After a rest day, the Vuelta continues with a mountain test, with the Australian leader going into it with a lead of almost four minutes

79. the edition of the famous Vuelta a España is underway. The last of the three-week events on the cycling calendar had a rest day on Monday and continues on Tuesday with a demanding tenth stage. How has the prestigious event gone so far? Can Australian Ben O’Connor in red maintain a significant lead on his rivals? And how will the pair of Czechs fare next?

• The two Czech debutants have both done well in the opening week
• Roglič was robbed of the red jersey by O’Connor’s triumph
• The race has already been marred by several retirements

The Spanish Vuelta kicked off with three stages in neighbouring Portugal on Saturday 17 August. Czech Olympian Mathias Vacek put on a very good show in the opening 12km individual time trial. The Lidl-Trek rider completed the course from Lisbon to Oeiras only two seconds slower than the American winner Brandon McNulty and finished second.

The next Portuguese stage, ending in the town of Ourém, was won by Australian sprinter Kaden Groves, while Wout van Aert won the third stage, also in a bunch finish. One of the biggest stars in world cycling today secured the red jersey in Castelo Branco, which he had changed into a day earlier.

Van Aert was replaced by Roglic at the front, Bittner scored a valuable success

In the first mountain test of the year, the Belgian had already lost the lead on Spanish territory. Slovenian favourite Primož Roglič took the lead after 170 kilometres of the route from Plasencia to the top of Pico Villuercas.

However, all of the race’s participants, including the most prominent figures in the peloton, had to bow to the second Czech Grand Tour debutant on Wednesday’s fifth stage. Pavel Bittner of Team dsm-firmenich PostNL proved his spurting qualities to the full in Seville and achieved the most valuable triumph of his career so far.

Thursday’s event was a decisive one in terms of the overall classification. In the mountains, Australian Ben O’Connor brought his breakaway to a successful conclusion in Yunqueira, decapitating his closest pursuers by more than four and a half minutes. He knocked Roglic out of first place by almost five minutes.

Vacek again a close second, O’Connor in a strong lead

Vacek was within reach of a stage win on Friday, but was narrowly beaten by Van Aert in the final spurt in Córdoba after a tough climb. Roglic reigned supreme on the final climb to Cazorla in the eighth edition of the Vuelta and managed to reduce the gap to O’Connor by a minute.

However, the Australian cyclist still leads, currently by three minutes and 53 seconds, even after Adam Yates’ victory on Sunday. The British rider successfully escaped everyone in the 178.5-kilometre stage from Motril to Granada, with three first-category summit finishes.

Richard Carapaz, Ecuador’s 2021 Olympic champion, is the closest to second-placed Roglic, 39 seconds back before returning to race pace after a day off on Monday. Vacca is 59th in the main standings, less than 56 minutes behind, while Bittner is 128th, an hour and a half back. However, both will still have a chance to achieve an interesting result during the remaining twelve stages.

Van Aert leads the competition for the green jersey with 203 points, while Yates is the best in the battle for the polka dot jersey with 22. German youngster Florian Lipowitz, fifth overall, will ride in white at least on Tuesday afternoon on the 100km route from Ponteareas to Baiona with four tough climbs.

Thirteen members have already left the Vuelta 2024 peloton due to various problems, such as injuries from crashes and coronavirus infection. These include Portugal’s Ruia Costa and João Almeida, and outgoing Colombian Rigoeberto Uran, among others. The race will run until Sunday, September 8, when it will culminate in a time trial with a finish in Madrid.

Source: Vuelta