20-year-old Tadej Pogačar put in the ride of his life on stage 9 at the 2019 Vuelta a España today, to take the win for UAE Team Emirates in his first ever Grand Tour, during his first ever season on the World Tour.
Despite being the youngest rider in the race Pogačar was able to outwit and outclimb some of the most experienced and decorated professional cyclists in the world, including World Champion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) who came 4th, race favourite Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) who finished 3rd and the current Green Jersey, Nairo Quintana (Movistar) who finished 2nd.
His explosive attack in the final part of the race also helped him jump up the GC standings to 5th place where he now sits just 1:42” behind Quintana who leads in the overall classification. The moment marked the sixth Grand Tour stage victory for UAE Team Emirates in just three years – two of which have now been claimed at La Vuelta – making this an historic day for the Emirati formation.
Today’s stage was billed as one of the toughest of the tour; a short and punchy 94.4km route from Andorra la Vella to Cortals d’Encamp. However, what the route lacked in distance, it made up for in vertical meters- featuring no less than five categorized climbs. It was on the fifth and final climb to the summit finish that the fireworks began. Pogacar was tucked in with a select group of GC favourites as they paced back the breakaway riders on a mountain with severe gradients. With 20kms to the weather came in, bringing with it rain and hail of biblical proportions. Despite the conditions, the Slovenian youngster continued to grind up the ramps, surrounded by cycling royalty. Then with 3kms to go, as the front group began to splinter, Pogačar opened up his throttle and rode the Movistar duo of Nairo Quintana and Marc Soler off his wheel, soloing to victory on one of the most punishing climbs in this year’s Vuelta.
On winning the stage, Pogačar commented: “It has been an incredible stage; it was very demanding from the start. Yesterday, when I saw the weather forecast for today, and I read that it would be rainy, I was actually happy because I knew I had it in me to do something special. I gave it everything on the gravel sector, and even after that effort I felt strong right up until the finish line. I know that I beat some of the best riders, but today’s stage wasn’t very straightforward. We had to contend with gravel and also a hailstorm, so it’s understandable that some riders would have had difficulties.”
With his strong showing in Stage 9, Nairo Quintana took over the General Classification going into the race’s first rest day.
Nairo Quintana: “A very tough stage, where we always tried to ride on the attack to gain an edge on Roglic. I’m really thankful about what Marc Soler did there in the finish, as well as with all other team-mates. We always said we would be going day-by-day, seeing what Alejandro and I could do, supporting whoever is doing best, and the team has been protecting us both so far and we’ve been working together to take this jersey. There’s still a long way to go in this Vuelta. Roglic still has an advantage, considering the TT on Tuesday. We would have to make a big, big effort in the time trial not to lose the jersey, which is what will probably happen, but once we’re over it and together with the team, we will keep making efforts to take the jersey back and hopefully keep it until the end.”
Stage 9 Brief Results:
- Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 2h58’09”
- Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar at 23”
- Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma 48”
General Classification After Stage 9
- Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar 35h18’18”
- Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo Visma at 6″
- Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana at 17″
- Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar at 20″
- Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates at 1’42”
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