The day’s breakaway challenged the peloton’s endurance, navigating mid-stage hills and torrential rain, only to be reeled back in the final three kilometers. The chaos continued with late attacks, including a bold move by Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny). However, Alpecin-Deceuninck timed their final push perfectly, taking control in the last 200 meters.
Groves powered down the left side to claim victory while wearing the green points jersey. Pavel Bittner (DSM-firmenich PostNL) finished a close second, and Vito Braet (Intermarché-Wanty) came in third. Campenaerts, despite his late attack, managed to finish sixth.
Reflecting on the race, Groves celebrated the victory with his team, passionately declaring over the team radio that their efforts had paid off. “It was quite a tough day, starting dry but wet at the finish. It made it quite dangerous out there,” Groves commented.
“My team was so strong that thankfully they had a super day, to control the break with Kern Pharma and DSM. It wasn’t easy, they were a super team,” he added.
Groves solidified his grip on the Škoda Green jersey following the departure of Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), who crashed out on Tuesday. Demonstrating his prowess, Groves now leads the points classification with 222 points, far ahead of Bittner, who holds 106 points.
Reflecting on his successful day, Groves stated, “It was my last opportunity to win in this race, and I had such a motivated team to control the breakaway. To repay them with win number three is pretty special.”
Overall race leader Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and his main rival, Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), both crossed the line safely within the peloton, maintaining O’Connor’s slender five-second lead over Roglič. Enric Mas (Movistar) holds third place, trailing by 1:25.
Looking ahead, Stage 18 to Maestu offers another potential for a breakaway, followed by crucial mountain stages on Friday and Saturday, with the race concluding in a final time trial in Madrid on Sunday.
Vuelta a España 2024 – Stage 17 Results
Stage: Arnuero > Santander (141.5 km)
- Kaden Groves (Australia) – Alpecin-Deceuninck, 3:32:14
- Pavel Bittner (Czech Republic) – dsm-firmenich PostNL
- Vito Braet (Belgium) – Intermarché-Wanty
- Pau Miquel (Spain) – Equipo Kern Pharma
- Corbin Strong (New Zealand) – Israel-Premier Tech
- Victor Campenaerts (Belgium) – Lotto Dstny
- Edward Planckaert (Belgium) – Alpecin-Deceuninck
- Mathis Le Berre (France) – Arkéa-B&B Hotels
- Arjen Livyns (Belgium) – Lotto Dstny
- Xabier Berasategi (Spain) – Euskaltel-Euskadi
All riders finished at the same time.
General Classification After Stage 17
- Ben O’Connor (Australia) – Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, 68:41:14
- Primož Roglič (Slovenia) – Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +5 seconds
- Enric Mas (Spain) – Movistar, +1:25
- Richard Carapaz (Ecuador) – EF Education-EasyPost, +1:46
- Mikel Landa (Spain) – Soudal Quick-Step, +2:18
- David Gaudu (France) – Groupama-FDJ, +3:48
- Carlos Rodríguez (Spain) – Ineos Grenadiers, +3:53
- Mattias Skjelmose (Denmark) – Lidl-Trek, +4:00
- Florian Lipowitz (Germany) – Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +4:27
- Pavel Sivakov (France) – UAE Team Emirates, +5:19
