Featured image of Clément Champoussin courtesy of MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images
Primož Roglič has won a third consecutive Vuelta, the 76th edition has ended after three weeks from Burgos to Santiago de Compostela. No more rest days and no more climbs, we have a final outcome but to conclude the 2021 Vuelta, here are some final third week reflections.
This Vuelta was one of the weirdest editions ever. Why? It featured quite a few flat stages when traditional the final Grand Tour doesn’t usually attract the best sprinters in the business. Yet what we have witnessed at this Vuelta are two fast men who’ve duked it out whenever the terrain was flat. Jasper Philipsen must be commended for taking two stage wins in what has been a brilliant debut Grand Tour season for Alpecin-Fenix. They had a good Giro, a terrific Tour and now a Vuelta with two wins for the Belgian. It just proves that you don’t need WorldTour status or big names such as Mathieu van der Poel to achieve something huge on the grandest of stages.
Deceunick-Quick Step’s Fabio Jakobsen is also back with a bang! Three stage wins plus the green jersey on his comeback after a devastating crash last year, the Dutchman will have high hopes of eventually making the Tour de France on debut. The only thing holding him back – a dilemma Quick Step now find themselves in – is Mark Cavendish. He’ll be keen to break Eddy Merck’s record of 34 stage wins, so where does that leave Fabio Jakobsen? It’s a case of master and apprentice. Who gets the nod to start in Copenhagen remains to be seen.
After taking two stage wins why not take three! That’s what Magnus Cort has done at this Vuelta. Greedy? Not a chance! You have to take every opportunity in cycling, Grand Tour or not. EF Education-Nippo will be happy after this Vuelta, AG2R Citroën Team’s Clément Champoussin will also be overjoyed for taking the final road stage on the brutal finish at Castro de Herville. Stage 20 was mesmorising and unbelievable at the best of times. All the favourites looked at each other, Adam Yates was doing his best for the Ineos Grenadiers to attack as much as possible, but among all the staring contests and after being the original breakaway, it was remarkable to see Champoussin storm away and take the win! Only his third Grand Tour appearance (second at the Vuelta), the Frenchman is only 23-years-of-age and on this evidence he has a huge future ahead of him.
Team DSM are another team who should be satisfied with their Vuelta performance. It has been great to witness a rejuvinated Romain Bardet at this Vuelta, who to be fair was also faring well at the Giro back in May. Aside from Bardet, the team have also found a new Australian who’s catching our attention after Jai Hindley’s second-placed finish at the Giro last year. Michael Storer with two stage wins makes him one of the best attackers at this Vuelta, he really deserves an award for the best rider to cling onto glory because that’s exactly what he did! Team DSM getting into breaks in week three after all the success they had already claimed in weeks one and two, it really shows fortitude and determination.
The same cannot be said for other teams who will leave this Vuelta without anything to shout about. Astana-Premier Tech, BORA-Hansgrohe, Team BikeExchange and the Ineos Grenadiers are the four WorldTour teams who have been under par but you could also argue that while they’ve taken a stage win and helped Enric Mas to second overall on GC, Movistar have yet again not had the best Vuelta.
How on earth can we explain the bizarre circumstances of Miguel Angel López taking the toughest mountain stage as one impressive victory first, and then two days later he leaves the race with a potential third-place overall the next? You’d think it was an internal dispute but perhaps there’s something more to this than fans think too. An apology to his team and his fans after doing something which in no way is acceptable, this won’t be the last we’ll hear from Miguel Angel López on what has happened.
All that is left to say is a word on the overall winner. As mentioned previously, Primož Roglič is now a history maker by taking a third successive Vuelta title. The race for red has been done, questions still remain as to where Roglič ranks in terms of world cycling legends status, but for now after three weeks of sometimes unbearable conditions across Spain, La Vuelta is done for another year, the Grand Tours complete.
The Final General Classification Top-Ten after Stage 16-21:
1 – Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo-Visma) 83 hrs 55 mins 29 secs
2 – Enric Mas (Movistar Team) + 4 mins 42 secs
3 – Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorious) + 7 mins 40 secs
4 – Adam Yates (INEOS Grenadiers) + 9 mins 6 secs
5 – Gino Mäder (Bahrain-Victorious) + 11 mins 33 secs
6 – Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) + 13 mins 27 secs
7 – David de la Cruz (UAE-Team Emirates) + 18 mins 33 secs
8 – Sepp Kuss (Team Jumbo-Visma) + 18 mins 55 secs
9 – Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) + 20 mins 27 secs
10 – Felix Großschartner (BORA-Hansgrohe) + 22 mins 22 secs
