Primoz Roglic on Sunday maintained his sizeable lead over Alejandro Valverde in the Vuelta a Espana after stage 15, but both widened the gap over the rest of their rivals in the general classification.
Roglic’s teammate Sepp Kuss took the stage win.
Team Jumbo-Visma’s Kuss of the US attacked on the last of the four first category climbs with 6km remaining of the punishing 154.4km mountain stage from Tineo to Santuario del Acebo in Asturias to catch up with lone leader Sergio Samitier.
Kuss, 24, held his own on the summit finish, coming over the line 39 seconds ahead of Ruben Guerreiro of Team Katusha–Alpecin to earn his first Grand Tour stage win, while Tao Geoghegan Hart of Team Ineos came third, 40 seconds behind.
“I wanted to ride within myself and have a little bit in reserve in case Primoz came across. Maybe it was a bit too early to go, but I felt good,” Kuss told reporters. “I knew that the first few kilometers of the climb were the hardest, so I tried to be in a good position and wanted to ride at my own rhythm. There were no mind games.”
Valverde launched an attack on Roglic shortly afterward in a bid to reduce his overall deficit, although the Slovenian was up for the fight and the pair stayed together to come eighth and ninth respectively, 2 minutes, 14 seconds down on Kuss.
Valverde trailed Roglic by 2:25, but the Vuelta now looks set to be a two-horse race after the pair caused considerable damage to the other contenders.
2016 winner Nairo Quintana suffered the most, finishing 3:50 behind Kuss and now trails Roglic by 5:09. His compatriot Miguel Angel Lopez also saw his hopes of an overall win fade as he lost 41 seconds on Roglic.
Lopez came over the finish line at the same time as Tadej Pogacar, who remained in third place overall, but fell 3:42 behind Roglic and lost 40 seconds to Valverde.
“My legs were feeling good so I decided to attack from afar, and I have to say thanks to Roglic and to [Movistar teammate] Marc Soler for working so hard,” Valverde said. “After all that hard work it would have been very bad if I hadn’t gained anything, but 40 seconds is a very good amount.”
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
RSS