Thibaut Pinot wins stage 15 as Yates stays in red – La Vuelta
2018 Vuelta a Espana
Stage 15
As all the general classification favourites tore shreds out of each other on the decisive climb, Groupama-FDJ’s Pinot took advantage of a momentary ceasefire to kick clear with six kilometres to go and never looked back.
Even if he had cast a glance over his shoulder, the dense fog that shrouded the summit would have meant Pinot could not see the bickering of his rivals, nor could he appreciate the majesty of the magical lakes to which the climb takes its name.
Pinot crossed the line with a winning gap of 28 seconds over the white jersey Lopez, of Astana, to complete his grand slam of stage victories in all three Grand Tours – adding Lagos de Covadonga to a list of career scalps that also includes the legendary Alpe d’Huez.
Race leader Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) put in countless attacks on the gruelling 12.2km final climb but was eventually left a frustrated figure after his big rival Nairo Quintana (Movistar) each time closed the gap – but then refused (or was unable) to help in the chase.
Yates eventually took things into his own hands to secure third place and the final bonus seconds as a tiring Quintana was passed by his Movistar team-mate Alejandro Valverde, as well as dependable Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) and the Spanish youngster Enric Mas (Quick-Step Floors) before the finish.
It was, at times, a compelling battle of attrition on one of cycling’s most famous climbs – but in the end, the time gaps were minimal: runner-up Lopez and the seventh-place Quintana were separated by just six seconds at the end of the 178.2km stage through the Asturias mountains of northern Spain.
For the second time in the season, Yates now enters the second rest day of a Grand Tour with the leader’s jersey on his back. The 26-year-old, who famously cracked in Stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia to concede the maglia rosa to compatriot Chris Froome, has a 26-second advantage over Spanish veteran Valverde, with Quintana 33 seconds behind in third.
There was no change in the composition of the top five with Lopez, in fourth, now at 43 seconds, and Kruijswijk further back – but by no means out of it – at 1’29”.
But the big winner of the day was 28-year-old Pinot, who in completing his prestigious triple crown moved from eleventh place to seventh, 2’10” down on the race summit, keeping alive his dreams of a podium finish in Madrid.
With four categorised climbs and countless hills in between, the final stage of the second week of racing was always going to boil down to who had the best uphill armoury.
Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) animated early proceedings by taking summiting the Alto de Santo Emiliano after 20km in pole position – the Belgian moving within seven points of the polka-dot jersey lead of Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis).
And when a break of 12 riders finally went clear, the polka-dot jersey – rather than any aspirations of red or, to be fair, the stage win – was very much the subplot, for the break contained both Ben King (Dimension Data) and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), but neither Mate nor De Gendt.
Dutchman Mollema led the American King over the first of two ascents of the Mirador del Fito climb before the roles were reversed on the second visit, with 40km remaining.
The upshot here was that double stage winner King moved within one point of De Gendt, and six points clear of double stage runner-up Mollema. With the ill Spaniard Mate clinging on with 64 points, the scene is set for a strong four-way battle for the King of the Mountains jersey in the race’s third week.
Astana, meanwhile, assembled on the front of the pack to drive the chase on the break, whose lead was down to three minutes going over the third of four categorised climbs.
On the hilly approach to the final climb, Mollema momentarily rode clear with local rider Ivan Garcia Cortina (Bahrain-Merida) and the New Zealander George Bennett (LottoNL-Jumbo), but that move came to nothing. Back in the pack, Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) and the French stage 12 winner Alexandre Geniez (Ag2R-La Mondiale) hit the deck in a nasty-looking spill.
Cortina then soloed clear on the flat to open up an advantage of 45 seconds going onto the climb to Lagos de Covadonga. Behind, the peloton has been whittled down to around 30 riders as the remnants of the break were picked off one by one.
And just after lone leader Cortina was reeled in with 8km to go, Lopez, wearing the white jersey, repaid his Astana team-mates for their ferocious tempo-setting by dancing clear.
It was a bold attack to go so early – and the Colombian never managed to establish a large gap, as a Movistar trio of Quintana, Valverde and the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz led an elite group of favourites back onto Lopez’s wheel.
Pinot then made his decisive move, taking advantage of a slight lull with 6km remaining to surge ahead in the mist. Almost instantly, Yates responded with a big attack – leaving Quintana looking over his shoulders as he apparently implored someone else to neutralise the threat.
Valverde obliged, before dropping back with Kruijswijk once Yates was reabsorbed. There followed a captivating sequence where Yates attacked on numerous occasions only to be pegged back each time the road flattened out on one of the steps near the summit.
Lopez put in his counter-attack on the steep double-digit section 2km from the finish but still trailed Pinot by 20 seconds. Yates flung his arms up in frustration behind, prompting Quintana to do the same. But the only other two riders present by then were Spaniards Valverde and Mas – and each was clearly running on empty.
The remainder of the stage played out to script with Pinot holding on for a historic win, and Yates almost catching second-place Lopez before the line. Tellingly, it was Quintana – winner here in 2016 – who faded to seventh place.
Despite his frustration, Yates extended his slender lead over Movistar’s power duo and ensured that he will start Tuesday’s all-important 32km time trial in Torrelavega in a red skin suit.
“It was a very strong attack and he came from behind with a lot of power. It was a very good move,” Yates said of Pinot’s ride.
There was zero cooperation. It was very difficult to do anything and there was a little bit of a headwind as well. Not much really happened in the end. I feel good. If I can hold the same form and the same legs, I’ll be very happy. I’m looking forward to the rest day now and then I hope to have a good time trial.”
Tomorrow’s stage 16 is an individual time trial taking the riders 32km from Santillana del Mar to Torrelavega
The almost pan-flat race against the clock will be an interesting gauge for the ultimate destiny of the red jersey – and with none of the top 10 (with the exception of seventh-place Rigoberto Uran) renowned for their time trialling, it could be a case of he who limits his losses the most emerges the ultimate victor.
