It took nearly 100 kilometers, but after a furious fight, a breakaway eventually emerged on La Vuelta a España this Tuesday. In stage 10, Rudy Molard managed to hit the front in a group of about thirty riders. However, the Frenchman was caught by the GC contenders on the final climb and had to settle for twenty-ninth place.
In the aftermath of a highly anticipated rest day, the start of the Vuelta a España’s stage 10 probably came as a shock to some riders’ legs. The race’s second week of racing got off to a flying start on Tuesday, in a day made for the attackers. “There hadn’t been many opportunities for the breakaway until now,” explained William Green. “Today seemed like a real one, especially since the favorites were probably already thinking about the Bilbao stage. As a result, it was full gas racing from the start, with an average speed of almost 50 km/h over the first 100 kilometres. There were no climbs at the start of the race, which made it even more difficult for the breakaway to go clear. Rémi was in the day’s first move, and then we continued to follow the attacks for 100 kilometres. We were really there in all the moves. You need a team to cover all the moves to end up in the right one, and that’s what we managed to do.” Shortly after the halfway point, with 85 kilometres to go, Clément Braz Afonso managed to take the lead within a trio before suffering a crash. Ten kilometres later, Rudy Molard eventually made it into the right move with about thirty men.
“We were in the race today,” William Green
The Frenchman, however, faced a tricky situation at the front of the race, while the peloton kept the breakaway just three minutes behind. “Many teams had two riders represented, so we knew it would be quite dynamic and not the best cohesion,” said William. “Rudy was aware of that, but I think it was partly physical as well when the breakaway split on that short climb fifty kilometres from the finish.” Javier Romo, Jay Vine, and eight other riders therefore managed to find themselves a step ahead of the rest of the group. “Rudy was certainly still in the race, however, because the gap between the first and second parts of the breakaway was maximum 45 seconds,” explained William. “With a summit finish coming, everything was possible”. However, at the bottom of the final climb to El Ferial Larra Belagua (9.4 km at 6.1%), the peloton was only two minutes behind the Groupama-FDJ rider. Moreover, the fight began quite early among the favorites, who caught Rudy Molard about five kilometres from the summit.
The French puncher eventually crossed the line in 29th position, about two minutes behind the winner. “Only a handful of riders of the breakaway (4, editor’s note) stayed away from the favorites, including some top riders like Vine and Castrillo,” explained William. “Rudy couldn’t do much more today. The legs did the talking on the final climb. The positive thing is that we were in the race today, because some teams weren’t. It’s a positive note after the rest day.” The other good note is that Clément Braz Afonso was able to reach the finish line unharmed. “He quickly moved on from it, he has good legs, and we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do in the coming week,” William added. “I’m out for revenge and I’ll try again in the next few days if I’m in good shape,” Clément confirmed. On Wednesday, a very hilly stage will be on the menu for the riders around Bilbao. “I think the breakaway can have an opportunity tomorrow, but it will be a challenging break to make,” William said. “If we have the legs, for sure we’ll try to be there. After that, it will be a tough day, whether at the front or in the peloton.”
