Vuelta: Second stage win for Evenepoel on stage 18 - Vine out after a crash
Remco Evenepoel has set another exclamation mark on the 18th stage of the Vuelta a Espana. The Belgian from Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl won after 192 kilometres on the Alto de Piornal. It was the 22-year-old's second victory in this year's Tour of Spain after his success in the individual time trial on stage 10.
Gesink placed shortly before the finish
For a long time, a large breakaway group of 42 riders remained at the front of the race. The last escapee, Robert Gesink (Jumbo-Visma), was only caught by Enric Mas (Movistar) and Evenepoel 400 metres before the finish, before the man in the red jersey won the sprint ahead of Mas and Gesink.
Evenepoel had to fend off numerous attacks from second overall Mas on the final climb, but was able to keep the Movistar rider at bay. In addition, Joao Almeida, 6th overall, tried to attack with over 80 kilometres to go. However, the UAE Team Emirates captain was caught again on the final climb.
Serious crash on the 18th stage
There was a heavy crash right at the start of the stage involving Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers), Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) and Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck), among others. Vine had to abandon after the crash. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) took over his mountains jersey.
On Friday, the riders have to tackle a 138.3 kilometre medium-difficulty section around Talavera de la Reina. The Vuelta comes to an end next Sunday in Madrid.
Profile & climbs: This was the 18th stage of the Vuelta
Preview of the stages of the Vuelta
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.
Click through: The Vuelta winners since 2010
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).
