Fabio Jakobsen powered through the wind to take his second win in La Vuelta 21 on Saturday, at the end of stage 8. The Dutch sprinter enjoyed a perfect lead-out from his Deceuninck-Quick Step companions to claim victory ahead of Alberto Dainese (Team DSM) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix).
The peloton split on some occasions but Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) survived the traps of the day to retain La Roja on the eve of a brutal mountain stage with a summit finish on the Alto de Velefique.
After a couple of summit finishes, the 176 riders left in La Vuelta 21 return to a flat, wind-exposed, terrain as they roll from Santa Pola. Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH), Aritz Bagües (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Mikel Iturria (Euskaltel-Euskadi) quickly make the break of the day and open a 3’45’’ gap before Deceuninck-Quick Step send a man at the front of the bunch, 15km into the stage, to try and ensure a bunch sprint for Fabio Jakobsen at the end of the day.
Jasper Philipsen’s Alpecin-Fenix also work at the front of the bunch. The breakaway’s lead is down to 2 minutes as they enter the final 100km of the day, and even one minute at the intermediate sprint of Cartagena (km 104.5), dominated by Aritz Bagües ahead of his two breakaway companions, and Philipsen, defending his green jersey ahead of Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ).
Battling through the wind
Astana-Premier Tech put the hammer down with 37km to go. The early attackers are quickly caught and the pack briefly splits, but everyone gets back together 30km away from the finish.
The peloton stay together all the way to the finish with a high speed and lots of tension. Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH) tries to surprise the sprinters with an attack into the last 2km. But with a headwind, it’s all about timing and Fabio Jakobsen enjoys a perfect lead-out to take victory ahead of Alberto Dainese (Team DSM) and Jasper Philipsen.
That’s his second stage victory in La Vuetla 21, already matching his record from 2019. Meanwhile, climbers get ready to shine on Sunday up the Alto de Velefique. – www.lavuelta.es
