The Vuelta on repeat. Following a profile similar to the previous day, the nineteenth stage of the Vuelta a Espana has once again rewarded a breakaway. A member of the 24 rider-strong breakaway, Alexis Gougeard (AG2R La Mondiale) proved the strongest on the last climb and pulled away from his fellow companions to raise his arms in victory at the finish line in Avila. The 22 year old rider won his first grand tour stage in grand fashion by out-pacing Nelson Oliveira (Lampre - Merida) and Maxime Monfort (Lotto - Soudal), relegated to 40 and 44 seconds, respectively, behind the winner. 

And since this race seems to be under the sign of the aggressor, IAM Cycling also made the effort to be among those in the breakaway with Jérôme Coppel. Despite the stage having a profile that admirably matched his own qualities as a climber and rouleur, Coppel was not able to find the resources to follow the best riders at the decisive moment. 

However, in the battle for the GC, Tom Dumoulin (Giant - Alpecin) once again proved to be inspired and took advantage of a false flat cobbled section in the last three kilometers to nibble three small, or potentially very big seconds out of his nearest rival in the overall classification, Fabio Aru (Astana). 

Dumoulin, who now has a six second advantage in the lead for the red jersey, can use this slight advantage that he gained on the roads leading into Avila to help him face the final two stages with a modicum of serenity before reaching Madrid on Sunday. But before thinking of champagne bubbles, he will have to defend his lead over some very steep climbs on Saturday.

Worn out. That is how one could describe Jérôme Coppel when he was talking about his impressions of the day. Tired after nearly three weeks of racing and supreme daily efforts, the current time trial champion of France just didn’t have the legs on Friday. 

“To be honest, I was not feeling at all well,” Coppel conceded. “I think in terms of riding sensations, this has been one of my worst days of the whole race. I responded to various attacks, and I managed to make the break. Throughout the entire stage, I was hoping these terrible feelings would go away so that I would still be able to be strong in the finale. But I can confirm that nothing changed, and I did not feel better with the passing of every kilometer. I have tried nearly every stage to get into a good break, and I think that the accumulation of efforts, added to the natural fatigue just hurt my chances in this break today. And when the rhythm is as tough as it was on this stage, there is just no forgiveness.”

Unfortunately, the pack is not close to slowing down. Even at the gates of Madrid, the overall standings could change quickly. According to Mario Chiesa, directeur sportif alongside Eddy Seigneur, Saturday’s stage will be a similar matter of survival for most riders. 

“Saturday, given the profile that is on tap, it will be the last opportunity for the leaders to claim the red jersey,” explained Chiesa. “Aru, Rodriguez or even Majka are still in contention to claim a final victory Sunday. However, it will be difficult to trap Tom Dumoulin, who seems extremely strong to me. But all these attacks, all this nervousness will make for a very complicated race for the peloton in general as well as for us in particular. I don’t think we’ll send any IAM Cycling riders up front as we have in the past few days. For us, we will concentrate on the final sprint in Madrid with Vicente Reynes.”