Enric Mas has now racked up as many podium finishes in the Vuelta a España as Primoz Roglič has overall wins, but the Movistar team leader admitted it was not the result he was looking for. He was able to distance Roglič on some climbs and mountain finishes but only finished third overall, 3:13 down on the Slovenian, and 37 seconds down on second placed Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R). Mas started the Vuelta wanting to win.“I don’t feel satisfied and that’s the truth,” Mas said. “The team sacrificed itself in the race for me from beginning to end, not getting into breaks to fight…

For Kaden Groves, it’s already a second Green jersey from Vuelta a Espana in his collection. Yet the disparity between his two triumphs couldn’t be more obvious. While last year the Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter was unrivaled for the Points Classificaiton, this time the victory quite literally fell into his lap after the abandon of Wout van Aert who seized full control in the competition until his crash. The Australian emphasizes this speaking to the organisers after the final time trial: “I think it’s quite a lot different, actually last year was a different experience collecting points. This year, obviously, Wout van…

Mattias Skjelmose wrapped an excellent Vuelta a Espana with an 8th place in the final time trial. The Lidl-Trek rider lost some ground in the standings at the end of the first racing block, but since then he made no little to no mistakes, gradually moving up the standings to ultimately enter the top-5 in Madrid. And as a bonus, he takes home the white jersey too. “Yes, job is done!” Skjelmose sighed in relief at the organiser’s microphone after the time trial. “I wasn’t feeling very good, to be honest, but I think none of the GC guys were…

Eddie Dunbar won stage 20 of the Vuelta a Espana as Primoz Roglic all but sealed overall victory.Irishman Dunbar, riding for Team Jayco Alula, attacked with about 5km left to catch leader Pavel Sivakov on the final climb of this year’s race.He caught the Frenchman with about 3km remaining, then dropped him to win the stage by seven seconds.Movistar’s Enric Mas was second and Red Bull – Bora-Hansgrohe’s Roglic third – a further three seconds adrift – on the 172km stage from Villarcayo to Picon Blanco.Slovenian Roglic finished four seconds ahead of Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale’s Ben O’Connor to stretch his lead…

Richard Carapaz was one of the main protagonists of the 18th stage of the Vuelta a España 2024. EF Education-EasyPost set out to surprise and try to catch other favourites off guard. Whilst he didn’t directly succeed, his attacks did distance Mikel Landa definitely out of the fight for the podium. Ben O’Connor initially dropped back to the peloton. However, Mikel Landa lost 3:20 at the finish line and the EF Education-EasyPost leader now has one less rival for the podium in Madrid. After the finish, he spoke to the race microphones explaining the strategy and making clear his ambitions…

Jay Vine was perhaps the major victim of the infamous Itzulia Basque Country crash that took out many stars of the professional peloton. While some were able to walk away from the carnage on the Basque roads, Vine appeared motionless in the ditch – although he had never lost conciousness. The Australian, who was awaiting his first child at the time, relives the experience in an exclusive story for Rouleur. “They hadn’t told me, but they were telling my wife that I wasn’t out of the woods just yet and I might not make it.” As in, they feared for…

No Australian has won the Vuelta a España, the famed Spanish grand tour. Only two Australians have finished on its podium; Jack Haig three years ago, and Cadel Evans in 2009. But on Tuesday, West Australian Ben O’Connor will begin the final week of the race in the red leader’s jersey and with over a minute’s lead in the general classification standings.It began with a daring attack. After losing time to other contenders in the early days of this year’s Vuelta, O’Connor was allowed to join an early breakaway on stage six. With almost 30 kilometres remaining, the 28-year-old went…

Kaden Groves outsprinted Wout van Aert to win stage 14 of the Vuelta a España on Saturday, the Australian’s second victory of this year’s race as his compatriot Ben O’Connor maintained his overall lead.The longest stage of the race, a 200.5km ride from Villafranca del Bierzo to Villablino, came down to a bunch sprint, and it was the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider who held off Van Aert as he looked for his fourth stage win. New Zealand’s Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) came in third, making it a repeat of stage two, when Groves had edged out Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) for…

Great Britain’s Evie Richards held off Olympic champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot to win the women’s cross-country short track race at the Mountain Bike World Championships in Andorra.France’s Ferrand-Prevot took the lead on the final climb but Richards, 27, claimed the world title with her power proving too much for her rival.”I was just hoping that I could take it, but I really didn’t think it would happen,” said Richards. “I just had to keep believing in myself today.”In the men’s race, Great Britain’s Charlie Aldridge secured the silver medal in his first elite world championship race.The 23-year-old made a daring move…

Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla) broke his collarbone on stage 1 of the Renewi Tour, crashing heavily over the line with Tim Merlier after the Soudal-QuickStep rider swung toward him as they sprinted across the Bilzen finish in fourth and fifth.Merlier—who could be seen putting his hands up in what looked like remonstration as Groenewegen lay on the ground in pain and distress—was relegated to the back of the lead bunch by the race jury for the move in the sprint. That shifted him from fourth to 83rd place on stage 1, but there will be more opportunities for Merlier. His team expects that…