Time trial specialist Filippo Ganna blew away the rest of the field with a trademark time-trial display to win Stage 10 of the Vuelta a España 2023.
After a day of rest in the legs of the riders, the pan-flat route for this stage promised speed with only one 600 m climb.
So it was that Filippo Ganna flew around the course to take the stage victory.
It wasn’t a surprise that the former UCI World Time Trial champion performed well, but the manner with which he obliterated an early marker laid down by Stefan Bissegger (EF Education-EasyPost) was seriously impressive.
Riders rode into a long headwind before turning back and sprinting to the finish with a tailwind. This final stretch was where Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) really opened up to set his winning time and leave everyone in his wake, completing the 25.8k route in 27 minutes and 39 seconds.
“I’m really happy. After the Giro d’Italia, trying to win here is my goal, my dream. Today we did that. Now we think about how to end this Vuelta. We’ve got another two weeks on the front, so we’ll try again in the road stages. I’d like that,” said Ganna.
“The course was really nice and the weather was too, so I enjoyed it all.”
Battle Of The GC Riders
Elsewhere, the field of general classification (GC) riders was stacked with time trial talent.
Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) rode the time trial of his career at the Tour de France, with other riders such as Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) and current UCI World Champion Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) looking to put in strong performances.
Despite sprinting off the starting ramp, Vingegaard struggled to maintain the speed other riders were producing, finishing over a minute behind Ganna.
Remco Evenpoel also looked very zoned in and was only one second behind Roglic at the same Intermediate stage.
By the second Intermediate, Evenpoel had overtaken Roglic in the hunt for Ganna and the pursuit of Sepp Kuss.
In the end, Evenepoel crossed the line to take second place, 16 seconds behind Ganna, with Roglic in third 36 seconds behind.
Sepp Kuss Retains The Red Jersey
One of the major questions of the day was whether Sepp Kuss could hold on to the red jersey.
Not being renowned for his time trial abilities, Kuss was at risk of losing a lot of time to the other GC riders such as Evenepoel and Roglic.
As the last rider to begin his time trial, Kuss would have been aware that Evenepoel and Roglic had started strongly.
In the end, he rode excellently, a respectable 89 seconds down on Ganna – but more importantly, he only lost 72 seconds to Evenepoel and retained the red jersey.
After the race, Evenepoel heaped praise on Kuss while assessing the tactics of team Jumbo-Visma.
“I think they [Jumbo-Visma] told him to go all-out today and not lose too much time, because of course, they want to play the game with the three leaders.
“I think he did a very good job and, like I say, a big chapeau to him. I was pretty surprised when I saw his finish. But in the end, it’s still a very long Vuelta and [there are] many more opportunities to come.”
Vuelta A España 2023: Stage 10 Results
- GANNA Filippo (ITA/INEOS Grenadiers): 0:27:39
- EVENEPOEL Remco (BEL/Soudal-QuickStep): + 0:16
- ROGLIČ Primož (SLO/Jumbo-Visma): + 0:36
- ALMEIDA João (POR/UAE Team Emirates): + 0:50
- VLASOV Aleksandr (BORA-hansgrohe): + 0:52
- CATTANEO Mattia (ITA/Soudal-Quick Step): + 1:09
- AYUSO Juan (SPA/UAE Team Emirates): + 1:11
- SOLER Marc (SPA/UAE Team Emirates): + 1:12
- OLIVEIRA Nelson (POR/Movistar Team): Same time
- VINGEGAARD Jonas (DEN/Jumbo-Visma): + 1:18
Vuelta A España 2023: General Classification Standings After Stage 10:
- KUSS Sepp (USA/Jumbo-Visma): 35:52:38
- SOLER Marc (SPA/UAE Team Emirates): + 0:26
- EVENEPOEL Remco (BEL/Soudal-QuickStep): + 1:09
- ROGLIČ Primož (SLO/Jumbo-Visma): + 1:36
- MARTINEZ Lenny (FRA/Groupama-FDJ): + 2:02
- ALMEIDA João (POR/UAE Team Emirates): + 2:16
- VINGEGAARD Jonas (DEN/Jumbo-Visma): + 2:22
- AYUSO Juan (SPA/UAE Team Emirates): + 2:25
- MAS Enric (SPA/Movistar): + 2:50
- VLASOV Aleksandr (BORA-hansgrohe): + 3:14
Vuelta A España Jerseys After Stage 10:
Red Jersey: Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma)
Green Jersey: Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Polka-Dot Jersey: Eduardo Sepúlveda (Lotto Dstny)
White Jersey: Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep)
