sivakov.
02:38At one point the GC group pulled to within 30 seconds of the leaders, O'Connor and Roglic
02:43just marking each other.
02:45The break still with a small gap as Wijn led the way over the summit, the Australian was
02:49targeting the polka dot jersey.
02:51There were riders all over the place on the descent, but once the road flattened out it
02:56all came back together again, breakaway over, but not for long.
03:01The pace still very high, an average speed of over 43kph, as Soler sparked another move,
03:07going clear with Amirai, Sheehan, Gregar, Pache, Menkes, Ezequiere and Castrillo.
03:12A ferocious start, and there were still 90k to ride.
03:21The eight leaders would soon be joined by a dozen more riders, with O'Connor and Roglic
03:26both sending men up the road, Amirai and Paripantra for Decathlon AG2R, Vlasov and Martinez for
03:32Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe.
03:34The break swelling to 21 riders, with De Peleton now two minutes behind, and being
03:39led by T-Rex Quickstep, who had missed the move on behalf of Mikel Landa.
03:47They soon hit the day's third climb, a second hike at the Alto de la Coladiela, and the
03:52breakaway would soon be whittled down to just seven men, Sheehan and Soler were among the
03:57riders saying goodbye.
04:03Vine still setting a high tempo ahead of Sivakov, Vlasov, Castrillo, Amirai and Pache,
04:08with Kung just about doing his best to hold on.
04:12Vine collecting more King of the Mountains points to draw level with Van Aert, the break
04:16now leading by more than two and a half minutes.
04:22Vine still hammering away on behalf of Sivakov as they made their way through the valley
04:26and into the final 20km.
04:29T-Rex Quickstep getting some help from Movistar as they tried to close the gap, but the UAE
04:34powered breakaway were leading by around three minutes as the final climb loomed into view.
04:41Job done for Vine and over to Sivakov, who was soon putting his fellow escapees under
04:46serious pressure.
04:55Cattaneo was now leading the GC group for Landa, but the big guns were clearly wary
04:59of the gradients in the final kilometres, for now they were keeping their powder dry.
05:09Landa taking over with O'Connor right on the wheel, but it wasn't until Lipovic took over
05:13that the group began to split.
05:15At the front meanwhile, it was down to just Sivakov, Vlasov and Castrillo.
05:21Lipovic thinning out the field superbly for Roglic, with O'Connor gritting his teeth to
05:35hold on to that red jersey.
05:44At the front, Vlasov clawed his way back to Castrillo, while Mass ended up catching and
05:49even passing Roglic, a couple of fascinating duels unfolding as the gradients really began
05:54to bite.
05:55And it's Castrillo who looks to have the better of Alexander Vlasov, a performance of a lifetime,
06:04one in which his team, himself, his family, his friends, his country are going to be so
06:11proud of.
06:12Pavelo Castrillo is a two-time Grand Tour stage winner.
06:18And Roglic is coming back onto the wheel of Mass.
06:21There's still a bit of a gap there, maybe six, seven seconds.
06:23No, he's coming back onto the wheel.
06:24He's coming back.
06:25The acceleration from Roglic, and where did he find that from?
06:29Ben O'Connor safely gets through week two with the red jersey on his shoulders.
06:35Pablo Castrillo is decidedly the revelation of this Vuelta.
06:39After an emotional win on stage 12, the young Spaniard has shown he has the makings of a
06:43future star with a victory on the iconic Cuito Negru.
06:47The 23-year-old has a very bright future ahead of him.
06:52The first victory is unbelievable, but the second one is something to dream.
07:01I think the best Vuelta possible to do, and I don't know what to say in that moment.
07:15Castrillo taking his second win of the week by 12 seconds from Vlasov.
07:19Mass and Roglic let in the GC favourites at a minute and four seconds, with O'Connor
07:2311th at 1 minute 42.
07:26The Australian remains a minute and three seconds ahead, though, with Roglic getting
07:29a 20-second penalty for drafting after a bike change.
07:33Mass is third at 2.23, with Lipovic and Godou both moving up into sixth and seventh, respectively.
07:44Wout Van Aert ends the second week with a big lead in green, 109 points ahead of Caden
07:48Groves.
07:49The Belgian also keeps the polka dot jersey, but only just.
07:52He and Jay Vine are both on 46 points, but Van Aert has been over bigger climbs.
07:58And we've had yet another change of white jersey.
08:00Lipovic is now seven seconds ahead of Rodriguez and 18 clear of Schelmoza.
08:05Join us again on Tuesday as we head to Lagos to cover Donga, and thanks for watching.