The Australian wins the sprint in Cabo de Gata, a stage characterized by infections such as that of Yates and in which Evenepoel Alaphilippe loses due to a fall
The day started off lopsided for the BikeEchange team with the covid withdrawal of Simon Yates their trick for the podium. And it ended, mid-afternoon and with the sun setting to bathe in Cabo de Gata, with the sprint victory of another of its runners, Kaden Groves, another 23-year-old bullet coming out of the infinite Australian factory. The coronavirus paradoxically paved the way for him: he had killed the fastest of the Vuelta days ago, Sam Bennett. Without the Irishman and stuck in a final straight with no turns, Groves measured better than Molano, who uncorked early, and came back without letting Van Poppel and Merlier pass him. The young Australian outperformed his rivals, dodging the virus for now and also dodging falls like the one that sent Julian Alaphilippe into an ambulance with a broken collarbone, Remco Evenepoel’s best bra to date. The Belgian leader faces the long climb to Peñas Blancas without the world champion’s crutch.
In this Vuelta, the victory is also to stay standing. With the covid scythe mowing down numbers in the pack, the race doesn’t stop shaking. The list of victims due to the corona virus already rises to 20 after the abandonment of Simon Yates, fifth overall; Pave Sivakov, ninth, and three Kern Pharma riders, Roger Adriá, Pau Miguel and Héctor Carretero. A sieve is used on each round of testing, most of which is done by the teams themselves. There is an alarm and the race management has ordered to shield the bubble protecting the runners. The most painful thing is that some of the positively tested riders are in top shape. Yet they are gone. “It’s Russian roulette,” laments Juanjo Oroz, director of Kern Pharma. The Navarrese coach defends that we should start to “normalize” coexistence with the virus in the pack.
According to the regulations of the International Cycling Union (UCI) in force since the last Tour, a committee consisting of a team doctor, one from the race and one from the UCI itself decides whether an infected runner can continue in the race based on their viral load So far, 20 cyclists have left. There is more? In the peloton it can be heard that some are still in the race despite testing positive. Oroz complained about that, without quoting him. That is why he spoke of “injustice”, because two of his three affected cyclists “have no symptoms”. “It makes you want to hit the table,” he said. We have followed the rules. We stick to them.”
As if spurred on by the accident of three of his teammates, another Kern Pharma number, Czech Vojtech Repa, escaped from the start in Alhama de Murcia. And in the company of Joan Bou, Valencian from Euskaltel-Euskadi, and Jetse Bol, Dutchman from Burgos BH. The invited teams thus return the prize that they have been selected. I pay with sweat when I pass through Lorca, the city of lights. Through Mojácar, desert and sea. And heat. Repa comes out of the cold. Ice hockey, his sport until an ankle injury put him on a bicycle at the age of 16. There are cyclists who are because of the caroms of fate.
Others are born to be. Like Alejandro Valverde, who received applause from his neighbors during this eleventh stage. In his retirement, now 42 years old, with five children and more than 130 victories, including classics such as Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Walloon Flame and the San Sebastian Classic, plus the World Cup and the 2009 edition of the Vuelta. “I enjoy these days,” he thanked. He has always enjoyed his sport. It’s your secret. Genetics has equipped it for cycling as standard. Win from the start. He made his professional peloton debut in 2002. Repa had just turned two.
When he won gold at the 2018 World Championships, he said: “I’ve already done everything in cycling. I can retire safely.” The pandemic, which banned the public from approaching the gutters, encouraged him to extend his career. Until now. He wanted to leave like this, in a massive and still competitive Vuelta. But the virus is here still, cross bibs. Watch out. The Murcian wants to put Enric Mas on the podium, save his team from relegation and receive the affection of the fans in the days left until he reaches Madrid. That is the program of his farewell. .. if the covid doesn’t ruin it.
While Repa, Bou and Bol’s escape dried up on its own in the desert of Almería, Julian Alaphilippe suffered another accident, who slid into a corner without visible danger. It has been a year of bad luck. The world champion left the Vuelta with a damaged right collarbone. Another victim amid a pandemic in the Vuelta. “I’m confident the trickle of positive cases will wane,” Javier Guillén, director of the round, told TVE, throwing a dart at the teams for undergoing so many coronavirus detection tests. With this pace of retirement, the race risks ending up like the desert landscape in which Kaden Groves’ sprint won.
Source: La Verdad
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