A dane, Magnus Cort Nielsen, conquered the stage, and a Norwegian, Odd chistian eiking, leads the general classification, under the overwhelming heat of Córdoba, which in unofficial urban thermometers reached 43 degrees. Tough guys, these Nordics. Cort Nielsen also finishes you victorious with a break in the Cullera Mountain, which challenges the roosters on the wall of Valdepeñas de Jaén until the last meters, which wins you a massive sprint like this day. The Education First cyclist, in fact, appeared in the high society of cycling as a sprinter with two triumphs in Gandía and Madrid in 2016. Since then he has already added five victories in La Vuelta, two this year. Spain is good at it.
The stage concentrated two difficulties In its last 50 kilometers, two classic ports on the approach of the race to Córdoba: the Alto de San Jerónimo, third category, 13 km at 3.3%, and the High of 14%, 7.3 kilometers on a 5.6 slope. That curious name of the 14%, so cyclist, does not, however, have any relation to bicycles, but is due to a traffic sign that warns heavy vehicles of that terrible percentage in their descent.
For that 14 percent, the cyclists of La Vuelta descended, without engine braking, in search of a stage victory that in other visits had been caught by one of those sprinters who pass the mountain well: John Degenkolb and Peter Sagan are good examples among the precedents. To that same mold belongs Matteo Trentin, a very active cyclist in this edition, in which we have seen him in several leaks and delivered in the role of gregarious. The UAE team took advantage of the cordovan route to embroider the stripes of the day on the Italian’s chest, which prevented the getaway on duty, made up of eight runners, from prospering.
Other challengers were not for the task of paving the way for the UAE Team. Ciccone, Bardet, Vine and Sergio Henao, who got hooked a little later, played their own tricks with an attack on the latter port. His offensive pupated the sprinters. Trentin got off the hook. And also Michael Matthews, another perfect profile to be touched with the Cordovan hat. The quartet took advantage of the circumstance to open a gap with forty seconds. The uncertainty unsettled Trentin, who launched himself into the descent, pursued by Ion Izagirre. A mistake. The rear group managed to rebuild with six riders from the BikeExchange, thus resuming the possibility of a victory for Matthews at the sprint.
The Australian train, with some specific help from the UAE, managed to neutralize the escape already within the last kilometer. The moment of the merger, which usually generates a small stop, some doubts, was taken advantage of by Education First, which until now benefited from the trail of the BikeExchange’s work. Jens Keukeleire’s pitch to Magnus Cort Nielsen caught Matthews, third, by surprise. Only Andrea Bagioli, opportunistic and clever, put up strong opposition to the Danish. Trentin finished fourth, having spent an unnecessary round on the descent.
The roosters did not get into the fight this time. It was enough for all of them to endure the heat, to resist in the group … And to avoid unforeseen events, such as that numerous fall that knocked down six riders of the Jumbo-Visma, including Primoz Roglic, and other bosses like Adam Yates, 55 kilometers from the finish line. Worse it was the thing to Tobias Bayer in a previous accident that left him out of the race. Grand tour cycling is played on several bands. Some of them, quite dangerous.