Marc Soler struggles to come in term with a tactical mistake that cost him victory on stage 10: "I'm angry about how Van Aert and Pacher got away from me"
Cycling
Just as the breakaway was about to reach the intermediate sprint in the town of A Barroca, Marc Soler went down to his team car to get a water bottle. He grabbed it with his right hand, put it on his bike... and, just a few metres ahead, Wout van Aert used this opportunity to launch an attack, to seemingly secure points towards Green jersey competition, which soon turned out to be the decisive one.
The Belgian added the points for the intermediate sprint, but he did not stop there, because he saw that his attack had done damage and Soler was one of the victims. Only FDJ's Quentin Pacher was able to catch up to Van Aert and the trio behind them had never seen them again.
Aware of his good legs, and after winning the sprint for third at the finish line, the Catalan hit the handlebars in anger. Before speaking to anyone, he was quickly called to undergo the anti-doping control, since he was one of those summoned, and several minutes passed before he spoke to the press.
"It's a lost opportunity. I'll stick with the legs I'm having, which are good, but I'm angry about how Van Aert and Pacher got away from me. Then we have to finish, but I would have liked to finish with them," explained the two-time stage winner in La Vuelta.
Regarding that anger, the UAE rider explains what happened: "I went to the car to get some bottles, there was an intermediate sprint, the race was launched and when I wanted to... I couldn't make it," lamented Soler, who was the UAE Team Emirates' ace for the stage.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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