Rafal Majka solos to mountains victory on Vuelta’s 15th stage
Odd Christian Eiking still in red before last rest day
Photo by:
Sirotti
The day after Romain Bardet won his first Grand Tour stage in four years, Rafal Majka (UAE-Emirates) accomplished the same feat, the 31-year-old Pole making a 90-km solo ride to victory on Sunday’s Vuelta mountain stage. Also like Bardet, it was Majka’s fourth Grand Tour stage triumph. It was also Majka’s first win for his new UAE-Emirates team. Odd Christian Eiking (Norway/IntermarchĆ©-Wanty-Gobert) retained the red jersey.
You can watch the 76th Vuelta a EspaƱa at FloBikes.
The Course
There were four categorized climbs on tap, with half of them Cat. 1. The Cat. 1s were long but not terribly steep. The final climb was a Cat. 3 peaking 5 km before the finish in El Barraco.
It's going to be another hard stage at #LaVuelta21, with four classified climbs and a punchy finish which could again smile to a breakaway. pic.twitter.com/w2AHo4JFFU
— Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) August 29, 2021
There were numerous moves that couldn’t stay clear before the first Cat. 1, 15 km Alto de la Centenera. Majka and another rider immediately attacked. Others powered over and the breakaway of the day was established. This 15-strong group included double stage winner Michael Storer.
Majka was first to the top of the Centenera and took the maximum KOM points on the the Cat. 2 Puerto de Pedro Bernardo as well.
The Pole continued his assault solo on the second longest climb of the 2021 Vuelta, Cat. 1 Puerto de Mijares. The closest pursuer was Steven Kruijswijk at +1:30, with other former breakmates spread all over the ascent’s 20 km length. The IntermarchĆ©-Wanty-Gobert-led peloton was 6:00 back.
?- 54 km | Etapa 15 – Stage 15
?A tutta, @majkaformal! El polaco lidera en solitario en el Puerto de Mijares
?ļø Dai, Rafal! The Pole from @TeamEmiratesUAE is leading solo ?#LaVuelta21 pic.twitter.com/vpXyibYRlS
— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) August 29, 2021
Majka tipped over with another 10 mountain points in his pocket for a total of 26. He was still a long way from Bardet’s category-leading 50 points. He was also 37 km from the win.
Puerto San Juan de Nava
The final climb was 8.6 km of 4 percent. Could Kruijswijk make inroads on Majka’s lead here? He wasn’t able to on the descent of Mijares or in the valley. With 1.5 km left to climb it was clear that the Dutchman’s only chance of catching the Pole was through the latter’s misfortune.
Behind in the streamlined peloton a couple of riders in the mid-teens of the GC attacked looking to jump up a couple of places, but the Adam Yates tried to dash away, dooming the move. Finally, Yates got loose and there was no interest in bringing him back. Yates gained 15 seconds but didn’t move up in the GC.
The peloton now has a well-deserved day off before the grueling final week of the Vuelta. Wednesday and Thursday both finish on HC-rated climbs.
2021 Vuelta a EspaƱa Stage 15
1) Rafal Majka (Poland/UAE-Emirates)
2) Steven Kruijswijk (The Netherlands/Jumbo-Visma) +1:27
3) Chris Hamilton (Australia/DSM) +2:19
2021 Vuelta a EspaƱa GC
1) Odd Christian Eiking (Norway/IntermarchƩ-Wanty-Gobert)
2) Guillaume Martin (France/Cofidis) +0:54
3) Primož RogliÄ (Slovenia/Jumbo-Visma) +1:36
4) Enric Mas (Spain/Movistar) +2:11
5) Angel Lopez (Colombia/Movistar) +3:04
6) Jack Haig (Australia/Bahrain-Victorious) +3:35
7) Egan Bernal (Colombia/Ineos Grenadiers) +4:21
