September 7 th 2019 – 17:38
Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) has enjoyed one of the very few flat stages of La Vuelta 19 to take a second stage win, in Oviedo. A crash derailed the sprinters in the last kilometer and the Irish stormed to victory ahead of Max Richeze (Deceuninck-Quick Step) and Tosh Van der Sande (Lotto Soudal). Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) was delayed by the crash but he didn’t fall himself. The Slovenian retains La Roja ahead of two big mountain stages.
A 163-man pack rolls from San Vicente de la Barquera without Domingo Gonçalves (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), forced to abandon due to a stomach bug. A group of six riders break away after 10km: Silvan Dillier (AG2R La Mondiale), Luka Pibernik (Bahrain-Merida), Harm Vanhoucke (Lotto Soudal), Salvatore Puccio (Team Ineos), Diego Rubio (Burgos-BH) and Stéphane Rossetto (Cofidis). The gap is up to 1’40” when Fabio Jakobsen’s Deceuninck-Quick Step and Sam Bennett’s Bora-Hansgrohe start driving the bunch, at km 16.
They quickly receive the help of UAE Team Emirates, Mitchelton-Scott, Trek-Segafredo and Jumbo-Visma. The gap is controlled between 1 and 2 minutes. Stéphane Rossetto is dropped from the leading group with 67km to go. The attackers’ lead is up to 2’07” when the race enters the last 50km.
Valverde and Pogacar hit the deck
The intensity picks up in the last 40km. Jakob Fuglsang (Astana Pro Team) and Jempy Drucker (Bora-Hansgrohe) attack in the only climb of the day but Tony Martin (Jumbo-Visma) quickly reels them in. The gap to the front of the race is down to 50” at the summit (22.6km to go).
Diego Rubio is dropped from the leading group with 13km to go. The peloton only trails by 27”. The last attackers are caught inside the last 5km. Everything looks set for a bunch gallop but a massive crash happens with 1km to go. Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) isn’t involved and he storms to victory. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) is delayed but he doesn’t fall himself. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) suffer slow speed crash. No change on GC as the incident happen in the last kilometer.
From the Finish Line
“First and foremost, I really hope the guys that came down in that crash are okay. Today was the first time in a while on this race that the sprinters had an opportunity for a fast finish. The win means so much to me. Win number 13: my lucky number. I want to say a huge thank you to the guys for working so hard for me. They controlled the race all day and made sure the break didn’t make it to the line again on this race. Let’s hope win number 13 brings even more luck our way. Morale is super high in the team and I’m grateful to everyone for making today’s win possible.” – Sam Bennett
“What should we say except, the boys did such an amazing job and Sam finished it off with an incredible win. We all hope that the guys who were involved in the crash are okay. Finales like this are always high speed and we were lucky today to stay out of the crash and cross the line first! Sam is a great sprinter and the team works perfectly together here at La Vuelta. This win also gives us confidence for the next tough challenges in the mountains but for now we enjoy the stage win.” – Patxi Vila, Sports Director
STAGE RESULT
1. Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe), 4h28’46”
2. Maximiliano Richeze (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), st
3. Tosh Van der Sande (Lotto Soudal), + 2”
INDIVIDUAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo-Visma)
2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team), + 2’25’’
3. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), + 3’01’’
