What he achieved was spectacular. Pablo Castrillo here Back to SpainThe Kern Pharma rider, who had just won in Manzaneda, unexpectedly won the queen stage by finishing in the Black Cooked Asturian. In a final kilometer where he fought at all costs with Vlasov, he managed to break the Russian with a real demonstration of strength and resistance to win his second stage of this Vuelta.
Behind, Further And Roglic They came almost hand in hand, since the Slovenian attacked, but the Movistar rider made a formidable exercise of perseverance to reach his wheel and even try to test him. They were determined to O’Connor, but they were unable to get him out of the lead of the general classification, as he left the finish line only 38 seconds behind Red Bull-Bora, who still need to shave 43 seconds off him if they want to win the general classification of the Vuelta a España for the fourth time.
The race has arrived in the always awaited Asturias, always decisive in the Spanish round. Without the colossus Angliru, the Black Cooked, an extension of the already demanding climb to the station Valgrande-Pajares, at over 1,800 meters above sea level. Almost 19 kilometers of port and in the last three it becomes even more difficult, with a slope that exceeds 12% on average and infernal ramps of 24%. Previously, the Colladiella, first category, and the Alto de Santo Emiliano, third category, were climbed twice.
So it was the day when everyone who aspired to something in this Vuelta had to show themselves. It was also a key day for Ben O’Connor, whose chances of arriving in Madrid in red depended on what happened in Cuitu. He arrived 1h21 before Primoz Roglic, who has already made Ancares understand that he is the strongest in the pack.
The Slovenian surprised everyone before starting the climb, stopping in the middle of the road to change bikes. A career that until then had been marked by the flight of important men, such as Sivakov, Vine, Vlasov, Admiral, Kung and also a Pablo Castrillo who dreamed, why not, of offering a new triumph to Spanish cycling.
The leak lasted three minutes after the descent of the Colladella and they managed to hold it before starting the hard start of the last climb of the day. The work of an imperial Sivakov stood out, who imposed his pace without being given relief and took down one by one all those who accompanied him, on wheels, in the escape, with the exception of Vlasov and Castrillo.
Castrillo Recital at the Vuelta
While everything indicated that Vlasov could take advantage of the work that had been done to him, since Castrillo was suffering more than evident, the Spaniard surprised the Spaniard with a lightning attack just as they began the three infernal kilometers towards the top of the mountain. Black city. This opened a breach that seemed definitive, but Vlassov He didn’t give up and eventually arrived, exhausted, at his wheel. But the man from Huesca had more to give, and he gave it, torturing the Russian until he let him go in a very hard last kilometer.
At the very moment Kern Pharma attacked, Lipowitz took advantage of the opportunity to change the rhythm of the main group and leave with his leader, a Roglic determined to finally take the red from O’Connor. But the Red Bull-Bora day was not his best. Further He had better legs and was able to find his rhythm and catch up with the Slovenian, who he eventually pushed to his limits. The two men crossed the finish line together and managed to put O’Connor 38 seconds, not enough to take the red, but which leaves him with a gap of less than a minute against the Lakes of Covadonga.
After them they entered Skjelmose, Carapaz, Kiss And Mikel Landa. The Basque T-Rex was one of the protagonists of the stage, since his team pulled the peloton and did the work until they were on foot from the last port. He tried to take advantage of it, with an attack that selected the race as soon as it began to climb. However, he ended up suffering a lot and, with the exception of O’Connor, he was the last to register in the men’s general classification.
