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Madrid: Thymen Arensman shrugged off the wreck of a breakaway on a tough climb in the tough Sierra Nevada on Sunday, while Remco Evenepoel lost more of his lead at the Vuelta.
Evenepoel lost a 52-second advantage at the end of Saturday’s stage and was again unable to keep up with his main rival at the end of the final ascent.
The Belgian lost just 15 seconds to second-placed Slovenian Primoz Roglic on the 152.6km stage 15, which ended at 2,513m, the highest altitude in the Vuelta.
“Very happy! I have almost nothing to lose,” said Enepool, who was riding a trot.
He added that Saturday was a bad day but “today was better”.
Arensman, a 22-year-old DSM Dutchman, was involved in a big breakout that broke down on the final ascent.
“I can’t believe, the Queen stage on the Vuelta,” said Arensman, who at 1.90m is unusually tall for a climber. “High-altitude Sierra Nevada. Everyone’s talking about this stage.”
“I didn’t feel good on this stage, but obviously other people felt their legs were stronger.”
Spanish veteran Marc Soler, who had won stage five, pulled away early on the final ascent of 22km, but Ahrensmann gave chase as the slopes got steeper and sprinted away.
“It looked like he was waiting for me,” Ahrensman said. “I was thinking ‘Mark Soller, he’s a great rider, I don’t know if I can take him.’
“But then I accelerated on the steepest part and he crashed. I was like ‘everyone is really at the limit, I might have something left’.”
Down the hill, Movistar’s Spaniard Enric Mas in third place had something.
He escaped from the elite class first and finished second 1 minute and 32 seconds behind the champion. Maas had 32 seconds on the Evenepoel, including the bonus.
Jumbo’s Roglic in second was on Evenepoel’s steering wheel and was late on the attack for most of the final hill, quickly giving up Evenepoel and gaining 15 seconds.
Evenepoel’s lead narrowed to 1:34, over three-time defending champion Roglic, with Mas’s lead of 2.01.
Still, the 22-year-old Quick Step rider, who, like Ahrensman, grew up at sea level in the Low Countries, took heart from the way he limited high-altitude losses.
“It’s the first time I’ve done something this high, so I think I’m doing really well,” he told broadcaster Eurosport while sipping a can of soda on a stationary bike.
“I had to do the whole climb and then Primoz attacked at 2k. It was his right but I did it well.”
Evenepoel fell on stage 12 on Thursday.
“I still feel the muscle stiffness from the crash, but it’s getting better every day,” he said. “I’m really glad it’s a day off tomorrow.”
After a day off, the riders hit the road again with a flat stage on Tuesday and some climbing on Wednesday before the peloton returned to the mountains.
Evenepoel said the hardest part is over.
“Now that it’s the third week, it’s a little different, the climb isn’t super super hard anymore,” he said.
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