Top favorite Primoz Roglic delivered a gala performance / Image: APA / AFP / MIGUEL RIOPA
Defending champion Primoz Roglic is again the leader of the Vuelta. The top favorite won on Wednesday the 17th section over 186 kilometers with 4400 meters of altitude one and a half minutes ahead of a group of seven with Egan Bernal, who had kept up with the Slovenian for a long time. With a lead of more than two minutes over the new runner-up Enric Mas, Roglic can hardly take his third overall victory.
Felix Großschartner made up a place in twelfth stage and is now ninth. The previous leader Odd Christian Eiking, however, slipped back to eleventh place. The outsider, who has been in the leadership jersey for a week, lost contact with the group of top favorites in the penultimate climb around 60 km before the finish. Later, on the long descent on a wet road, the Norwegian was also involved in a fall of several drivers, who were all able to continue with injuries.
Almost simultaneously with the relapse of Eiking uphill, Bernal attacked first, only Roglic was able to follow the Giro winner. Grossschartner initially held up well in the first larger chasing group, but then lost contact with the pursuers of the top duo due to a slip in the approach to the final ascent. Shortly before the start of the final twelve-kilometer mountain classification, however, he made it back into the small field. On the way to the finish, however, the Bora professional fell back a little, but defended his status among the very best almost three minutes behind Roglic, his gap to the overall leader is now almost seven minutes.
Roglic and Bernal went into the steep final with a one-and-a-half minute lead, in which the outstanding Slovene apparently playfully separated from the former Tour de France champion with seven kilometers to go. The Olympic time trial champion was still a big lead up to the finish line, Ineos professional Bernal was overtaken by a few drivers, the Colombian is now sixth overall.
The sprint for second place behind Roglic was decided 1:35 minutes back by his Jumbo team-mate Sepp Kuss (USA). Third was Miguel Angel Lopez, the Colombian is more than three minutes behind the Slovenian in third place overall. In front of him, 2:22 behind, his Spanish Movistar team-mate Mas is the first pursuer of Roglic before the next mountain stage on Thursday.
