Chapter 443 - 212: The Final Race Day of the Second Week Arrives

After all, for the fans back home, this would have been a real treat.

But the team had its own considerations, and as a rider, he had to follow their plan.

Ultimately, he had no say in the team’s tactical decisions.

The domestiques of the Red Bull Bora Team, after all, took their orders from the team director, not him.

If his domestiques deliberately slowed their pace while controlling the peloton, allowing the breakaway group to build a massive lead, he would be powerless to attack even if he wanted to.

Thus, while cycling fans and commentators worldwide were eagerly anticipating Stage 13 of the Vuelta a Espa?a, hoping for a spectacular attack from a general classification contender on the long, steep climb in the final kilometers, the actual outcome was the complete opposite.

Not only did no general classification riders launch an attack during the entire race, but the peloton finished a full 11 minutes behind the breakaway group.

The stage victory went to Michael Woods of the Israel-Premier Tech Team, who won with a solo attack on the final steep climb.

This was another stage won by a breakaway rider, and once again, the victory went to a rider from a Professional Team.

However, Israel-Premier Tech and the Kern Pharma Team were completely different.

Before Castrillo’s breakout performance, the latter had been a truly obscure, low-level Professional Team.

Israel-Premier Tech, on the other hand, was a former World Tour Team that had only been relegated due to finishing low in the points standings.

The two could not be compared in terms of rider strength or team structure.

Huang Chong had a vague recollection of Woods, the rider who had won with a solo attack on the steep climb.

Before the Vuelta a Espa?a, at the Paris Olympic Games road race, Woods had been a member of the Canadian National Team, so he certainly had the skills of a World Tour Cyclist.

Of course, the general classification contenders, including Huang Chong, found a result like today’s acceptable. After all, they had all crossed the finish line together, so there were no changes to the overall standings.

For the fans, however, the entire second week of the race seemed completely disconnected from the general classification contenders. Having to watch unfamiliar breakaway riders—so obscure they couldn’t even name them—take the spotlight every day was incredibly dull and boring.

They eagerly tuned in to the live broadcast on time every day, spending a significant amount of their personal time watching the race, all because they wanted to see their favorite star riders dominate the competition.

This was supposed to be a top-tier Grand Tour! What kind of race has fans watching breakaway riders win every single day?

So, after Stage 13, complaints from fans about the Vuelta a Espa?a being too dull and boring began to spread like wildfire across the internet.

And once public opinion started creating pressure, the major teams had no choice but to take it seriously.

After all, in professional sports, the fans are king.

If the races became unwatchably boring and people stopped paying for premium access, the sport itself could be in jeopardy.

However, even though the general classification teams were considering adjusting their tactics due to public pressure, the terrain of Stage 14 was simply not suitable for an attack.

This stage ran from Villafranca del Bierzo to Villablino, covering 200 kilometers with a total elevation gain of 2,876 meters.

According to the official classification, this was undoubtedly another medium-mountain stage, featuring only two categorized climbs along the entire route.

The first was a Third Category Climb, and the second was a First Category Climb.

However, while this First Category Climb was very long—a full 22.8 kilometers—its average gradient was only 4.5%, and the slope was very consistent from start to finish.

On a gradient like that, it was virtually impossible for the general classification contenders to launch a successful attack and break away.

Furthermore, the summit of this climb was located at the 184-kilometer mark, followed by a long 14-kilometer descent and a final two kilometers of completely flat road to the finish.

Therefore, no matter how hard the climbers attacked, they would ultimately be caught.

In the end, on Stage 14, not even the breakaway riders had a chance at victory.

The stage’s two climbs were simply not difficult enough. The Vismar and Alpecin teams controlled the pace for the entire duration, naturally setting up another showdown between the Vuelta a Espa?a’s two most prominent sprinters: Groves and Van Aert.

Although Van Aert wore the Dash King Green Jersey, had already won three stages, and held a commanding lead in the sprint points classification, his greatest advantage was on stages that included climbs.

This was because he could join breakaways, whereas Groves completely lacked that ability.

But on a stage like today’s, where the peloton could ride together to the finish for a flat sprint, a pure sprinter like Groves undoubtedly had the advantage with his anaerobic power in the final two hundred meters.

Thus, Van Aert was defeated again in Stage 14, taking second place once more.

Despite this, his performance in this year’s Vuelta a Espa?a was undeniably a major highlight, rivaling that of Huang Chong.

It was just that one specialized in climbing, with his sights set on the general classification’s Red Jersey, while the other focused on the flat stages, vying for the Dash King Green Jersey.

With the conclusion of Stage 14, the thoroughly unremarkable second week of the race was finally approaching its last day.

For Stage 15, the riders would travel from Infiesto to Valgrande-Pajares Cuitu Negru.

The stage was only 143 kilometers long, but the total elevation gain would reach an impressive 3,804 meters.

The route included a total of four categorized climbs.

There were two First Category climbs, one Third Category climb, and a summit finish on an HC Level climb—an extremely rare feature in the Vuelta a Espa?a.