Team Jumbo-Visma had a relatively quiet 11th stage in the Vuelta a España on Wednesday. Sepp Kuss, Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard all crossed the line in the group of favorites, enabling Kuss to remain in red as the race’s general classification leader.
The 163.2-kilometer stage was decided on the summit of La Laguna Negra after a flat run-up. A breakaway of 26 riders gained space to fight for the stage win and Jesus Herrada of Cofidis eventually finished first.
The GC riders did not attack on the final climb.
“I was expecting the opposition to try something today, but it didn't happen,” Vingegaard said. “We agreed with the team beforehand not to do anything today. We are in a good position. So, for us, every stage that passes is a good thing. We will see what happens on Friday's stage when we reach the Tourmalet. This stage will be crucial.”
“All in all, I had a quiet day,” Kuss said. “We could afford to give the lead group some space today. None of the escapees threatened the classification. Then, it was a matter of staying focused on the final climb. The GC teams took a wait-and-see approach, so we rode together towards the final kilometer. In a grand tour, every effort counts, so you have to try to save energy. That was the case today. I still have the red leader's jersey, which is a great motivation for the next stages.”
Kuss finished 30th on the stage, two spots ahead of Marc Soler of UAE Team Emirates, to maintain a 26-second advantage over him in the GC. Defending champion Remco Evenepoel of Soudal – Quick Step finished 28th in the same time as Kuss to stay third in the GC, 1:09 back.
Roglic finished with Kuss in 31st to hold on to fourth place in the GC, 1:36 back, while Vingegaard crossed 38th to stay in seventh in the GC, 2:22 back.
In addition to winning Stage 11, Herrada took over the King of the Mountain race with 22 points. Kuss is fifth with 10 KOM points. Kuss has also scored 49 points and is 11th in the points-race, which kaden Groves of Alpecin-Deceuninck leads with 158.
Kuss won Stage 6 of the Vuelta and took the overall lead in Stage 8, which Roglic won, and will wear the red leader’s jersey for the fourth stage in a row on Thursday during the 150.6-kilometer flat Stage 12 from Olvega to Zaragoza.
