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3-way TT battle for Vuelta podium
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Some 24.6km of asphalt will decide the final podium in what’s been a wild and down-to-the-wire Vuelta a España.
Barring disaster in Sunday’s time trial, Primož Roglič will win the overall crown to pull equal with Roberto Heras for the record number of victories in the Spanish grand tour with four.
“We’re definitely one day closer, we’re going in the right direction, but tomorrow is a real GC day,” Roglič said Saturday after widening his lead to 2:02. “I always say I’m not a time trial specialist. I just have to give everything on the road.”
Assuming that Roglič doesn’t see a repeat of his infamous 2020 collapse in the Tour de France, a fifth career grand tour victory looks all but certain.
It’s behind him where things will get interesting.
Three-way race for podium
Three riders — Ben O’Connor, Enric Mas and Richard Carapaz — will be battling for the final two podium spots.
O’Connor rode with more consistency Saturday to defend second place by nine seconds ahead of Mas.
Carapaz trails in fourth at 3:00 behind Roglič, and 58 seconds behind O’Connor and 49 seconds behind Mas.
Fifth-place David Gaudu at 4:48 is too far back to pose a podium threat.
Sixth-place Mattias Skjelmose at 5:18 could bounce into fourth and perhaps emerge as a surprise outsider for a run at the podium if any of the top-4 struggle against the clock.
All eyes will be on the leading trio behind Roglič in a final-day battle for the podium.
One final TT to seal La Vuelta
Roglič isn’t being complacent ahead of a decisive final-day time-trial at La Vuelta a España
Getty Images
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#LaVuelta24 pic.twitter.com/0QBv5erbCR— Velon CC (@VelonCC) September 7, 2024
Mas lamented not being able to move ahead of O’Connor in Saturday’s queen stage ending atop Picón Blanco.
“It is what it is,” Mas said at the finish after kicking to second behind Eddie Dunbar. “I would have been better to have gotten more time on O’Connor and the stage win escaped us as well. I came here for the win, so I am not happy at all. Now all I can hope for is that I have a super time trial Sunday.”
Of the three podium contenders, Mas was fastest in the opening TT in Portugal, just three seconds faster than Carapaz. O’Connor was 14 seconds slower than Mas in Lisbon.
O’Connor racing for first career grand tour podium
With the podium on the line, all three will be racing at absolute maximum to try to hit the podium.
O’Connor has twice finished fourth in grand tours, and will do everything he can not to miss out on what would be his first career grand tour podium.
“I’m proud of how we rode during the last 20 days,” O’Connor said Saturday. “I still have to do a good time trial tomorrow. I am confident, but it’s cycling. I still have to recover and do my best Sunday.”
Of the three, O’Connor is perhaps the most consistent against the clock compared to Mas and Carapaz.
️ Enric Mas: “Vine a ganar, no estoy contento” #LaVuelta24
El español, pese a tener el podio casi amarrado, no se muestra del todo satisfecho con su Vuelta a España. Landa también se lamenta
✍️ @danimiranda9 (Espinosa) https://t.co/xGjQyq6IW3— AS Ciclismo (@As_Ciclismo) September 7, 2024
On paper, the Australian should at least be able to secure third, if not defend second.
Carapaz will need to uncork a top ride in order to bounce out of fourth, where he’s been since stage 11.
Mas will be crushed if he tumbles off the podium after being the rider who’s been most able to mark Roglič’s wheel since this Vuelta started.
Riders will start on reverse order on GC, so O’Connor will have the time splits of both Mas and Carapaz ahead of him on the road.
McNulty for the book-end win?
Brandon McNulty, winner of the opening day time trial in Lisbon on August 17, has recovered from a horrific crash in stage 13, and will be a favorite for the stage win.
McNulty, who shook off the blood-spattered crash to rebound in a breakaway Friday, could strike gold twice in this Vuelta.
“I wanted to say thank you to everyone who reached out after my crash last week. I am very thankful and fortunate to have been able to walk away from that in one piece,” McNulty wrote on social media. “Nothing quite compares to the feeling of having to relearn how to ride/trust a bike again in the middle of a grand tour. A few days of Asturian descents will force you right back into it pretty quickly.”
Several other time trial specialists, such as Wout Van Aert, Josh Tarling, and João Almeida, are already out of the Vuelta.
Mathias Vacek, Edoardo Affini, and Stefan Küng could also be in the running for the win.
In final-stage time trials in grand tours it’s often the freshest and strongest legs, so don’t count out Roglič or Jay Vine.
Forecasts call for temperatures around 80F and slight breezes. The biggest dangers will be Madrid’s urban landscape, with painted traffic lines, speed bumps, roundabouts, and greasy roads.
