00:00Hello everyone, welcome to the stage 14 of the Vuelta.
00:03On to the final big mountain day of this second week, heading to the summit of Sierra de la Pandera,
00:09a day that could throw up more surprises.
00:11Henrik Maas is looking pretty comfortable in the red jersey,
00:14and he's getting solid support from his Movistar teammates,
00:17even if they're not used to defending the leader of a Grand Tour.
00:22It's different. I'm not used to it, but we are really enjoying it.
00:26It's tough, we're starting to feel the fatigue, but we're chipping away day by day.
00:31We ride for each other, we are a united team, and that's what makes us strong.
00:37Decathlon's GC Hopes took a hit yesterday, when Gregor Moolberger, who was ninth overall, crashed out.
00:42Felix Gall losing an important lieutenant.
00:45It's a real bummer. He was so strong and the most important guy on the climbs.
00:53And also my roommate, so not just on the bike, also off the bike.
00:58He's just always bringing the good spirit and energy, and of course it's a big loss, yeah.
01:04Does it modify the way you will race today?
01:07Yeah, I mean, maybe a bit more conservative, yeah.
01:13Richard Carapace won on Sierra de la Pandera on La Vuelta's last visit in 2022,
01:18although at that point his GC ambitions were over.
01:22Yeah, today's stage brings back some nice memories, even though things were a bit different that day.
01:28But I'm still keen to try to repeat the feat. Let's just see how the race goes.
01:33When I won the stage, it was a bit different. I was in a different position.
01:39It'll be a special day for José Manuel Díaz as the stage gets underway in his hometown of Jaén.
01:45He's hoping some local support will give him wings.
01:50Jaén has always got behind me and behind cycling.
01:53It's a wonderful feeling when all of the fans are there cheering you on.
01:57It gives you a lot of strength.
01:59Today I hope they'll give me a lot of support, especially on the final climb, and that I'll have good
02:04legs.
02:08Stage 14 is fairly short, but features over 4,000 metres of climbing.
02:13The final hike-up, Sierra de la Pandera, is 12 kilometres at 7.2%, an absolute beast,
02:20so we can expect a shake-up in the overall standings.
02:27It didn't take long for a big group to go clear today.
02:30More than 40 riders are getting the green light from the peloton,
02:33with only three teams not represented up at the front.
02:36Red Bull bore a hands-grower, Alpes in Premier Tech,
02:39and somewhat surprisingly, Uno X Mobility, though they have been on the attack a lot in recent days.
02:44The highest ranked of the 44 men at the front were Clement Berthe and Cristian Rodriguez.
02:49Like yesterday, they were hoping to move up on GC.
02:52Santiago Buetraga was also there in the polka dot jersey.
02:56And only four of the 44 had previously won a Vuelta stage.
03:00David de la Cruz, Alberto Dianese, Pablo Castillo up at the front again for Enric Mas,
03:06and Joao Almeida, who conquered Anglerou last year.
03:14Movistar pacing the peloton, with the gap stretching out to five minutes,
03:18as they reached the first climb of the day, the Puerta de los Vilares, 10.5km at 5.4%.
03:25There was no Wamp Van Aert in the break,
03:27so Buetraga had a golden opportunity to tighten his grip on polka dots.
03:33Big acceleration from the Colombian in this polka dot jersey.
03:36He's got to be aware that Fortunato is coming across.
03:40But it is Buetraga who takes the five points at the top of the Puerta de los Vilares.
03:46Just after the summit, Kevin Vermarca, one of three UAE riders at the front with Almeida
03:51and birthday boy Ivo Oliveira, went on the attack.
03:55The American quickly putting around 20 seconds clear of the rest of the breakaway.
04:03And Vermarca grew that advantage to as much as a minute and a half,
04:06although the chasers began to reel him in again on the second climb,
04:09the Puerta de los Cubines, the 25-year-old who's still hunting his first professional win
04:14heading over the summit solo.
04:17But there were a number of riders on his tail,
04:20and one of them, Georg Steinhauser, soon caught up to Vermarca at the front.
04:26The German even dropping the American at the foot of Sierra de la Pandera,
04:30with the peloton now over seven minutes back, stage honours would go to the breakaway.
04:36Steinhauser soon had company in the shape of Guillaume Martin Guione,
04:39and others were fighting their way across to make it around a dozen at the front.
04:46Mario Aparicio from Burgos then made a big move,
04:48and while some riders were distanced, including Joao Almeida,
04:52others made their way back to the front,
04:54including Buetrago, Marco Brenner and Valentin Parépantre.
05:03Back in the peloton, the domestiques had done their job,
05:06and it was time for the leaders to face off.
05:08The top four, Mass, Roglic, Gal and Carapace, all together.
05:12As it happened, there were also four contenders for victory,
05:16Brenner, Buetrago, Ivan Sosa and Cristian Rodriguez.
05:20It's the turn of Felix Gall who now makes his move.
05:24Not quite a knockout blow from Gall as Mass was able to follow,
05:28but it left Roglic and Carapace on the ropes.
05:31Buetrago going for glory just before the Flamme Rouge,
05:33but he couldn't shake off Brenner.
05:35The Colombian and the German would fight it out for the victory.
05:40Now it's going to be a sprint of two.
05:43Buetrago takes a good glare at Brenner.
05:45Brenner gets the upper hand.
05:46Brenner gets the acceleration into the barriers.
05:49Buetrago can't respond at all.
05:51The former German champion comes in,
05:53puts it onto the big ring,
05:55rounds the final right-hand corner,
05:57kicks again, makes another acceleration.
06:00It's not over for Buetrago.
06:01Buetrago wanting to try and come back,
06:03but it's going to be Marco Brenner.
06:05Gritted teeth.
06:06Look at this.
06:08Coming into the finish of Sierra de la Pandera.
06:11It's a maiden grant all victory for Marco Brenner.
06:15Further back, Primoz Roglic was set to lose a bit of time to Felix Gall,
06:20but the Austrian couldn't get rid of Enric Mas.
06:22The Spaniard remains the top dog at this Vuelta.
06:34Marco Brenner taking his first Grand Tour stage victory in style,
06:38out sprinting the King of the Mountains
06:40on one of the race's toughest climbs,
06:42the so-called Angiru of the South.
06:44The 24-year-old German adding to his national title in 2024
06:48and overall victory at the Tour of Poland last month,
06:52a big day for Tudor Pro Cycling.
06:56You live for days like today, I guess.
07:00Yeah, but, I mean, there's not many cycles to achieve stage within a Grand Tour
07:04and to add this to my Palma race is really amazing.
07:14Brenner taking his fourth career win ahead of Buetrago,
07:18with Rodriguez, Saussure and Paré-Pintre completing the top five.
07:21Gall and Mass came in over four minutes down,
07:24putting around 30 seconds into Roglic and Carapace.
07:29Mass are now leads by over two minutes,
07:31with Gall moving ahead of Roglic into second place by just four seconds.
07:35After their day in the breakaway,
07:36Rodriguez and Berte climb to eighth and ninth.
07:41A quiet day for Wout van Aert for a change,
07:44but the Belgian still has a big lead in green.
07:47Buetrago didn't get the win today,
07:49but he did take 11 points towards the polka dot jersey.
07:52He now leads van Aert by 29.
07:57Oskar Onley and Jakob Omrozel finish together over a minute behind Mass,
08:01and they're still separated by 30 seconds at the top of the youth classification.
08:06The last stage of the second week will be another one for the punchers,
08:09and with high temperatures forecast, it's been shortened to 110 kilometres.
08:13Join us for that on Sunday, and thanks for watching.
