Roglic attacks and falls hard in the bizarre end of the sixteenth Vuelta stage

Primoz Roglic crashed hard on Tuesday in a bizarre end of the sixteenth stage of the Vuelta a España. The Jumbo-Visma leader, who had attacked in the final, went down in the sprint of a group of five riders. Mads Pedersen booked his second stage win.

With less than 3 kilometers from the finish, Roglic attacked on a tough hill. Red jersey carrier Remco Evenepoel then had a puncture, but only lost a few seconds in the general classification because he broke down in the last 3 kilometers.

Sprinters Pedersen, Danny van Poppel, Pascal Ackermann and Fred Wright eventually joined Roglic. Together they were allowed to compete for the stage victory in the streets of Tomares. In that sprint Roglic crashed hard and passed the finish battered.

Pedersen sprinted to his second stage win in this Vuelta. The Dane kept Ackermann (second) and Van Poppel (third) behind him. The considerably thinned peloton followed at eight seconds, with Julius van den Berg in tenth place.

Evenepoel now has a 1.26 minute lead on number two Roglic in the general classification. The Belgian got the time of the peloton behind his name and therefore lost eight seconds on Roglic, who got the time of the first group behind his name.

Two Spanish refugees drive long ahead

In the sixteenth stage, the peloton rode from Sanlúcar de Barrameda to Tomares, a suburb of Seville. There were no categorized climbs along the way, but a tough hill had to be climbed in the final. The arrival was also a difficult climb.

The ride was colored by a flight of two riders: Ander Okamika and Luis Ángel Maté. The two Spaniards built up a four-minute lead and rode ahead for most of the day.

In the run-up to the final, the peloton increased the pace, quickly reducing the gap with Okamika and Maté. Their adventure was over with 14 kilometers from the finish.

Evenepoel has a leak in the last 3 kilometers

The peloton stayed together on the first climb, after which Roglic attacked with just under 3 kilometers from the finish. Only Ackermann could initially follow and a little later Van Poppel, Pedersen and Wright also found the connection.

Immediately after Roglic’s attack, Evenepoel had a puncture, but that happened in the last 3 kilometers. In the event of material failure or a crash in the last 3 kilometers, a rider will receive the time of the group from which he had to release after his name.

Roglic and the four sprinters had a gap with the peloton and were allowed to compete for the stage victory. In that sprint, the Jumbo-Visma leader fell hard after coming into contact with Wright. The Slovenian crossed the finish line, supported by Mike Teunissen, with a bloodied knee and arm.

Pedersen stayed upright and sprinted convincingly to the win. The Trek-Segafredo rider, who also triumphed in the thirteenth stage last Friday, stayed well ahead of Ackermann and Van Poppel.