La Vuelta | Stage 11 of the live recap – relaxed legs, flat ride, finish in Laguna Negra

This is not a live blog, but we will keep you updated on the latest developments during each stage of the Vuelta a España 2023. Consider this article a straightforward summary to smoothly scroll through the highlights. Commentators Jeroen Vanbelgem and Carsten Krohn regularly recap the day so far. We do the same thing here, including videos. You really don’t miss anything!

The Italian who won the time trial yesterday sacrificed himself completely today for another stage win for his team, but Geraint Thomas was unable to finish the amazing work done by his teammate. The Briton arrived with quite a few fast guys in the final kilometer and Jesus Herrada was the quickest.

Young Romain Gregoire finished second, just ahead of Andres Krohn. Thomas eventually finished sixth, not far behind Jana.

Julius Johansen is the first of the escapees to attack, but the Dane from Intermarché-Cirque-Wante cannot escape. Not long after, Paul Ursulin gets some space, but it also looks like his fate is sealed when Filippo Ganna takes the lead behind him and closes the gap in the service of Geraint Thomas.

After many failed attempts, today’s flight was finally formed. Ineos-Grenadiers leader, Geraint Thomas, among others, is there. Can the Welshman complete the good work of his teammate Filippo Ganna and give his team a second consecutive stage win?

Thomas is certainly not the only man at the front having to deal with these difficult kilometres. Jesús Herrada, young Frenchman Romain Gregoire and Andreas Krohn, who has already won a stage in the Vuelta, will be looking forward to the final.

A lot has happened in the Vuelta since the end of Sunday’s stage, even though less than 26 kilometers (against the clock) have been covered. It was a hellish transfer, with bad weather, planes having to change course, and bus rides to make up for lost ground.

What followed was a well-deserved rest day after a tough first week, followed by a test of time. This was especially important for specialists and taxonomists. Filippo Ganna won, Remco Evenepoel’s time was a bit disappointing and Sepp Kuss couldn’t make the change.

This ensures that Kuss still retains the red jersey. He has a one-minute lead, but beyond that the margins are still small. Evenepoel is directly ahead of Primoz Roglic, although Jonas Vengegaard is slightly behind him. Perhaps Vingegaard will now take on a more service role.

Perhaps a new twist to overall victory will follow on the final climb of stage 11, which is one of the first category. The riders set their course on the “Leguna Negra de Vinuesa,” a 6.5-kilometre climb with an average gradient of 6.8 percent. There are some bars with outliers of up to 8 or 10 percent, for example in the final meters.