After the demanding summit finish on the Sierra de la Pandera, Gall now sits 2:06 behind race leader Enric Mas. His advantage over Roglič is just four seconds, but the 28-year-old has firmly established himself as one of the key figures in the battle for the podium.
Gall attacks as Roglič loses ground
Stage 14 from Jaén to the Sierra de la Pandera covered 154.5 kilometres and more than 4,300 metres of climbing. A large breakaway group fought for the stage victory while the general classification contenders initially kept a close eye on each other. On the final kilometres of the last ascent, however, the race suddenly came to life.
Gall launched his attack with around two kilometres remaining. Mas was able to follow the Austrian, while Roglič could no longer hold the pace. Gall and the red jersey wearer kept the pressure on and took around 25 seconds out of the Slovenian. That was enough for Gall to overturn his previous deficit to Roglič and move ahead of him in the overall standings.
“I’m super happy that I was able to gain a few seconds at the end and that the form is there,” Gall said after the stage. At the same time, he pointed to the growing fatigue and the extreme heat of recent days. With the third week still to come, the Decathlon leader did not want to take unnecessary risks too early.
Mas once again showed no signs of weakness. The Spaniard later praised the tactics of his Movistar team. When Roglič began to struggle on the final climb, Movistar immediately increased the pace, allowing Mas not only to defend the red jersey but also to extend his overall advantage.
Brenner celebrates breakthrough Grand Tour win
The stage victory, meanwhile, went to Marco Brenner. The 24-year-old German emerged from the large breakaway group and edged out Santiago Buitrago in the closing metres. It was Brenner’s first stage win at a Grand Tour and also Tudor’s first stage victory in one of cycling’s three major tours.
Gall and Mas crossed the line more than four minutes later, but they had won the race that mattered to them against Roglič, Richard Carapaz and the other general classification contenders. Carapaz is now fourth, 4:24 behind Mas, while Oscar Onley follows at 5:44.
Mühlberger’s withdrawal a major setback
Gall’s progress is all the more impressive because Mas had delivered a strong attack on Stage 12 to Calar Alto. The Spaniard gained 27 seconds on both Gall and Roglič and extended his lead, while 20-year-old Slovenian Jakob Omrzel claimed the stage victory.
The overall standings remained unchanged on Stage 13, when Wout van Aert celebrated his first win of this Vuelta. For Gall, however, there was a significant setback: his compatriot and most important mountain domestique Gregor Mühlberger crashed and was forced to abandon the race. Mühlberger had himself been inside the top ten overall and had played a crucial supporting role for Gall in the mountains.
A second Grand Tour podium of the year within reach
Despite losing his most important helper, Gall is now in an excellent position. Earlier this year, the Austrian finished second overall at the Giro d’Italia behind Jonas Vingegaard. He could now claim a second Grand Tour podium within the space of just a few months.
There is still a full week of racing to come, however. The 32-kilometre individual time trial on Stage 18 could once again reshape the general classification and is likely to suit Roglič in particular.
First comes Sunday’s Stage 15 to Córdoba, which has been shortened because of extreme heat. Instead of the originally planned 189.7 kilometres, the riders will cover just 110.2 kilometres. Gall’s main objective will be to protect his new second place without losing time before the second rest day.
The decisive week
The Vuelta continues until Sunday, September 13. After Sunday’s 15th stage, Monday brings the second and final rest day before six more stages are contested from Tuesday through Sunday.
The 32.1-kilometre individual time trial on Thursday and the demanding Stage 20 to Collado del Alguacil on Saturday are likely to be particularly important for the general classification, before the race concludes in Granada on Sunday.
