2018 Vuelta a Espana - Stage 14

Stage Results and Tomorrow’s Stage Preview

Image courtesy of pexels.com

Stage 14 of Vuelta a Espana for 2018 was a 171km ride from Cistierna to the summit at Les Praeres de Nava. This was a decisive stage as Simon Yates of Mitchelton Scott attacked the riders of the Overall Classification to take the stage victory of the hilly stage and also take back the overall lead. All the main contenders were up the front of the pack with Yates managing to finishing ahead of Miguel Angel Lopez of Astana, Alejandro Valverde of Movistar, Thibaut Pinot of Groupama-FDJ and Nairo Quintana of Movistar.

Link to stage fourteen route map

The stage started with six riders forming a break early, but were not given the time they would normally have been given on previous stages. The peloton worked hard to make sure they closed the break down with stil a further 20km remaining in the stage. The final kilometers saw a number of attacks from the from all being brought back. A small lead group formed as the final climb continued and more riders were dropped, which included Yates, Quintana and Valverde. Yates waited for his moment accelerating in the final moments of the stage to open a gap and then take the stage victory.

Overall classification after stage Fourteen

Jesus Herrada was not in the mix today and as a result has dropped back over seven minutes in the overall classification. Even after the close finish Yates was awarded time bonuses as he crossed the finish line first, and as a result has his biggest lead over Valverde and Quintana, he has had since the start of the 2018 Vuelta.

1. Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott at 59 hours 11 minutes 18 seconds
2. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team at 20 seconds
3. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team at 25 seconds

Tomorrow - Stage 15 Start Ribera del Arriba to finish at Lagos de Covadonga

Stage 15 of the 2018 Vuelta a Espana is a hilly 178km ride from Ribera del Arriba with the finish at Lagos de Covadonga. From the start riders only have about 20km until they cross the Alto de Santo Emiliano which is a 7km climb at 4.2% incline. After they crest the first hill, they continue on further ascents and descents.

Link to stage fifteen route map

The course then loops through the Mirador del Fito with the main climb crested by riders at the 100km mark and then the 137km mark with the climb going for 4.4km at an incline of 9.3%.

After they complete the second pass, riders will still have a further 41km remaining in the stage, with rolling hills that take them to the climb into Lagos de Covadonga. This has been the finish of a stage to the Vuelta on 20 separate occasions, with a spectacular climb of 12km, climbing at an average of 7%. It will be interesting how the stage pans out with the first three riders on the line given time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds.

I'll be covering each stage of the Vuelta A Espana, giving a breakdown of each days stage, my previous post for @cyclefeed were the results of stage thirteen of this years Vuelta, so feel free to have a look:
https://steemit.com/cycling/@run.vince.run/2018-vuelta-a-espana-stage-13

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Please Note all maps are made by myself using Strava