Home > News

Valverde back into second at Vuelta a España after Stage 18

EF Education's Sergio Higuita continues to impress with first career win

September 12, 2019
Share on SMS

EF Education’s Colombian Sergio Higuita earned second place at the Tour of California immediately after joining the team in May, and on Thursday he took his first career win on Stage 18 of the Vuelta a España. Angel Lopez was very active among the GC riders and his efforts dropped Nairo Quintana and Tadej Pogačar, putting Alejandro Valverde back in second place and moving him closer to the podium. Race leader Primož Roglič was solid in defense.

The Course

There might have been four Cat. 1 climbs on Thursday’s 177.5-km course that started near Madrid and headed into the Sierras, but none of them provided a summit finish. The final Cat. 1, Puerto de Cotos, was 9.2 km at 5.7 percent. Once they had crested, riders had 7 km of flat, before a descent of 12 km. The final 4.5 km were 2.4 percent.

The Breakaway

It was the kind of stage near the end of a Grand Tour that was likely to elicit a huge breakaway, but Thursday’s fugitive group was a mere 13-strong. Blue polka dot jersey holder Geoffrey Bouchard was in a KOM scrap with two Ineos riders, Wout Poels and Tao Geoghegan Hart. Although Poels took maximum points atop the first climb, Bouchard led over the second, giving him 66 points to Poels’ 31.

AG2R’s Geoffrey Bouchard, here with Slovenian power duo Roglič and Pogačar, has gone full dotty.

Fugitives Louis Meintjes (Dimension Data) and Jonas Koch (CCC Team) dashed away on the others before the third Cat. 1, but it would be Bouchard prevailing again at the top.

Lopez, who tumbled down to fifth on Wednesday, attacked and tipped over the top 14-seconds in the lead. After finding breakaway teammate Omar Fraile, Lopez was an immediate threat to Pogačar’s fourth place.

Puerto de Cotos

It would be escapee Higuita, who also lost several GC positions on Wednesday, who headed up the last Cat. 1 solo. Lopez was 30-seconds ahead of Roglič, Pogačar, Valverde and Quintana but was reeled in. Midway up the climb Higuita had a minute over the red jersey peloton with no one in between.

The GC riders seemed to call a truce and Higuita was poised to take his first career win. But then Lopez went again. Roglič and Valverde were able to go with him, but Quintana, Pogačar and Rafal Majka could not. With Lopez beginning to flag, Majka made the junction and Pogačar dumped Quintana.

Higuita had only 40-seconds on the Roglič group as he began the descent with 22 km to go. Quintana found Pogačar 40-seconds in arrears of Roglič. Higuita hung tough and took the famous win seconds ahead of Roglič.

Friday looks like a day for the sprinters. Saturday is the final GC day–Lopez will be hunting Quintana, 47-seconds ahead, for the final podium spot.

2019 Vuelta a España Stage 18
1) Sergio Higuita (Colombia/EF Education First) 4:33:09
2) Primož Roglič (Slovenia/Jumbo-Visma) +0:15
3) Alejandro Valverde (Spain/Movistar) s.t.

2019 Vuelta a España GC
1) Primož Roglič (Slovenia/Jumbo-Visma) 66:43:32
2) Alejandro Valverde (Spain/Movistar) +2:50
3) Nairo Quintana (Colombia/Movistar) +3:30
4) Angel Lopez (Colombia/Astana) +4:17
5) Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia/UAE-Emirates) +4:49
6) Rafal Majka (Poland/Bora-Hansgrohe) +7:46