For the third day in a row in the Vuelta a España, Groupama-FDJ secured a stage top-10. In Cordoba, they even did it twice since Stefan Küng and Quentin Pacher placed fourth and sixth respectively in a reduced bunch sprint after a selective end to the stage. On the attack in the final kilometres, David Gaudu also finished in the first group and kept his seventeenth place overall. Saturday, the weekend will begin with yet another uphill finish.
A single climb was on the menu this Friday, on stage 7 of the Vuelta. Located around thirty-five kilometres from the finish line, it suggested two scenarios for the day. “It was either a fight for the breakaway or a reduced bunch sprint,” explained Stefan Küng. “In these cases, it always depends on the peloton’s and the teams’ will. At the start, I didn’t see many breakaway specialists present at the front. And indeed, there was no fight at all, so we were looking towards a tough final climb.” Only one man hit the front, Xabier Isasa (Euskaltel-Euskadi), and his adventure ended even before the “Alto del 14%” (7.6 km at 5.6%), in the last hour of racing. “The goal was for David, Rémy, Quentin and Stefan to be positioned, because we knew that a small peloton could go to the finish, but it went even faster than we could have thought,” commented Thierry. “At the top, only the GC riders were actually left. David was there, but he just had to follow the big moves. There was still a very technical descent then ten kilometres of flat to reach the finish, so only a good group had a chance to make it to the line.”
“A positive day overall”, Stefan Küng
Marc Soler eventually began the descent with a small lead over about twenty men, including David Gaudu, while Stefan Küng found himself chasing. “It went up very, very fast, but I got over the top just behind the first group”, explained the Swiss rider. “After the steep part, there was a bit of looking at each other, and about ten guys came back to us. I was with Quentin in this small group, but we then did a great downhill and there were only five of us left at the bottom”. Although the first peloton did not slow down because of Soler’s attack, Stefan Küng and Quentin Pacher still managed to come back five kilometres from the finish. “We worked well together because we all had the same goal,” said Stefan. “From then on, there were no longer domestiques to pull and prepare the sprint, so David was opportunistic, and he gave it a try,” added Thierry Bricaud. The Breton’s attempt two kilometres from the line was however quickly neutralized, and the expected reduced bunch sprint was set to happen. “It was not easy for me to make a finisher’s attack because we had just made a big effort,” commented Stefan. “I needed to catch my breath in order to fight in the sprint.”
In the last kilometre, the Swiss man and Quentin Pacher managed to get back into the first part of the group. The day’s favourite Wout van Aert logically claimed victory, but the two riders from Groupama-FDJ were able to enter the top-10. “I have a few regrets about the sprint because I feel like the podium was possible,” confided Stefan, fourth. “I was in a good position in Mathias Vacek’s wheel when he opened, but I stayed in the slipstream and waited a little too long while Pau Miquel came with more speed. I’m not really used to sprints, even if my late learning is going in the right direction (smiles). In the end, we were up there, we gave it our all, we fought well, and David didn’t lose time in the general classification. It’s a positive day overall.” “Apart from the result, we need to be satisfied with the mindset,” assured Thierry. “They want to win that stage, and that’s the most important thing. We shouldn’t give up, and it will come at some point or another.” Already Saturday, towards the uphill finish in Cazorla (4.8 km at 7.2%)? “There is a good chance that it will suit the breakaway,” concluded Thierry. “It must be a strong group, and of course we must be in there, but victory is possible.”
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