Simon Yates reclaims red leaders jersey with victory on La Vuelta stage 14

Yates won the stage ahead of Lopez and Valverde as the GC battle heats up on the Mountain stages

For the whole of this second day of three in the mountains, the peloton dreaded the day’s finale climb.

The Alto les Praeres was only 4km long, but with its maximum gradient hitting 17%, all but the most able climbers would struggled on its wall-like slopes, and nobody had easy day. The peloton timed its catch of the day’s small break at the foot of the final climb, and this was where the action started. 

With one day in the mountains down it was another two to go. Stage 14 saw a parcours of two parts, with the first 60km of this 171km stage a steady ascent towards the first of five categorised climbs, while the remaining 111km were much more jagged, crossing no fewer than four categorised climbs here, three of these being first category.

The first climbs of the day emptied the already tired legs of the riders, while the summit finish would gave the climbers and the GC riders a chance to either fight it out for the finish, or to take some time on the overall race. Like yesterday’s stage, the day’s final climb and summit finish was relentlessly tough, with an average gradient of a massive 12.5% on the Alto les Praeres.

It may have been short, at 4km in length, but the only place the road would dropped below 10% was just ahead of the finale, and this was still 7.2%. Even for the more able climbers, the final ascent, with its maximum gradient of 17%, felt more like a wall than a mountain.

The start of the day saw gentle climbs on which a breakaway could take advantage and build a time gap.

Within the first 10km, a small group had formed, made up of six strong riders, who quickly built up a healthy advantage. Their lead hitting more than three minutes, the peloton started to take notice, not wanting to allow any of the potential GC contenders to take time today, and the lead was brought down, with the advantage rising and falling with the terrain as the day went on.

Picking off the climbs and the kilometres, the race was nearing the finale, and with 50km remaining, the gap was sitting at two minutes – still a healthy lead given the day’s profile. Even before the Alto les Praeres, riders were suffering, with even the third category Alto de la Falla de los Lobos seeing riders lose contact, including the race leader, so draining had the final climbs been.

A compact group of GC riders was forming. Having steadily reeled in the break, of which only one rider remained, it was all back together from just 5km out – the foot of the final climb. When the catch was made and the road steepened, the fireworks started and while one rider attacked off the front, it was impossible to ride alone on these steep slopes.

The road narrowing for the final kilometre there was still so far to go to the finish, with barely room to move for all the fans lining the route. 

Simon Yates took the stage win ahead of M. Lopez and A. Valverde.

2018 La Vuelta Stage 14 Video Highlights

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2018 La Vuelta Stage 14 Top 10

1 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 4:19:27 
2 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:00:02 
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team   
4 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:05 
5 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:00:07 
6 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:11 
7 Enric Mas (Spa) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:19 
8 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:00:27 
9 Ion Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:37 
10 Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:39

2018 La Vuelta GF after Stage 14

1 Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 59:11:18 
2 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:20 
3 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:00:25 
4 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:00:47 
5 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:01:23 
6 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:01:28 
7 Ion Izagirre (Spa) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:40 
8 Enric Mas (Spa) Quick-Step Floors 0:01:47 
9 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:55 
10 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:08