{"id":186103,"date":"2021-09-06T10:15:22","date_gmt":"2021-09-06T10:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=186103"},"modified":"2021-09-06T10:16:07","modified_gmt":"2021-09-06T10:16:07","slug":"things-we-learned-from-this-years-la-vuelta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2021\/09\/06\/things-we-learned-from-this-years-la-vuelta\/","title":{"rendered":"Things We Learned From This Year’s La Vuelta"},"content":{"rendered":"

The image of this year\u2019s Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a that will linger the longest in my mind is that of Clement Champoussin dragging himself up the 9 per cent gradient to the finish line of stage 20, his mouth wide open, his bike unsteady under him, muscles burning, lungs burning, while pursued by Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d, Enric Mas, Jack Haig and Adam Yates, the riders who finished first to fourth in the GC.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The reason I will remember it is because Frenchman Champoussin is only 23 years old and the hunger he showed on that final ramp illustrated the ambition of a new generation of riders who are about to dominate world cycling. Champoussin\u2019s only other victories in his cycling career were two stages and the GC of the 2019 Giro del Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a category 2.2 race in the UCI Europe Tour. The winner of that race the previous year was named Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a>, the leader of this new generation of cyclists. That\u2019s not to say that Champoussin \u2013 who finished 16th<\/sup> in the Vuelta GC \u2013 will be another Poga\u010dar. But he may very well become a star.<\/p>\n

\"Clement<\/a>
Champoussin celebrates his victory on the 20th stage of La Vuelta. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Vuelta was truly a coming of age for other young riders such as Champoussin. Fabio Jakobsen, who won the green jersey, is only 25. The ease with which the Deceuninck\u2013Quick-Step rider dominated the points classification competition suggests he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Naturally, he was delighted with his first Grand Tour jersey win. “The legs are empty but, for sure, I enjoyed the last kilometres,\u201d he said after finishing the last stage. \u201cI knew I had some time, so I waved a bit to the crowds and cheered like it was a victory because for me finishing here\u2026 is the biggest victory so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other performances of note by young riders in the Vuelta include:<\/p>\n

–<\/strong> Alpecin\u2013Fenix\u2019s Jasper Philipsen,<\/strong> who wore the green jersey for five stages and was Jakobsen\u2019s closest rival until being forced to drop out due to a fever, is 23;<\/p>\n

– DSM\u2019s Australian climber Michael Storer,<\/strong> who won the King of the Mountains jersey and two Vuelta stages, is 24; and<\/p>\n

– Gino M\u00e4der of Bahrain Victorious,<\/strong> who is 24, finished fifth in the GC and won the white jersey for best young rider \u2013 ahead of Egan Bernal, also 24 and already winner of two Grand Tours.<\/p>\n

\"Gino<\/a>
M\u00e4der during the 21st and last stage of the La Vuelta. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the other hand, a Spanish rider failed to win a Vuelta stage for the first time since 2000 and for only the second time in history. The Spanish Movistar team did win the 18th<\/sup> stage but it was won by the Colombian rider Miguel \u00c1ngel L\u00f3pez. However, that victory was tarnished when L\u00f3pez dropped out of the race midway through stage 20 after missing a break by the leading riders, seeing his chances for a spot on the Vuelta podium fading with every kilometre and then getting into an argument<\/a> with Movistar\u2019s performance coach Patxi Vila.<\/p>\n

Even more remarkable, not one of this year\u2019s 63 Grand Tour stages was won by a Spanish rider. The talk is often about the failures of French riders to win the Tour de France<\/a> but surely this is a far more serious failure by a major cycling nation. Perhaps it is simply a matter of young Spanish riders not developing quickly enough to take the place of their elders whose best days are behind them. Whatever the reason, there is a crisis in Spanish cycling.<\/p>\n

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\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8 #LaVuelta21<\/a>\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Realizing what just happened\u2026 \ud83e\udd2f pic.twitter.com\/X66r2S7bmz<\/a><\/p>\n

— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) September 5, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n