Germany’s Marco Brenner fought off the Bahrain Victorious rider Santiago Buitrago to claim victory in stage 14 of the Vuelta a España – a first Grand Tour stage win both for the rider and his Tudor team. However, organisers later announced that 40C-plus temperatures on Sunday had caused them to shorten Sunday’s 189.7km stage from Palma del Río to Córdoba to a 110.2km stage.
In a climactic duel, Brenner tailed Buitrago into the last 500m and timed his kick superbly, gritting his teeth as he sped ahead during the ascent to Sierra de La Pandera, finishing one second ahead of the Colombian.
The overall leader Enric Mas (Movistar), finishing 22nd in the stage, gained around 25 seconds on the veteran four-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), who slipped from second to third in the general classification behind Felix Gall of the Decathlon CMA CGM team. Gall trails Mas by 2min 6sec in the race for the red jersey.
Carlos Rodríguez (Netcompany Ineos) finished the stage third at the end of the 154.5km ride from Jaén to La Pandera. He moved up to eighth overall having started the day 17th in the general classification.
“I cannot really believe it yet,” said the 24-year-old Brenner of his stage win. “I was struggling with some sickness earlier in the race and had a crash, but I really wanted to show myself and also my teammates that I can be up there.”
The peloton was nearly seven minutes behind when Kevin Vermaerke made a solo attack on the descent from Los Villares, with about 40km left in the stage.
Mas ignored an early breakaway of more than 40 riders, and stayed calm as he suffered a mechanical issue that made him briefly stop. Roglic and Gall stayed close to the red jersey holder, who remained in the peloton until the final climb.
With 20km left, Rodríguez joined a group of attackers to chase down Vermaerke. They caught the solo leader during the 12km climb to Sierra de La Pandera but in the final 5km Buitrago and Brenner sped ahead of the rest.
“I made the move, Santiago passed me but I could catch up, and in the end I could beat him in the sprint ... you live for days like today, I guess,” said Brenner.
Mas attacked in the final kilometres and Gall managed to stay on his wheel but Roglic, who trailed Mas by 1:45 coming into the stage, could not keep up, allowing the Spaniard to achieve an increased cushion.
Of the stage 15 alteration, Vuelta organisers said: “With the aim of protecting the health of the riders and ensuring the best possible conditions for the competition, the Extreme Weather Protocol is being activated. The stage will cover 110.2km, instead of the 189.7km originally planned. The route modification will take effect from kilometre 52.”
Tadej Pogacar will end his season prematurely after undergoing surgery on the fractured collarbone sustained in a crash at the Vuelta, he said on Saturday, with the injury ruling him out of this month’s world championships.
“Of course, this isn’t the way I wanted my season to finish. Right now, the most important thing is to recover properly and give my body the time it needs,” Pogacar said in a UAE Team Emirates statement.
At the same time the team also announced Pogacar had signed a contract extension through to the end of the 2032 season. “From the beginning, this team has felt like home for me. We have grown together over the years and shared some incredible moments, so I’m very happy to extend my contract until 2032,” said Pogacar. “There is still a lot I want to achieve in this sport and I believe this is the right place to do it.
“It has been a season with many special moments and I’m proud of what we achieved together. Now I’ll focus on getting healthy, supporting the guys from home, and coming back next year ready for what’s ahead.”
Tour of Britain: Bol wins stage; Wellens in charge
Cees Bol claimed his first Tour of Britain stage win since 2022 with victory at stage four, but Tim Wellens’s mid-race attack ensured he took over as general classification leader.
The 165.8km stage between Helmsley and Leyburn was initially led by a six-man break which included Decathlon CMA CGM Team rider Bol.
However, Wellens of UAE Team Emirates-XRG produced an attack with around 42km left and it paid dividends.
Wellens and Bol then worked together to establish a healthy lead until the stage-ending sprint.
Bol successfully pulled out the finish needed for the win while Wellens crossed three seconds later, overtaking overnight leader Lewis Askey. Press Association
