Vuelta Espana: Van Aert Dominates to Clinch Hat-Trick

Van Aert's Spectacular Performance

SBS On Demand La Vuelta hub. Van Aert distanced all of his breakaway companions bar one leading into the finish before easily sprinting away from Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) as the two approached the line in Baiona. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) won the sprint for third place behind, in a group that arrived two minutes after Van Aert and Pacher.

Van Aert expressed his challenges during the stage, stating, "It was really my aim to be in the breakaway but I had a hard time on the first climb. I almost gave up but I gave it one more try just before the top. Still then, we had to fight for 50 kilometres with a little bit of a gap. To be honest, I think it worked in my favour because in the finale, the climbers in my group didn’t have fresh legs and that’s how I won."

General Classification Update

Australian Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) navigated the stage well to prevent losing any time, remaining atop the general classification with a three-minute and 53-second lead over Primoz Roglic (Red Bull BORA-Hansgrohe). “In the end, it was the perfect scenario,” O’Connor reflected. “It was a really hard start; it took a long time for the break to go. A lot of guys in the top 10 were interested in the breakaway so I think we did a good job today to control the start. Other teams were trying to stay in position so we did the descents full gas; the pace was pretty hard onto the second climb and then it pretty much stopped.”

Tonight’s Stage 11 now sees the peloton take on an undulating parcours, where a breakaway will again be favoured to stay away over the four medium climbs.