Bora-Hansgrohe sprinter in second place - Degenkolb in top ten
The 11th stage of the Vuelta ended after 191.2 kilometres between ElPozo Alimentacion and Cabo de Gata with a bunch sprint won by Kaden Groves. The 23-year-old from Team BikeExchange-Jayco took first place ahead of Danny van Poppel (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Deceuninck). For Groves, it was his first one-day victory in a three-week tour. John Degenkolb (Team DSM) sprinted to seventh place.
"I was in a good position and saw that there were still 300 metres to go. That's when I took my heart in my hands. In the end I'm satisfied, although of course it could have gone a bit better. At the moment I just can't beat the guys," said Degenkolb.
Alaphilippe out of the race after a crash
The red jersey remains on the shoulders of Remco Evenepoel, who had won the individual time trial the day before. Although the Belgian was able to defend his overall lead on Wednesday without any major problems, he still had to cope with some bad news. His team-mate and world champion Julian Alaphilippe crashed on stage 11 and had to abandon the race with an injury. On Wednesday evening, his team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl an update on the Frenchman's injury.
With Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco) and Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers), two riders from the top ten had already finished the race before the start of stage 11. due to positive corona tests cancelled the sails.
Profile: This was the 11th stage of the 2022 Vuelta
The stages of the Vuelta in detail
Unlike in the Tour de France, the leader's jersey in the Vuelta is not yellow, but red. We have summarised which other leader's jerseys and special classifications there are in the Tour of Spain in our text on the rules.
Numerous top cycling stars will be at the start of the 2022 Vuelta. TOUR has compiled an overview of the line-ups of the 23 teams.
Tour of Spain for women
In addition to the men's race, there will also be another Vuelta for women in 2022, the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta. It will take place from 7 to 11 September with a total of five stages.
The first stage starts in Marina de Cudeyo in Cantabria, with the final section finishing four days later in the Spanish capital Madrid.
History of the Vuelta
The men's Vuelta a Espana is back after the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France the third of the three major national tours (Grand Tours), which will be held in 2022. The Tour of Spain was held for the first time in 1935 and is therefore younger than its Italian and French counterparts.
Until the 1990s, the Vuelta traditionally took place in spring. The date was then moved to August or September. There was one exception in 2020, when the Vuelta was moved to October and November due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The record winner is the Spaniard Roberto Heras with four titles. Three Germans have won the race so far: Rudi Altig (1962), Rolf Wolfshohl (1965) and Jan Ullrich (1999).
