Historic Roglic, Gaudu reborn but no French victory… The tops and flops of the Vuelta

TOPS

Primoz Roglic, the Vuelta is his kingdom

This is undoubtedly his favorite race. Cursed on the Tour (2nd in 2020 and forced to abandon his last three participations), the 34-year-old rider won his fourth Vuelta this Sunday at the end of a time trial that he finished in second place. Despite his late takeover of the red jersey, two days before the finish in Madrid, the Slovenian always seemed to be in control. With this historic victory, he joins Roberto Heras at the top of the ranking of winners of the Tour of Spain. And symbolically, it allows Slovenia to become the fourth country, after France, Spain and Great Britain, to have won the three Grand Tours in the same year, Tadej Pogacar having won the Giro and the Tour.

The Phoenix David Gaudu

A surprise rebirth. Arriving in full doubt on the Spanish roads, with behind him an anonymous season and a failed Tour de France (65th overall), David Gaudu found his best legs at the best of times. The Groupama-FDJ climber finished the Vuelta as the first Frenchman, 6th overall, at the end of a third week where he only gained momentum. As evidenced by his runner-up place obtained during the 19th stage at the summit of Moncalvillo, just behind the untouchable Primoz Roglic. “I’ve always been in contact with the top four or five”the Breton rejoiced upon arrival in the streets of Madrid this Sunday. In the end, he only lacked a stage victory to embellish his return to the forefront.

Ben O’Connor, the man we weren’t expecting

He didn’t miss out on a huge coup. Red jersey for 13 days, Ben O’Connor was the man of this Vuelta for a long time. After a great victorious breakaway during the 6th stage which saw him don the leader’s jersey, the leader of the Décathlon AG2R La Mondiale team probably believed, for a few days, that he would win this Tour of Spain. But Primoz Roglic decided otherwise, taking back the lead two days before Madrid. Finishing all the same 2 minutes and 36 seconds behind the Slovenian, the 28-year-old Australian rider nevertheless proved to the peloton that he could play a leading role in a Grand Tour general classification.

History of the Kern Pharma Team

This 2024 Tour of Spain will remain a great memory for the Spanish team Kern Pharma, confined to the ProTeam license (second international division) and the “Little Thumb” of the peloton. Grieving the loss of its creator and historic director Manolo Azcona, who died during the night of August 28 to 29, the Pamplona-based team paid him a huge tribute by collecting three stage victories. Just a few hours after the terrible news, Pablo Castrillo raised his arms in Manzaneda (12th stage), before repeating the feat on the terrible 20% slopes of the Cuitu Negru in Valgrande-Pajares (15th stage). And the cherry on the cake, his teammate Usko Barrade also took a prestigious victory, solo during the 18th stage, to conclude in style this historic Tour for Kern-Pharma, which had never won at World Tour level until now.

End of the drought for Küng and Groupama-FDJ

842 days that the Groupama-FDJ team has been chasing a stage success on a Grand Tour, since May 20, 2022 and a mass sprint won by Arnaud Démare. The drought (finally) ended this Sunday, on the gong, during the final time trial in Madrid. As a symbol, it was Stefan Küng who hit the nail on the head, he the “cursed” of three-week races. In his favorite exercise, the Swiss time trial champion had been circling around for a long time (4th in Lisbon during the 1st stage, 2nd in Düsseldorf on the 2017 Tour, 4th in Cesena on the 2023 Giro), here he is rewarded for all his efforts. By winning without discussion ahead of Primoz Roglic and Mattia Cattaneo, “King Küng” gave even more relief to his team’s Vuelta, already satisfied by the return to form of David Gaudu. And above all, the 30-year-old rider is full of confidence just a few days before the European Championships.

FLOPS

Wout Van Aert poissard

When things don’t go well…While he was off to a good start in his Vuelta (well ahead in the points classification and winner of three stages), the Belgian rider fell during the 16th stage after crossing the Collada Llamena pass in the lead. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider, suffering from a knee injury without a fracture, had to end his season, while he still had great goals like the World Championships which will take place in Switzerland in less than three weeks. Despite everything, this is not the first time that he has suffered this kind of mishap. At almost 30 years old, the Belgian will be all the more vengeful next season.

Apart from Gaudu and Sivakov, the French are in difficulty

It’s a painful statistic. For the first time since 2012, no French rider has won a stage in the Vuelta, nor worn the red jersey of leader of the general classification. Despite the good performances in the general classification of David Gaudu (6th), Pavel Sivakov (9th) and Guillaume Martin (15th), the Tricolores have been generally discreet in this race. With two second places in stages (Pacher in the 10th stage, Gaudu in the 19th), they have even remained discreet in the mountains classification. After three successes in the Giro d’Italia and then in the Tour de France, this zero point somewhat tarnishes the French record of the year.

Landa and Rodriguez too short at home

On their steep and particularly steep roads, the Spanish riders are used to shining, like Enric Mas who has just won his 4th podium in six years (2nd in 2018, 2021 and 2022, 3rd in 2024). The Movistar climber is the Iberian leader to emerge from this edition since Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) and Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) ended up disappointing. Of course, the two riders were following up after a grueling Tour de France but there is no doubt that their supporters expected better. Especially for Landa, who was on the offensive for two weeks until completely cracking in the mountains during the 18th stage (3’20” lost on his competitors in the general classification). At the end of the 21 days of racing, Spain only placed one element in the Top 7, its worst record since 2019. A (relative) disappointment all the same weighed down by four stage victories, including two gleaned by Pablo Castrillo alone, a true revelation on home soil.

UAE Team Emirates, the glass half empty

Despite the absence of its ogre Tadej Pogacar, the United Arab Emirates team had great ambitions in the general classification. But neither Joao Almeida, quickly dropped and affected by Covid-19 on the morning of the 9th stage, nor Adam Yates, much less lively than on the Grande Boucle (12th overall, 15’40” behind Primoz Roglic), were able to pull out all the stops. The best ranking at the finish therefore goes to the Frenchman Pavel Sivakov (9th), far from the initial objectives of a collective in search of a real leader. However, UAE leaves Spain with two stage wins in its pocket (Yates in Granada, Marc Soler at the Lakes of Covadonga) and the best climber’s jersey on the shoulders of Jay Vine. A record that would make many sports directors pale but which turns out to be mixed for one of the biggest budgets in world cycling.

Sepp Kuss, the disappointment

Last year’s surprise winner, American Sepp Kuss only finished 14th in this 2024 Vuelta. While the steep course suited him perfectly and his victory last year partly led to Primoz Roglic leaving for Bora-Hansgrohe, the 29-year-old (Visma | Lease a Bike) clearly didn’t have the same legs and didn’t stand out on a mountain stage. It remains to be seen whether his 2023 triumph will remain a one-off performance or not.

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