Discover the Stage 17 highlights
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WEB: https://www.lavuelta.es/es/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/lavuelta/
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APP: https://www.lavuelta.es/es/applicatio...
PODCAST: https://www.lavuelta.es/es/la-carrera...
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DeportesTranscripción
00:00After a breathless and breathtaking stage 16, which saw Ben O'Connor cling onto the
00:04red jersey by just five seconds, the Australian surely headed into stage 17 confident he would
00:10keep hold of it for at least another day.
00:13It was one for the sprinters, but there was no faute finaire following his crash the day
00:16before.
00:17It forced the Belgian to abandon a miss out on what could have been a fourth stage win
00:21in this year's race.
00:22Fortunately this morning we heard everything is reasonably okay with him.
00:29That was nice news.
00:31Today obviously was going to be a big chance for him to go for a stage victory and the
00:34plan was obviously to control and make sure he could sprint.
00:39That ambition now is gone obviously and I guess we will get through today and look at
00:47the next few days for some opportunities.
00:51Caden Groves went into a Vuelta stage in the green jersey for the 20th time, even if it
00:56was a bittersweet celebration of that milestone without his big rival.
01:00It's obviously a strange feeling.
01:04We always came with the intentions to fight for the green, but in the end after a very
01:08dominant Wout Van Aert, he had a convincing lead.
01:12So it's a real shame for him and the team to crash out, but I was also fighting to remain
01:18second in the classification.
01:20No Van Aert then, but Groves had other challenges in probably the sprinter's last chance for
01:24a win.
01:25I'm really motivated actually.
01:27It's been a long time between sprint days at this Vuelta, so I think we really want
01:32to make the most of it, but also it's going to be a really hard race to control I think.
01:36The sprinters might not have it all their own way either.
01:39With two steep climbs in the middle of the stage, the punchers had an opportunity too.
01:43Yeah, I think it's good that it's a bit rainy.
01:47Always create more chaos.
01:48I hope they don't mark me too much in the team meetings to chase me down, not let me
01:54go in the breakaway, but I'm quite sure it will be a hard fight.
01:58It will not be easy to be in the breakaway, but we need to win.
02:11So a short-ish stage to Santander, which is welcoming the Vuelta for the 34th time, but
02:16the first in 20 years.
02:18The question was, would it be a sprint finish, or could a bold breakaway take the day's
02:22honors?
02:31Though the stage was relatively flat compared to the previous day, the weather wasn't much
02:35kinder on the 140km jaunt towards the coast.
02:39With some steep challenges in the middle of the stage, it wasn't going to be a free-for-all
02:43either, and the sprinters' teams were watchful.
02:47Only four riders did break clear, Jonas Gregard, Thibaut Guernelec, Javier Isassa and Thomas
02:53Champion, who'd clearly done his homework coming into the stage.
02:58For me, there's two possible scenarios, perhaps three.
03:05This stage is a bit unpredictable.
03:08It could be a breakaway that goes all the way, a controlled sprint for Groves, or attacks
03:12by the leaders in the peloton on the steep climbs.
03:21For now, it was Champion's first scenario that was playing out as the breakaway built
03:25a four-minute lead.
03:28Back down the road, the peloton were approaching the 50km mark, and the first test of the day,
03:32the Alto de la Estranjera.
03:35It was short at just 5km, but also sharp.
03:38Just ask Isassa how tough it was, as he lost touch with the leaders.
03:43The climb looked like it had claimed a second victim too, as the lead group increased its
03:47lead, Champion's bike let him down and left him stranded.
03:55But it wasn't for long, as even Isassa clawed his way back and the lead quartet sped towards
04:00the day's second climb, the Alto del Caracol.
04:05It was another short, sharp shock at 7km long and 6% gradient, which kept the peloton
04:10at bay and the lead group's advantage intact.
04:13It stood at almost four and a half minutes when the peloton started the climb, and it
04:17was the same when they reached the top, with the chasing group not yet declaring hostilities
04:22on the front four.
04:26The status quo was finally broken inside the final 50km as the peloton chewed into the
04:31lead which was now down to some three minutes, 10km further on and the peloton was stretched
04:36along the road with the pace being ratcheted up.
04:40That saw the lead melt, but not completely, and with less than 25km to go, the breakaway
04:46group still had an advantage that gave them hope they could see it through, especially
04:50with a lot of tired legs in the peloton.
04:53With the rain making conditions treacherous once again, a lead of 40 seconds and the line
04:57fast approaching, the front four were slimmed down to just three, Champion dropped off the
05:02pace as Gregard, Isassa and Gernelec maintained the momentum.
05:06That meant they'd lost just 15 seconds over the previous 5km.
05:11Were we about to see a big surprise in Santander, it certainly still looked to be on the cards
05:16heading into the final 10km.
05:21It wasn't to be though, and with 3km to go, the breakaway finally was swallowed up.
05:26That was the cue for Mauro Schmidt to make a move off the front of the peloton, followed
05:29by Victor Campenaerts and Max Puhl.
05:32But the sprinter's teams weren't going to let them get away, and a bunch sprint shaped
05:36up on the rain-soaked streets of Santander.
05:39There's the front, there's the Swiss Champion, it's Mauro Schmidt who's emptying the tank
05:42right now, he's trying to go for a stage victory in the Vuelta a Espana, they take that final
05:47left-right hand turn, 325m to go, Enzo Leinzer is there for Team DSM, Fermanick, Postonell,
05:53here comes Victor Campenaerts, he's trying to sprint, but now it's Eddie Plancard who's
05:57trying to deliver for Caden Groves, and it all comes back together, the green jersey,
06:01Caden Groves versus Pavel Bitner, and in the end, they come past and he comes to the line
06:06in Santander, stage victory number 7 for the green jersey, Caden Groves, glory for the
06:12Australian.
06:16Caden Groves proving the strongest, though Pavel Bitner pushed him hard, the Australian
06:21repeating his hat-trick of last year's stage wins, he'll be hoping he can also repeat last
06:25year's departure from Madrid with the green jersey and his luggage on Sunday.
06:29It was my last opportunity here at this race, and such a super-motivated team, they did
06:34so well at the start to control the breakaway and make sure the composition was correct,
06:39so to repay them with win number 3 is pretty special.
06:45Groves taking the spoils in Santander, ahead of Bitner and Anton Marchese at Vito Brite,
06:50Campanet's claimed 6th, he'd predicted chaos in the rain at the finish, but there wasn't
06:54too much, which meant no change in the overall classification, so O'Connor's tiny lead over
06:59Roglic remains intact for another stage.
07:04Groves' victory means he's now odds-on to win the green jersey, he's over 100 points
07:10clear of the field, and Jay Vine keeps the polka-dot jersey as Australians lead all three
07:16senior categories.
07:19The only one they don't have is the white jersey, Ineos' Spanish rider Carlos Rodriguez
07:25wears that.
07:26So just four stages left, stage 18 ventures into the Basque country, leaving from Vitoria
07:32and heading to Ischi Natural Park with a climb late in the day that could see sparks fly.