2018 Vuelta a España Stage 18 Results & Recap
Stage 18 of the 2018 Vuelta a España is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Wallays upsets sprinters on stage 18\nBy Clara Beard
Jelle Wallays (Lotto Soudal) dashed sprinters’ hopes in the closing metres to the line after 186 km off the front in the Catalonia region. The Belgian escaped with Sven Erik Bystrom (UAE Team Emirates) and Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH) and held on to the finish with Bystrom, out kicking him at the end while Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) charged at them in the final moments.
“Everybody was expecting a bunch sprint,” Wallays said. “But I had a crash after the first rest day and since then I’ve had this stage in my mind. I knew that if I was feeling good I could surprise many riders and today I did it. I know Bystrom can have a strong sprint. It was a little bit uphill in the finale. With a 25 second gap with 2 kilometres to go, I stayed in the wheel. I waited, I waited. I wasn’t scared to lose, I was already happy to put on a show until the last kilometre. Everyone expected a massive sprint so if you see the breakaway still at the front it’s exciting. I only focused on the finish line and I went with 200 metres to go. The first time I won from a breakaway was Paris-Tours (in 2014) and I learned a lot from Thomas Voeckler on that day. I worked very hard to be selected for the Tour de France. I didn’t go there and then I worked for a stage win at La Vuelta and I get it. It’s fantastic.”
Simon Yates (Mitchelton Scott) had a relaxed day in the red jersey before two mountain stages in Andorra yet to come. He still leads Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) by 25 seconds.
“It was a very calm day, the easiest so far at La Vuelta,” Yates said. “And then we had a very fast finale, so I tried to stay at the front to be safe. Alejandro Valverde and Enric Mas are both very classy bike riders. I expect them to be very active to try and win the race. I think we have the strongest team now so I expect to have the most guys in the front group to help me. I’ve been living in Andorra for most of my professional career, since 2015. I know the climbs very well. I think the two coming stages are going to be very difficult. I’m just trying to do my own race, I think I can win and I just try to do that. Of course, British cycling has come a long way for the last 10 years and I hope to continue this trend.”
From the gun, Wallays, Bystrom and Bol attacked and the peloton was more than happy to see them off. Quick-Step Floors and Trek-Segafredo massed at the front to keep the gap in check at a maximum of three minutes.
The gap fell quickly over the last 50 kilometres. Bol lost contact with the break with seven to go, but the duo kept driving to the finish and just held off the peloton to sprint it out at the end.\n
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