Romain Bardet (DSM) signed his first Tour of Spain victory on Saturday at the 14th stage, winning solo at the top of Pico Villuercas.
Romain Bardet put on the show in the overwhelming heat of Extremadura (southwest of Madrid), on the steep slopes of the Alto de Collado de Ballesteros then on the long final climb to Pico Villuercas. The French climber gives France its second consecutive stage victory, after the unexpected sprint success of Florian Sénéchal the day before. At the same time, he seizes the best climber’s jersey, which he steals from Damiano Carruso (Bahraïn).
Engaged with 17 other riders in the day’s breakaway, Bardet set off against the long final climb to Pico Villuercas, and dropped off Andrey Zeits (BikeExchange) and Nicolas Prodhomme (AG2R) six kilometers from the summit to take off towards victory.
A stage victory on a grand tour since 2017
It is the first stage victory for Bardet on the Tour of Spain, he who has already won three times on the Tour de France, where he finished Best climber in 2019. It is also his first success on a great tour for four years.
Caught in a heavy fall during the 5th stage, Bardet can no longer fight for the general, but focuses on the high mountain stages and the polka dot jersey.
French Guillaume Martin second overall
In the general classification, Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarché – Wanty Gobert) is first. He is ahead of Frenchman Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) by 58 seconds and Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) by 1 minute and 56 seconds.
Sunday, it’s another big day in the high mountains that awaits the peloton for the 15th stage, before the rest day on Monday.