On the 17th stage of the Tour of Spain 2024, the sprinters got their turn once again. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) took his third stage win ahead of Pavel Bittner (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Vito Braet (Intermarche-Wanty).
Giving something back to my team with the third win is something very special - Kaden Groves
The sprinters had to fight until the last 350 metres to close the gap to a group of three that had broken away late. Edward Planckaert launched Groves into the sprint perfectly and the Australian, who is the new leader in the points classification following the retirement of Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike), had no trouble in the wet.
Everything remains the same at the top of the overall standings. Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) continues to lead by five seconds ahead of Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and 1:25 minutes ahead of Enric Mas (Movistar).
Vuelta a Espana 2024 - Results: the top 10 of stage 17
- Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 3:32:14
- Pavel Bittner (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) +0:00
- Vito Braet (Intermarche-Wanty) +0:00
- Pau Miquel (Equipo Kern Pharma) +0:00
- Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) +0:00
- Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) +0:00
- Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +0:00
- Mathis Le Berre (Arkea-B&B Hotels) +0:00
- Arjen Livyns (Lotto-Dstny) +0:00
- Xabier Berasategi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) +0:00
The current standings in the overall standings of the Vuelta
- Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) 68:41:14
- Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:05
- Enric Mas (Movistar) +1:25
- Richard Carapaz (EF Education EasyPost) +1:46
- Mikel Landa (Soudal - Quick Step) +2:18
- David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) +3:48
- Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +3:53
- Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) +4:00
- Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +4:27
- Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates) +5:19
How the 17th stage of the Vuelta a Espana 2024 went
Two riders, Sander De Pestel (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech), did not start the 17th stage. After the start, four riders formed the breakaway group of the day: Xabier Isasa (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Jonas Gregaard (Lotto-Dstny), Thomas Champion (Cofidis) and Thibault Guernalec (Arkea-B&B Hotels). First Isasa had problems with the pace on the climbs, then Champion had two punctures before Isasa also suffered a mechanical problem. However, both found their way back into the leading group.
Sprinter teams control the peloton
In the peloton, Alpecin-Deceuninck, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL and Equipo Kern Pharma took care of the chase in the hope of a bunch sprint and gave the breakaway a maximum lead of around five minutes. The situation remained stable until around 16 kilometres before the finish of the 17th stage of the Vuelta a Espana 2024, with the sprinters' teams continually making up ground on the breakaway. When the quartet at the front was only 50 seconds ahead, Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) tried a finisseur attack, but was quickly caught again by Alpecin-Deceuninck.
Champion was the first to drop out of the breakaway group and was dropped ten kilometres before the finish. His three former companions held on to the lead in the wet and slippery street canyons of Santander until two and a half kilometres before the finish, before they were caught.
Late leading group not rewarded
But the sprinters still didn't have the upper hand. Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco-AlUla), Max Poole (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Campenaerts again pulled away. The trio literally kept their heads above water until 350 metres before the finish, when Edward Planckaert Kaden Groves launched the sprint and overtook the three escapees.
Groves won in commanding style and took his third stage win at the Vuelta a Espana 2024 after his successes on the second and 14th stages. For the sprinters, it could have been their last chance at the Tour of Spain this year. On the 18th stage the breakaways should decide the victory among themselves on Thursday.
