Like the two previous ones, the eleventh stage of the Vuelta a España was claimed by the breakaway this Wednesday around Padrón. Groupama-FDJ managed to put three men up front, namely Sven-Erik Bystrom, Reuben Thompson and Lorenzo Germani, but the trio was unable to join the fight until the end. The Norwegian eventually took eighteenth place, fifty seconds after Eddie Dunbar. As for David Gaudu, he managed to follow the main favorites in the final climb, making up time on some of his competitors in the general classification.
As Thierry Bricaud pointed out on Tuesday, “the breakaways have a real chance of making it all week long”. And so it was this Wednesday again, in the area around Padrón, where stage 11 of the Vuelta took place. Four climbs were on the menu of the Galician circuit, and the first of them came after thirty kilometres. At that point, no breakaway had yet gone, and the climb did not really lead to a clear selection either. It was only after seventy kilometres of fighting that a group was able to break away. The riders from Groupama-FDJ followed some moves, and Sven-Erik Bystrom, Reuben Thompson and Lorenzo Germani found themselves at the front with around thirty other competitors. “The start was very hard with a lot of attacks,” explained the Norwegian. “In the end, we managed to put three guys in front, which was pretty good in such a group. Unfortunately, we missed a proper climber, so our chances were a bit limited from the start.” “For sure those weren’t our best cards to have a chance of winning, because we knew that it could be difficult considering the final”, confirmed Thierry Bricaud. “But we can’t control everything. They are in the mix, that’s the most important, and we can only be satisfied with the mindset.”
“These moments really feel good mentally”, David Gaudu
As for Rémy Rochas and Kevin Geniets, they suffered a bad day in this eleventh stage. At the front, the breakaway chased for a long time behind a lone man, Xandro Meurisse, then everything came down to the final climb of Puerto Cruxeiras (3 km at 9%). This was the end of the adventure for the Groupama-FDJ trio. “I managed to follow when Israel-Premier Tech went full gas for the first time,” said Sven-Erik. “I had a little hope that I could survive the last climb, but unfortunately, they went a bit too fast. The form and confidence are good, but we were realistic about what we could achieve today. One of us must have needed a super day to stay in front, but we still did a good race. The cherry on the cake is missing, but we did our best.” As for David Gaudu, he remained focused approaching the last climb, where the peloton went into pieces. “For sure something was going to happen,” he said. “I was prepared for a team to go full gas. I managed my effort, I didn’t try to follow Mas and Roglic when they went. I stayed with the others behind, and as we progressed, I saw the leaders drop one after the other. These moments really feel good mentally. We managed to get back to the other two leaders at the top, then on the descent Roglic got a teammate”.
Alongside the Slovenian, Enric Mas, Mattias Skjelmose, Carlos Rodriguez and Mikel Landa, the Frenchman therefore gained a few dozen of seconds on the other GC contenders. “I already had good legs yesterday, better than the previous week and than what I have experienced since the start of the season”, said David. “We have only done eleven stages of La Vuelta, there are ten remaining, but it is still promising. It is good for confidence, but we will stay focused and motivated”. “David has taken positive signs going forward, it will boost him”, concluded Thierry. Although the French climber has dropped one place overall due to George Bennett passing him after his breakaway, the gaps have narrowed. Tomorrow, the final climb to the Manzaneda station could create some small differences.
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