"We had such a big month here in Spain" - Kaden Groves takes home 3 stage wins and Green Jersey from La Vuelta

Kaden Groves has proven to be the premier sprinter at the 2023 Vuelta a Espana, winning three stages and holding off a late Remco Evenepoel charge to secure victory in the Green Jersey classification.

Although Groves was heavy favourite to win stage 21 in Madrid, not many would have guessed he'd have done so from the breakaway. "For sure, I didn’t imagine I would win this way. Coming into today, I really wanted to take the stage and keep the green jersey but going for a breakaway wasn’t my intention," the Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter admits to La Vuelta post-stage. "Remco [Evenepoel] this morning was a threat for the green jersey and I suspected he might try something, not to take the jersey, but to try and win the stage. And I knew I had to follow him. "

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Groves alongside Evenepoel, Filippo Ganna, Rui Costa, Nico Denz and Lennard Kamna rode clear of the peloton and held them off into the final kilometre. As Evenepoel launched his bid for victory, Groves stuck to his wheel and used the Belgian as the perfect leadout to secure fire himself to victory.

"It was quite interesting in the finale. I didn’t want to pull the guys in the last kilometre because obviously it would take away my sprint," Groves recalls. "We all looked at each other and then it meant that peloton came back. But I knew that when I’m in a sprint, I can find a little extra, and Remco leading out in the final hectometres was a big advantage for me. It’s pretty special [to be the first Australian winner of the points standings of La Vuelta]. I need to thank my team, without them it wouldn’t have been possible. We had such a big month here in Spain and we prepared together as well. This victory of the jersey and also my third stage mean a lot to me and I need to thank my team."

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VIDEO: Kaden Groves takes the win in one of the most dramatic and thrilling Grand Tour finales ever seen