Wout Poels outsprints Remco Evenepoel to win final mountain stage at Vuelta a Espana, Sepp Kuss conserves race lead
Cycling
The final mountain stage of the Vuelta a Espana did not deliver fireworks when it came to the GC fight, but the battle for the stage win was quite lively. Wout Poels triumphed ahead of Remco Evenepoel.
The final day of competitive racing was a very hard one, with over 200 kilometers and 4000 meters of climbing, a full roller-coaster day from start to finish. The uphill start and lack of interest for Jumbo-Visma to chase led to a large group going off the front.
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In there Remco Evenepoel, alongside three Soudal - Quick-Step teammates. The likes of Wilco Kelderman, Marc Soler, Romain Bardet, Wout Poels, Rui Costa, Lenny Martínez and Geraint Thomas. As Jumbo-Visma did not try to close the gap, it grew consistently throughout the day, stabilizing in just over 10 minutes.
A few early attacks in the group tried to create a bit of chaos, but with around 65 kilometers to go the Soudal - Quick-Step riders began to guide the group, trying to keep the race under control. The race situation hence continued just like that until the final climb of the day, all fireworks were saved for the final climb of the race.
Everything seemed set for Evenepoel to attack, but that was not the case. Within the cobbled and very steep streets of San Lorenzo de Escorial Wout Poels attacked and right away created differences. Lennert van Eetvelt followed him as the Belgian struggled and the remainder of the group split to bits. Marc Soler managed to join the duo before the summit, but the gaps were still small to several riders.
Poels attacked once again close to the summit, matched by Soler only. Van Eetvelt, Pelayo Sánchez and Evenepoel followed just a few seconds behind. The five riders came together in the descent and Evenepoel attacked straight away, but Soler was alive to the occasion and did not let the KOM classification leader ride off by himself.
The five riders collaborated towards the finish to prevent other riders from getting back. In the sprint which proved inevitable, Wout Poels launched early and surprised. The Dutchman nailed the final kick perfectly, sprinting with 300 meters to go and holding off Remco Evenepoel who finished a very close second. Pelayo Sánchez rode to third.
In the peloton Enric Mas and Mikel Landa attacked on the final climb and tried to surprise, but Juan Ayuso was alive to the occasion. Jumbo-Visma controlled the race comfortably, and the trio crossed the line together just behind the GC group, an image that will
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
- dude, Lemond never even was in the same race as Armstrong. He throws all these aspersions on other American riders who might usurp his throne as the greatest ever American racer. He doesn't say a single thing about (foreign) dopers who he actually raced against. Biggest douchebag move ever. I used to revere that guy, now I despise him. His actions are so weird.fatsupermodel02-11-2026
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