Wout Poels Surprises with Sprint Victory in Stage 20 of La Vuelta
Bahrain Victorious rider Wout Poels pulled off an impressive victory in Stage 20 of La Vuelta, out-sprinting his rivals and beating favorite Remco Evenepoel by a few centimeters on the line. Poels made a bold move, launching his sprint earlier than planned but strategically taking the perfect apex on the last corner to secure the win.
The stage featured a challenging parcours with ten category 3 climbs and over 4000 meters of elevation gain, resembling a Belgian classic like Liege-Bastone-Liege, a race Poels has previously won. Poels formed part of a 19-rider breakaway that eventually whittled down to just five riders. They worked well together to ensure the winner would come from their group.
In the final kilometers of the race, Poels seized the opportunity and attacked 300 meters from the finish line. He navigated the last corner flawlessly and successfully held off Evenepoel’s late charge. This marks Poels’ second Grand Tour victory of the year, following his stage 15 win in the Tour de France.
The General Classification remained unchanged, with Mikel Landa maintaining his fifth position and Santiago Buitrago holding on to tenth. Sepp Kuss is expected to be crowned the champion of La Vuelta 2023 in Madrid on the final day, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Reflecting on his win, Poels expressed his joy and the challenges he faced throughout the day. He praised the efforts of his teammate, Antonio Tiberi, who helped him stay out of the wind. Poels also mentioned his decision to attack earlier than planned, crediting his “race feeling” for the successful sprint.
The victory in Stage 20 was a long-awaited achievement for Bahrain Victorious, and lead Sports Director Neil Stephens was thrilled with the team’s performance. He acknowledged the difficulty of achieving a GC attack but commended the efforts of the team in supporting Poels and Tiberi in the breakaway. Stephens highlighted Poels’ tactical decision-making and overall form, describing the win as “fantastic” and a great way to end La Vuelta.
