Pavel Sivakov can be proud about finishing the Vuelta a Espana in the top-10 of the GC, repeating his feat from Giro d'Italia 2019. However experienced climber representing France won't settle for just a "minor GC placing" anymore as he wanted to add a stage victory to his palmares. His attack in the final of today's queen stage looked promising for a while, but eventually it wasn't to be. Once again.
After teammates Jay Vine and Marc Soler had been on an adventure for a large part of the stage and secured the mountain jersey, Sivakov chose to attack on the penultimate climb. "I had to try from far away; after all, I am one of the heaviest climbers here," he explained to Eurosport afterwards. "On the steep percentages I am at a disadvantage, so I tried to anticipate. I was convinced that I had a nice lead at the foot of the final climb, but it was a very tough climb. In the second part I cracked, partly because of the earlier efforts on the flat."
"I'll keep fighting though, and one day it will pay off," the rider said, referring to the lack of a Grand Tour stage win on his list of achievements.
Although the penultimate climb was ridden hard, there were no attacks from the favourites. "Nobody wanted to take risks and everyone waited for the last climb," Sivakov explained the course of the race. This allowed the favourites to save their energy on the flat section after the final climb, which according to the UAE rider proved decisive in the final. "When you're in the wheel on the flat, you hardly have to pedal. It's like you're freewheeling. Soudal - Quick-Step and BORA had several riders in the group. They kept the gap to me small, which is why I didn't make it in the end."
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