Vuelta a España stage 10: Michael Storer scores second win

Michael Storer (Team DSM) grabbed the win on stage 10 of the 2021 Vuelta a España from the front of a 31-man breakaway.

The Australian known as “Storer the Destroyer” also won stage 7.

“It was a massive fight for the breakaway, it was one of those days [and] it took 80km before we went,” Storer said. “I was feeling good on the final climb, and I knew exactly what I needed to do and that was to attack. I just did it off how I felt, and how my competitors were looking, and then I went and hoped for the best.”

“I dreamed of one stage in this Vuelta, now I have two after 10 days, it’s really unbelievable,” Storer added.

Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), also in the large break on the day took over the GC lead, while Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) crashed on a technical, high-speed descent with 12km to go.

⏯Una fuga rematada por @mjstorer_au forzó el cambio de liderato en la 10ª etapa de #LaVuelta21, con @rogla buscando sorprender accidentadamente. Revívelo en 1'.

⏯@Oddeiking is the new leader after a big break won by Storer, while Roglic attacked. The 1' summary.@gorouvy pic.twitter.com/hEiRMdaFQL

— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) August 24, 2021

How it happened

Stage 10, 189km route from Roquetas de Mar to Rincón de la Victoria, traveled over a rolling terrain until 40km to go, when the roads turned up, and then down to the finish.

A cat 2 climb promised to change the complexion of the break, favoring those who could climb and descend well, technically, and at speed.

A break of 31 riders had nearly 5:30 minutes with 88km of racing remaining. The first two hours of racing the break moved along at nearly 50kph, aided in some stretches by strong winds, which had materialized early in the day.

In the large group were Luis León Sánchez, Magnus Cort Nielsen and American Lawson Craddock (both EF Eduction-Nippo), all with eyes on a stage win.

Jumbo-Visma and Movistar Team in the peloton were content to let the break — and the responsibility — go up the road.

The 31 men at the front had ripped open nearly a nine-minute lead on the main bunch with 55km of racing remaining, and the pace set early did not settle to close to 42kph until the third hour of racing.

The gap set by the mass on the front included Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), continued to put time into the red jersey group, and had expanded the gap to more than 10 minutes with just 47km left to race.

Headed into the intermediate sprint at 40km to go, Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates), Alex Aranburu (Astana-Premier Tech), Jesus Herrada (Cofidis), and Floris De Tier (Alpecin-Fenix) tried to gain points and the time bonus. This move resulted in a 15-second gap on the remaining 28 riders at the front.

The pace went up again after the acceleration to the intermediate sprint, and at 35km to go the gap to the main group with the red jersey was more than 12 minutes.

On an uphill slope at 26km to go, Craddock tried to bridge to the very front to join the four leading the race.

Storer slipped off the front while Rui Oliveira (UAE-Team Emirates) attacked. This triggered Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) to chase a chance to take over the race lead.

Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo), a previous overall race-leader, and Eiking led the pursuit and brought back the four in front.

In the peloton and more than 12 minutes back, Ineos rolled along, shadowed by Jumbo-Visma. As these teams pressured the pace, Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious) was dropped on the climb.

Overall race lead changes hands before finish line

The combined seven on the front chased after Storer on the upward slope and into a headwind. This group was nearly 40 seconds back when Martin attacked again to try to distance Eiking, who was able to cover the Frenchman’s moves.

Storer came over the top and had 40 seconds advantage on his pursuers over the top of the climb with a 16km descent into the stage win ahead.

Roglič attacked the group with 4km to go on the climb and dropped Carapaz, who had been leading the peloton.

This surprise move caught the entire group unaware, and a few moments went by before Enric Mas (Movistar Team), Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), and Jack Haig (Bahrain-Victorious) could respond.

Mas, López, and Haig went after the race leader, while Kuss sat on their wheels and patrolled the other three, some 30 seconds behind Roglič.

Roglič crashes, again

Kuss was dropped from the chasing group before the summit, leaving Mas, López, and Haig to go after the two-time Vuelta winner.

Roglič blasted the descent, taking a lot of risks on corners to try to put time into his rivals.

He slid off the road on a steep, off-camber bend to the right and was quick to get up and back on his bike. This allowed the three behind him to catch up.

The four were rejoined by Mas, Kuss, and Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech), at 6km to go, and this group of seven raced to the line a half a minute ahead of the Ineos Grenadiers’ group with Egan Bernal, Adam Yates, and Olympic champion Richard Carapaz.

Roglič, again riding in torn shorts, rode on the back of the chasing seven.

Up the road, Storer took his second Vuelta a España stage victory.

“I didn’t have exact time gaps, but I knew it was tight. I knew I had to go fast down that descent, even though it’s fast and slippery roads in this region, and it was just enough to hang on,” said the stage winner, Storer.

Vlasov brought this bunch across the finish line nearly 12 minutes behind Storer.

Eiking took over the race lead with a 2:17 margin on Roglic, while Martin catapulted into second on the overall ranking, some 57 seconds back.

“I am really happy and surprised. I didn’t start this morning believing I would be in the leader’s jersey, so it’s really incredible,” Eiking said. “It’s beyond our belief to have the red jersey now for the second time, it’s a huge bonus. We came here trying to win a stage.”

What’s to come

Stage 11 Wedensday is a very lumpy 133.6km route from Antequera to Valdepeñas de Jaén.

On paper, the stage profile looks good for Roglič to regain time lost to Eiking and Martin on stage 10, but the Slovenian will be a man marked by Movistar Team and Ineos Grenadiers. And, he’ll also be nursing fresh wounds from the crash in the final dozen kilometers of stage 10.