La Vuelta Ciclista a España

T-Rex Quick-Step rode an immense stage Sunday afternoon, when the peloton entered the Asturias, a region of Spain known for its inhuman ascents boasting stinging double-digit gradients. Stage 15 of the race, the last before a well-deserved second rest day, culminated on Cuitu Negru, a long and demanding climb which had featured just once, at the 2012 edition, when Dario Cataldo won for our team from the breakaway.

Long before this first Hors Catégorie climb of La Vuelta, the T-Rex Quick-Step boys took the race by the scruff of its neck, coming with the entire squad at the head of the peloton and pushing a mammoth tempo that decimated the field. The likes of William Junior Lecerf, Mauri Vansevenant and Mattia Cattaneo took over the reins from their teammates on Cuitu Negru, shredding the red jersey group to a dozen riders and paving the way for an attack of Mikel Landa.

The Basque bolted away with more than six kilometers left, an acceleration which further reduced the favourites’ group, just before they took on the goat track that came with three kilometers to go, where the gradients reached a jaw-dropping 24%. On this lung-bursting, leg-sapping section of the climb, Mikel dropped many of his general classification opponents and took ninth place at the top, behind winner Pablo Castrillo (KernPharma). This solid result helped the 34-year-old strengthen his grip on fifth place on the overall standings ahead of next Tuesday’s Lagos de Covadonga, Spain’s mythical ascent, where the gaps between the contenders should widen again.

“I am happy with how things went. The team was incredibly strong and did a fantastic work for me, and I was determined to try something in the hope of gaining time on the general classification. It didn’t quite work out, but if you don’t try, you never know what you could have done. There are a couple of opportunities left at the Vuelta and I want to go again on the attack in the next mountain stages and see what this will bring”, Mikel explained at the finish.

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images