00:00Welcome to stage 17 of La Vuelta.
00:03Onto the penultimate mountain stage of La Vuelta 25,
00:07and one that could really shake things up overall.
00:10UAE already have seven stage wins and the polka dot jersey,
00:14but now the focus is on helping João Almeida topple Jonas Vingegaard.
00:18I mean, the red jersey is the obvious goal for the team,
00:23so, yeah, I mean, that's what we're trying to aim for.
00:27We're running out of days to make an impact on the GC,
00:30so we've got to make every day count,
00:32so, yeah, every uphill finish is important for us.
00:38There's also a fight on for the overall podium,
00:40with only 32 seconds separating Tom Pidcock and Jay Hindley in third and fourth,
00:45and the Australian has been looking stronger on the climbs in recent days.
00:50Yeah, he's riding really well, but for sure there are also other guys in the race,
00:54but, yeah, he's probably my most immediate competitor in the fight for the podium,
01:00so I think it's basically all out every day now for the GC riders.
01:08Yesterday we also saw Bahrain Victorious riding for Torstein Train,
01:12the former race leader who's hoping to finish inside the top ten.
01:15The Norwegian knows that time is running out for guys who want to make significant gains on GC.
01:21Two mountain stages left and one TT, so you don't have really much time to do something,
01:28so you need to start at one point.
01:30Obviously it was a bit shortened yesterday, so we didn't really have a battle at the end.
01:34So, yeah, hopefully today will be a real battle.
01:38Stage 17 is a fairly short one, just 143 kilometres,
01:45but it features well over 3,000 metres of elevation gain.
01:49And while it's bumpy all day long,
01:51the real fireworks will come on the final hike of the Alto del Moradero,
01:55a brutal climb of 8.8 kilometres at 9.7 per cent,
01:59and a fitting backdrop for a GC showdown.
02:06Well, there was another lively start today,
02:08but it didn't take quite as long for the breakaway to form around 25 kilometres.
02:12Twelve men getting into the move,
02:14and none of them posed any major threat to the peloton.
02:17The closest on GC was Harold Tejada, nearly 12 minutes down on Vingegaer,
02:22but at any rate, the bunch were keeping them on a tight leash.
02:26Among the dozen riders at the front
02:28were several who've already been in the breakaways at this Vuelta,
02:31notably Joel Nicolaou, number seven for him.
02:34Tejada, Sergio Sumitier, Luca van Boven,
02:37and Heiss Lehmreiser have also been active over the past fortnight.
02:41Well, none of the breakaway riders had actually won a Grand Tour stage before,
02:45although Antonio Tiberi did come fifth overall at last year's Giro d'Italia.
02:50Unfortunately for the Italians and his fellow escapees,
02:53this didn't look like a breakaway day.
02:55Visma Lisebike setting a high tempo in the bunch for Vingegaer,
02:59with the gap never really exceeding two minutes.
03:02The pace remaining high, and it was too much for some,
03:04notably Mads Pedersen in the green jersey.
03:07It looked like we were indeed heading for a GC battle on El Moradero.
03:13After going for the points at the intermediate sprint,
03:15Van Boven and Timo Rosen opened up a small gap on the rest of the breakaway.
03:19But the Belgian and the Dutchman were quickly reeled back in.
03:25The riders heading through Ponferrada,
03:27sight of the 2014 World Championships,
03:30and the road began to rise as they approached the final climb,
03:33with the peloton closing in.
03:36Tiberi made a move with 23 kilometres to go,
03:39and only Tejada was able to follow him.
03:41The Italian and the Colombian leading a group of three chasers,
03:44Lehmreiser, Semitier and Jonas Gregar.
03:48The rest of the breakaway were dropped as they entered the final 20 kilometres,
03:52with the peloton now around a minute and a half behind.
04:01Well, just before the final climb,
04:02Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe took over the pacing duties in the peloton,
04:06working for their two leaders, Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari.
04:10The gap coming right down before they'd even hit the official start of the climb,
04:14and it was now only a matter of time for the breakaway.
04:17The race comes back together, one rider in the lead now,
04:24but the breakaway is caught by the team of Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe.
04:29That acceleration that happened has completely demolished the breakaway.
04:33Only one rider remains now at the front.
04:38Well, that rider was Semitier,
04:40who was duly swatted up with 12 kilometres to go.
04:43They finally made their way onto El Moradero with just under 9k remaining,
04:50and the relentless pace was starting to sting the legs.
04:53Visma back on the front and cutting the peloton down to a group of favourites,
04:57with Sepp Kuss, Egan Bernal and Junior Le Cerf all saying goodbye.
05:01Felix Galle, the man sitting sixth overall, also lost contact.
05:05Jai Hindley, though, was looking strong,
05:07and after a sudden acceleration from the Australian,
05:10Almeida was briefly distanced.
05:12No panic, though, the Portuguese rider coming back at his own pace with Pellizzari
05:16and joining Hindley, Pidcock, Vingegaard and Riccitello up at the front.
05:21Well, we were expecting a scrap between Vingegaard and Almeida,
05:24but it was the outsiders who were landing the blows.
05:27Pellizzari also attacking for Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe
05:31and getting a small gap with 3.5km to go.
05:34Riccitello, the Italian's nearest challenger for the white jersey,
05:38tried to bring the group back, but he was being closely marked by Hindley.
05:42Almeida was struggling to hold the wheel at times, but he hung in there,
05:46with Vingegaard also not looking at his very best.
05:48Hindley just keeping a close eye on Riccitello,
05:51as his teammate Pellizzari continued to open up the gap.
05:54The Italian closing in on a famous victory while the other GC riders would sprint
06:01for the remaining bonus seconds on the line.
06:04He is reaching the crest of this mountain.
06:12Giulia Pellizzari, the rider from Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe,
06:17the white jersey of this race.
06:19Pellizzari sees the gantry now.
06:22This is a big moment in this rider's career.
06:26His first ever win and it's a win and a grand tour.
06:29Giulia Pellizzari, attack now of Tom Pidcock.
06:32He jumps away.
06:34Vingegaard tries to go with him.
06:35So does Hindley.
06:36And Pidcock is looking for second place and some bonus seconds.
06:40Pidcock fires to the top of the mountain as well.
06:43He's second.
06:44Hindley takes third.
06:45Behind them Vingegaard.
06:46Then it's João Almeida.
06:51Giulia Pellizzari landing his first career victory in some style,
06:55beating some of the top climbers in the world on El Moradero.
06:58The 21-year-old was denied by Teddy Piccaccia at last year's Giro
07:02before finishing sixth overall at this year's edition.
07:05And today's win is surely the first of many.
07:08I think it's the best moment in my career, short career until now.
07:16And yeah, today I had a strange feeling.
07:19I felt a bit that today good was my day.
07:23And I need to thanks to all my team, my teammates.
07:28Jai, of course.
07:29Today we fight for takes the podium.
07:31And we didn't take but I think that is not over.
07:35Pellizzari becoming the first Italian to win at this Vuelta,
07:41with Pidcock and Hindley taking the remaining bonuses.
07:44Vingegaard also gained a couple of seconds on Almeida.
07:47The Dane's lead is back up to 50 seconds,
07:50with Pidcock still over 30 seconds clear of Hindley.
07:52Matteo Jorgenton climbs into the top ten ahead of Junior Le Cerf.
07:56While Jai Vine is still sitting pretty in polka dots,
08:01with one mountain stage to go,
08:03he has a 20-point advantage over Vingegaard.
08:06And Pellizzari has increased his lead over Riccatello in white.
08:10He is now a minute and eight seconds ahead of the American.
08:13Tomorrow is a crucial day, the individual time trial,
08:17which could have a major impact on the outcome of this race.
08:20Join us for that on Thursday and thanks for watching.
08:26We'll see you next time.
