At the end of the tenth stage of the Vuelta a Espana, in Baiona, Quentin Pacher for sure dreamed of getting his first major victory. Unfortunately, the French puncher couldn’t do anything to drop Wout van Aert, the last of his breakaway companions, who logically beat him in a two-man sprint. After a superb ride on hilly terrain, the Groupama-FDJ rider has anyway secured his second stage podium on a Grand Tour this season, after the one he took in Bologna (3rd) during the Tour de France. Other opportunities will be up for grabs in the coming days.
In Ponteareas, where the Vuelta riders were set to meet again on Tuesday, the start required everyone to be up and ready for this second week of racing. Although three climbs were spread over the last sixty kilometres of stage 10, a second-category climb was also to be tackled after just ten kilometres of racing, and it was expected that the breakaway would not go easily. “There was a hard pace for a long time,” explained Thierry Bricaud. “We knew that there was going to be a big fight. The roads were ideal for it, and the breakaways have a real chance of making it all week long.” In the mix right away, Stefan Küng, Rémy Rochas and Quentin Pacher joined in the fight, before but also during the first climb. “It shows that they have recovered well and that they are still as motivated,” added Thierry. Shortly before the summit, a trio including Wout van Aert, William Junior Lecerf and Marc Soler opened a gap, and a few minutes later, Quentin Pacher tried to bridge across with Juri Hollmann. This was done shortly after the descent of the climb, but it took another twenty kilometres to really force the peloton to give in.
“I didn’t have many options left”, Quentin Pacher
“I was a bit cooked at the end of last week, and I really needed this rest day”, said Quentin. “I wanted to be in the breakaway, but when I saw that there were only five of us, I thought that it was going to be difficult. I thought that other riders would come back from the peloton, but it didn’t happen, so we tried to ride as hard as possible to have a big gap before the last three climbs”. The five men worked together quite well and were able to tackle the first of the three final climbs, the Alto de Vilachan, with a lead of more than five minutes. They also get over this climb, and the next one, the Alto de Mabia, together. It was only as they approached the intermediate sprint, thirty kilometres from the finish, that the battle opened up. Wout van Aert accelerated, and Quentin Pacher did not hesitate. “At first, you think he’s just going to do the sprint, then you realize that no one was going to contest it,” commented Quentin. “If he did it, it was because he wanted to try to make a gap before the climb. The hardest thing today was not to lose his wheel at that point. I really made a tough effort to stay with him. It was the key moment of the race. I knew that if I didn’t go back, I would never come back. I then had to recover from this effort.”
After a brief but intense chase, the Groupama-FDJ rider was able to tackle the Alto de Mougás (10 km at 6%) with the Belgian rider, twenty seconds ahead of the rest of the breakaway. This gap increased slightly as the climb progressed. “I held on to his wheel, he was really strong on the climbs,” added Quentin. “I wanted to work, but without burning myself too much.” The Frenchman therefore continued to take turns at the head of the race, and the duo reached the summit with a lead of almost forty seconds. On the downhill, their advantage quickly passed the one-minute mark on their closest pursuers, then a fairly straight final, despite a short one-kilometre climb, was to be covered. “Once we had passed the climb, I didn’t have many options left to try to drop him”, said Quentin. “He is a hard rider to beat because he can do everything. He climbs well, he sprints well, and he descends well.” The Frenchman tried to surprise him 1500 metres from the finish, but the green jersey of the Vuelta immediately jumped on his wheel. He did not leave it from then on, patiently waiting for the sprint. In this scenario, Quentin Pacher was no longer able to compete with the Belgian, winner for the third time in ten stages.
“We were not facing the right rider”, Thierry Bricaud
“I have nothing to be ashamed of”, said Quentin. “I just faced one of the best riders in the peloton. I knew that by coming with him to the finish, it would be a no-brainer, like for 98% of the peloton. But I didn’t have much energy left at the end. We had a full gas day. I didn’t expect to be so active today, and I was beaten by a stronger rider, so I can only congratulate him. I’d rather be here and be beaten by Van Aert than be in the peloton. I have two weeks left to try, and hopefully the victory will come.” While David Gaudu kept his tenth place overall, after having followed the favourites on the last climb, Thierry Bricaud delivered a pragmatic assessment of the day. “We decided to be offensive, we wanted to be in front, and we were,” he said. “From that point of view, it was great, but we weren’t facing the right rider… We could hardly have hoped for worse competition on a day like that. To finish it off, all the stars have to be aligned. But today we came up against one of the best riders in the world. It’s not luck for Quentin. That being said, they all have the same will, to go and win one. We tried today, and we’ll try again every day of the week.”
No comment