Ireland’s Nicolas Roche got clear in the winning breakaway and let rip several times again on stage 19 of La Vuelta.
Irish cyclist Nicolas Roche attacks Vuelta stage 19
Having ridden very well for the opening two weeks at the Vuelta and then suffered major time loss on stage 15 Irish cyclist Nicolas Roche went all out to win today.
He attacked early and often on stage 19. But when his efforts to get away from the winning breakaway were snuffed out, he had to settle for 8th.
The Irishman was one of a large breakaway group of 19 men to go clear on the 149.7km stage from Caso Parque Natural de Redes to Gijon.
With him were the QuickStep pairing of Bob Jungels and Matteo Trentin.
LottoNL-Jumbo also had two men in the move in Floris De Tier and Juanjo Lobato. And so did UAE Team Emirates, whose Rui Costa and Matej Mohoric were present.
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There was also a brace from Trek-Segafredo -Edward Theuns and Jarlinson Pantano – and a pair from Cofidis; Dani Navarro and Kenneth Vanbilsen.
Completing the initial 19 men were Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Julien Duval (AG2R La Mondiale), Davide Villella (Cannondale-Drapac), Laurens De Vreese (Astana), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Ivan Garcia (Bahrain-Merida), David Arroyo (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Juan Felipe Osorio (Manzana-Postobon).
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The move would be joined by chasers, including Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale), as the gap back to the bunch reached 18 minutes.
Bardet and De Gendt and would show their hand on the Alto de la Falla de Los Lobos crested at 80km. They split the escape but it would regroup somewhat.
However by the time the front-runners reached the final climb of the day – the Alto de San Martín de Huerces peaking at 134.5km – Garcia had attacked.
He established a decent lead and maintained it all the way up the climb. However, Bardet would attack and eventually caught the lone leader.
But Roche would soon join them as would Rui Costa, Jungles and De Gendt; all getting back to the front of the race.
The action set up a final involving a nine-man group. Bardet and Roche made brave attacks to try and take the win.
In the end it came down to a sprint which Roche lead out. And it was De Gendt who came through to win from Pantano and Garcia.
Most of the general classification men, including race leader Chris Froome (Team Sky) would finish in a 30-strong group more than 12 minutes back.
An attack on the final climb by Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) excited the fans but ultimately went nowhere.
Conor Dunne (Aqua Blue Sport) would finish in a large group some 19:33 down. But he is secure in the knowledge the end of his first Grand Tour is just around the corner.
Stage 19: Caso Parque Natural de Redes to Gijon (149.7km)
1 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 3:35:46
2 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Trek-Segafredo
3 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
4 Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates
5 Floris De Tier (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
6 Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors
7 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
8 Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team
9 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
10 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:00:45
11 Simon Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac
12 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
13 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:49
14 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors 0:02:40
15 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team
16 Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
17 Matej Mohoric (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
18 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
19 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:02:45
20 Juan José Lobato (Spa) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:04:48
112 Conor Dunne (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport 0:19:33
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