2019 Vuelta a España Stage 19 Results & Recap
Stage 19 of the 2019 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
Cavagna wins stage 19
Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step) soloed to stage victory on stage 19 of the Vuelta a Espana after a long range attack on his breakaway companions proved successful.
“I suffered a lot at the end of the race,” Cavagna said after the stage. “The last 25 kilometres were terrible. It was pretty much headwind. I wanted to go faster but I couldn’t. I was afraid they would come back and in the end it worked out. I looked behind in the last straight and I saw they were in the corner. Then, I said, ok, they’re too far, I’ve won. Every day we try to do our best with the team. It’s already our fourth stage win. We were riding for Philippe [Gilbert] today.
“A big group went, I followed and I didn’t have to pull because my leader was at the back. It was my goal, to win a stage at La Vuelta. And this is deliverance. I have a very good recovery. As every day passes, I feel in a better condition. I won’t say I’m feeling really fresh, but I still have strength. It was my last opportunity to win and I did everything I could.”
Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) stays in red after a nasty crash with 67 kilometres to go to the finish in Toledo, which also involved the white jersey of Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana).
“I was a little unlucky with the crash but I’m still here,” Roglic said. “I don’t really know what happened. I didn’t see it, I was behind. I just tried to come back to the front, full gas. I think first of all I need to see replays and then maybe I can comment. With the team, we went as fast as possible to get a new bike and return to the bunch. It could be better but it could also be a lot worse and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. We’re one day closer [to winning La Vuelta].”
The category three climb of Alto de la Paramera launched 10 riders off the front less than five kilometres into the stage. They were: Silvan Dillier (AG2R La Mondiale), Domen Novak (Bahrain-Merida), Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Lawson Craddock (EF Education First), Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), Tsgabu Grmay (Mitchelton Scott), Ben O’Connor (Team Dimension Data), David de la Cruz (Team Ineos), Nikias Arndt (Team Sunweb), Peter Stetina (Trek-Segafredo).
The peloton held their advantage at around a minute and a half for the majority of the stage, CCC Team, Katusha Alpecin, Bora-Hansgrohe and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA took turns leading the charge.
A crash that included Roglic and Lopez put GC teams into panic mode with less than 70 kilometres remaining. Movistar turned up the pace at the front, and it took the riders involved more than 16km to return to the bunch.
After the intensity calmed in the peloton, Bora took over and split the peloton using the crosswinds, but again, the bunch reformed eventually.
With 25km to go, Cavagna attacked. From there, his chasers couldn’t organize enough to reel him in and he took the win ahead of the looming peloton by five seconds.
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