Vuelta a Espana: Mads Pedersen wins stage 16 as Roglic crashes and Evenepoel punctures in dramatic finale

The 16th stage of the Vuelta a Espana was a calm one throughout the day, but it had an incredibly dramatic finale as Mads Pedersen took the stage win after Primoz Roglic attacked and caused differences in the finale, and then crashed in the final sprint. Remco Evenepoel crashed in the final kilometers, but the gaps have remained relatively consolidated.

The long and hot day through Extremadura was not a pleasant one for many in the peloton, and so only two riders went up the road to give their team some exposure in Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH) and Luis Ángel Maté (Euskaltel - Euskadi).

The duo never enjoyed much of a gap, but the pace was also never extremely high throughout the day, with the average for the day sitting just below 40Km/h for a mostly flat day. Trek - Segafredo and Cofidis controlled the two, who were caught with 14 kilometers to go. Shortly after, Maté's teammate Ibai Azurmendi put in a small dig, but as the pace increased in the peloton the move was short-lived.

It was all to play for in Tomares, on the outskirts of Sevilla where the fight for positioning was intense into the final hilltop. As soon as the gradients tightened it was Primz Roglic going on the attack, surprising the competition, with Pascal Ackermann closely following the wheel. Remco Evenepoel punctured in the meantime but was safe inside the final three kilometers.

Pedersen managed to bridge across to the front with a few riders following, but the split was present into the final kilometer where Roglic led the group out in search of seconds. Pedersen was the first to lead out the sprint, and in shock Primoz Roglic crashed right behind. The Dane took the stage win, beating Pascal Ackermann and Danny van Poppel in the final sprint.

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