Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Unheralded French rider Bastien Tronchon has snatched victory in a sprint finish on stage 10 of the Vuelta a Espana.
After a 184km hilly ride through southern Spain from Alcaraz to Elche de la Sierra the pace quickened a kilometre before the finish line as Astana’s Yevgeni Fedorov broke clear alongside Xabier Azparren of Pinarello-Q36.5.
The pair built a brief lead but tactical jousting between them allowed the peloton to swallow them just before the finish line.
Out of the pack burst Tronchon to secure a victory that was as much as surprise to him as anyone.
Denmark’s Magnus Cort of Uno-X Mobility took second place and Belgian Thibau Nys of Lidl-Trek finished third. Azparren came sixth and Fedorov 12th.
Tronchon put his right hand to his helmet in shock crossing the line and sobbed tearfully when his Groupama-FDJ United teammates congratulated him.
The victory marked the 24-year-old’s first Grand Tour stage win and the third of his career.
“I launched my sprint and finished on the line – I wasn’t sure if there were some guys in front. I didn’t put my hands in the air,” Tronchon said.
“My preparation this year wasn’t very good so I didn’t expect this. I just had to trust the process, to race and go for it.”
Rudy Porter (Jayco Al-Ula) was the only Australian in the 68-strong bunch to be given Tronchon’s time.
Spain’s Enric Mas of Movistar retained the overall leader’s red jersey, finishing safely in 36th place in the main peloton.
He stays one minute, 18 seconds ahead of Primoz Roglic, the 36-year-old Slovenian who is chasing a record fifth Vuelta title. Felix Gall remains 1.39 back in third.
The Vuelta was upended Saturday when Tadej Pogacar, the leader and overwhelming favourite to win the three-week race, crashed out and fractured his left collarbone.
Tuesday’s stage crested three third-category climbs and let a seven-man breakaway, only one of them within an hour of Mas’s overall time, build a lead of more than two and a half minutes before bing reeled in.
Jack Haig is the highest paced Australian in general classification, lying 32nd, 38.48 behind Mas.
Wednesday’s stage 11 is a flat stage suiting the sprinters over 153.8km from Cartagena to Lorca. The Vuelta finishes in Granada on September. 13.
