25/08/2022

Jay Vine destroys GC contenders with Vuelta a Espana win as Remco Evenepoel drops Roglic into red jersey

There was no lack of drama on the sixth stage of the Vuelta a Espana, as the first serious mountains and the harsh weather have seen massive gaps. Jay Vine took an incredible surprising win by attacking the final climb early on, and holding off the GC riders who had a full battle behind. Remco Evenepoel attacked the race to jump into the yellow jersey, as Primoz Roglic struggled in the final climb.

Nine riders went up the road early on, in what was a severe change of weather, from the harsh regular heat of the Spanish summer and into the rainy weather. The breakaway did not get much freedom as Groupama - FDJ looked to keep things compact early in the day, however Rudy Molard struggled on the penultimate ascent of the day and lost the lead of the race.

Caleb Ewan secures victory in second stage of Deutschland Tour with a thrilling sprint

From the breakaway, Mark Padun went clear in the same ascent, leading the race in a wet and technical descent. The final climb would then see a lot of fireworks, with the GC fight setting off. Padun was caught with 6.5 kilometers to go as some attacks early in the climb saw Jay Vine go up the road. The Australian had the power in the legs and went solo off the front as Simon Yates and Remco Evenepoel detonated the race behind in the GC group.

Several riders struggled, such as Mikel Landa and Richard Carapaz early on, and so has Primoz Roglic as Evenepoel and Enric Mas pushed the pace incredibly hard in the first half of the ascent. The GC race settled down afterwards with the duo bringing in time, and Jay Vine keeping his lead ahead of the GC race.

The Australian held off the competition in impressive fashion, taking the biggest win of his career. Remco Evenepoel sprinted to second place alongside Enric Mas, taking over a minute on Primoz Roglic who arrived close to most of the rest of the GC contenders, however with the race now blown to bits early on. Evenepoel has taken enough time on the competition to jump into the race lead.