Discover the Stage 16 highlights
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DeportesTranscripción
00:00We're into the final week of the Vuelta and Primož Roglič has Ben O'Connor in his sights.
00:07The three-time Vuelta winner would have been within a minute of the red jersey, but a 20-second
00:11penalty on Stage 15 means he still has work to do.
00:15But Stage 16 holds good memories for Roglič.
00:17He won at Lagos de Covadonga, en route to overall victory in 2021.
00:22It definitely will not be easy, it's a hard climb, it can happen or the lace can completely
00:27explode there, yes, that probably I can expect, so yeah, it will be just tough, then all the
00:33way going to the last climb, the last climb, Lagos by itself, a hard one, so yeah, we'll
00:40see how it goes now after a race day.
00:44When Roglič won the stage here three years ago, Sepp Kuss finished second to the man
00:48who was then his team-mate.
00:50It was a day that left its mark on the American, who still hopes to make an impact on this
00:55year's race.
00:56I remember a lot of rain, and yeah, a really, really hard stage, a lot of attacking from
01:05a ways out.
01:06Yeah, I think just do my best race and see what's possible, yeah, after a rest day is
01:14always interesting, but yeah, I feel good, feel recovered, so that's already a good sign.
01:21The testing stage is another opportunity for aggressive riding.
01:25Jay Vine's King of the Mountains hopes could depend on how he handles the day.
01:30Yeah, it'd be nice to do, but I mean, the main goal for the comeback would be to win
01:37a stage, that'd be pretty incredible.
01:39How do you see that possible today?
01:42I mean, getting the breakaway, and then hope the GC group doesn't control, that's really
01:48how it goes for today.
01:56So, it's up to the stunning Glacial Lakes that the peloton will climb to start the third
02:00and final week.
02:01It's the 20th time in the last 40 years they've done so, but it doesn't get any easier.
02:06180km in total with two significant climbs, the Mirador del Fito and the Collada de Yoremena,
02:13before the final ascent of 12km at virtually 7% gradient.
02:16It's a good thing they had a rest day to prepare for it.
02:26Oh, there's a crash, and there's World 1 Art in the crash.
02:30Stage 16 starting with a bang, quite literally for Van Aert.
02:34Don't worry though, we'll see a lot more of him on a day when a breakaway was on the cards.
02:38UAE's Marc Soler took his chance after just 26km, but couldn't make it stick.
02:45Ten minutes later he had help, and no fewer than 17 riders broke clear.
02:50With Israel Premier Tech's Matthew Riccitello the best placed among them at more than an
02:55hour from the red jersey, the breakaway looked destined to stay clear of the peloton, and
03:00they soon built a lead of more than five minutes.
03:0350km into the stage and that gap was even up to 6'30".
03:09Despite that early mishap, Van Aert was up there, along with a heavyweight UAE trio of
03:14Vine, Soler and Del Toro Romero.
03:16Marco Frigo and Max Puhl, who'd stood out in recent stages, were in the lead group too.
03:22With the first real test of the day approaching, the immediate battle was for points, with
03:26a number of riders in the hunt for the King of the Mountains jersey.
03:30That meant Van Aert had to duel it out on his own with Vine and Soler.
03:34He's got that immediate acceleration, well Van Aert.
03:38Even with Vine trying to challenge, it's going to be a runaway for these ten points at the
03:43top of the Mirador Del Fito.
03:46Two hours in the saddle and the riders were cruising at a healthy average of 42km an hour.
03:51Van Aert's burst up the Mirador Del Fito played a central part in that, and the Team
03:55Wismar Lisebike rider maintained his rhythm.
03:58The green jersey and King of the Mountains leader headed into the final 100km with a
04:02lead that would extend to more than a minute, before he then stepped off the gas and allowed
04:06the chasing group to get back in touch.
04:11Perhaps you just want a company on the Collada do Yamena, the second gruelling climb of the day.
04:17Nine minutes back at the front of the peloton, the GC contenders started to size each other up.
04:22All the teams with men in the hunt for the race win were there, including the decathlon
04:27AG2R of the red jersey.
04:29At the back of the peloton, however, the pace wasn't quite as high.
04:35And here goes Enric Mas with 57.6km to go.
04:39He's tried to make a move here on the Collada do Yamena.
04:44No sooner was Mas reeled in than Mikel Landa stepped on the gas to splinter the peloton.
04:49Decathlon AG2R's Valentin Paré-Pint got to work to ensure the red jersey remained
04:54in touch, but he was the only teammate O'Connor had for support, with challenges circling.
05:01At the head of the field, some six minutes clear, Van Aert was again on the hunt for points.
05:05And he got them, but with the road greasy after rain and with less than 50km to go.
05:19What his rivals for the green jersey and the King of the Mountains crown had not been able
05:23to do, the elements in Spain had, as the Belgian was stopped in his tracks.
05:28He did eventually get going, but was soon off his bike again and clearly in need of
05:32medical attention.
05:35As Van Aert's 2024 Vuelta a Futura hung in the balance at the front of the stage, a group
05:40of 11 riders had just 40km between them and a stage win.
05:46With the final climb to Lagos de Covadonga looming, Pool was the first to make a bid
05:50for the finish, some 12km from the line.
05:55That was enough to shatter the lead group, and when the dust settled, Soler, Filippo
06:00Zana, Frigo and Del Toro Romero were among those left standing.
06:06Landa launched an attack at the head of the peloton, and with 6km to go at the front,
06:10only Zana, Soler and Pool were left to contest the day's spoils.
06:15O'Connor meanwhile was left with a fight to keep hold of the red jersey, as Maas led
06:19a small group including Roglic away from the Australian.
06:22Richard Carapaz and David Gaudu joined Maas and Roglic in pulling clear.
06:29At the front, Soler pushed on and eased away from his rivals, while Landa was left standing
06:34by the race favourites, as O'Connor battled all alone to ensure he would spend another
06:40day in red.
06:59Maas, Roglic and Carapaz crossed the line together, and started the stopwatch on O'Connor.
07:26After being frustrated with three third place finishes in this year's race, Marc Soler finally
07:31gets his reward, the UAE rider picking up the third of Vuelta stage of his career, adding
07:37to those the former Paris Nice winner claimed in 2020 and 2022.
07:44Is this your best victory?
07:46No, I think no, but this is very special because I didn't win a lot with this team and after
07:55two years winning here in La Vuelta is very special.
07:59Soler taking the win and, in the end, coming home comfortably ahead of Zahner and Poole.
08:05Roglic was almost four minutes behind Soler, O'Connor was 58 seconds further back, that
08:11means he now has just a five second lead going into stage 17.
08:17While the leader's red jersey didn't change hands, others did, Van Aert's crash forced
08:21him to abandon, so Caden Groves takes the green jersey, and it means there's also a
08:26new King of the Mountains leader, with Jay Vine now in the polka dot jersey, he's 14
08:31points clear of Soler.
08:34Florian Lippovitz really struggled in the closing kilometre, so Carlos Rodriguez now
08:38wears the white jersey, with Matias Schelmoz moving into second, but it's still up for
08:42grabs with just 34 seconds between them.
08:46After such a tough day in the saddle, everyone will be happy with a flat estate 17 as they
08:50head towards Saint-Ander and the ocean.