Stage 21: Molano Pips Mads in Madrid
Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE) sneaks in front of rivals in the mad dash to beat Mads Pedersen (TSF) at the line on the final Stage 21 of La Vuelta 2022. It was a welcome and surprising win for the Colombian, who was pulling on the front of the lead-out train for his own sprinter Pascal Ackermann (UAE). But the race followed its own rhythm, and the jumbled bunch at the finish spit out Molano ahead of Pedersen by a hair.
Stage 21Stage 21 was a long, flat, slow ride into Madrid, concluded with a circuit-style sprint.
The prize jerseys were secured after Stage 20 (and, really, a lot earlier than that).
Remco Evenepoel (QST) takes the red jersey for the best overall time. It’s a huge win for the talented Belgian whose GC credentials were doubted by many. Too young, too inexperienced, too few support riders on a squad that never competes for general classification. He proved the doubters wrong. Will he become a regular GC threat for years to come? Or will he keep his focus on the Classics? Evenepoel and QuickStep have some strategic choices to make.
Mads Pedersen (TSF) crushed the competition in the green jersey competition. The next best rival Sam Bennett (BOH) exited the race before Stage 10 due to a Covid-19 positive. Add Mads’ hat trick of stage wins, and the Dane was nigh untouchable.
Richard Carapaz (IGD) was a surprise winner of the polka dot jersey for King of the Mountains. Not a dark horse exactly, but the composition of the race at Stage 1 didn’t look favorable for the powerful Ecuadorian rider. Then at least three things changed, as they can in 21-stage races, bending the shape of the race to his advantage.
First, top GC teams lost key support men that would have likely helped push their team leaders over the mountain tops before Carapaz: QuickStep lost Julian Alaphilippe and Jumbo-Visma lost Sepp Kuss.
Second, Primoz Roglic (TJV) crashed out before the final weekend of mountains, prompting QuickStep to play it safe with Remco in red.
Third, Jay Vine (ADC), a climbing revelation in this year’s edition of La Vuelta, crashed out as well. All these factors combined to open a path for an ambitious rider with good climbing skills to win the final mountain stages, without the worry of the top teams sending riders after him. Richard Carapaz answered the call, winning the polka dot jersey and three stages to boot. It’s a nice going-away gift for Ineos-Grenadiers as Carapaz transfers to EducationFirst-Easypost next season.
The top-3 overall podium finishers were:
1) Remco Evenepoel (QST)
2) Enric Mas (MOV)
3) Juan Ayuso Pesquera (UAE)
The best of the rest:
4) Miguel Angel Lopez (AST)
5) Joao Almeida (UAE)
6) Thymen Arensman (DSM)
7) Carlos Rodrigues Cano (IGD)
8) Ben O’Connor (AGC)
9) Rigoberto Uran (EFE)
10) Jai Hindley (BOH)
Lawson Craddock (BEX) hangs on to the highest-ranked American spot, at 55th overall. Fellow American Brandon McNulty (UAE) finishes at 70th overall. The country’s presence in the race was already small and became smaller when Sepp Kuss (TJV) exited due to sickness.
Notable exits: none. Every rider that was left after Stage 20 managed to race into Madrid the next day.
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