Two and a half weeks after the Aqua Blue Sport squad became the first Irish team in history to start one of cycling's three Grand Tours, Stefan Denifl propelled them to the top of the podium on Wednesday's tough mountain stage to the Alto de los Machucos.
The Austrian went clear early on in a break of six riders. They built a maximum lead of over nine minutes and still had a solid buffer starting the day’s final climb.
Behind, the general classification battle was raging but Denifl had just one target in mind: taking the stage win. He dropped the others and kept calm when news came through that three-time Vuelta winner Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) had dropped the other riders and was chasing hard.
Contador whittled away Denifl’s lead but the Austrian had enough time in hand to reach the finish line 28 seconds clear of the Spaniard.
“I had super, super legs today,” he said. “I waited all La Vuelta for this day. I paced myself until today and I went all-in.”
Prior to the start of the race Aqua Blue Sport owner Rick Delaney said that a stage win was the target. That remained the case for the Corkman, even after one of his team’s big hopes, Larry Warbasse, had to end his campaign due to a fractured hand. His exit was a blow to the squad, and so too an attack by a local arsonist that saw the team bus destroyed last Thursday in Almeria.
“It’s just amazing for the team, for Aqua Blue,” said Denifl, reflecting on what he has done. “It’s our first Grand Tour and we win a stage… I’m over the moon! You always have to believe you’ll win. When I felt my legs [earlier in the day], I was like ‘oh my God, this is super good.’ And I just kept on pushing.
“The climb was perfect for me. There were bits of flat to recover. Now I’ve won a stage at La Vuelta… It’s amazing. It’s the best day of my cycling life.”
Contador is one of the best climbers in the history of the sport and holding him off adds to the achievement. The Spaniard’s chase made for nervous moments amongst the team staff, but Denifl had enough in the legs to hold on.
Colombian rider Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana), who had been with Contador initially, finished one minute and four seconds back in third. He led in a chase group containing Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) and Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe).
Overnight leader Chris Froome suffered an off day after Tuesday's time trial success. He was distanced on the climb and trailed in 14th, one minute and 46 seconds behind Denifl. He was one minute 18 seconds behind Contador, and 42 seconds adrift of the Lopez group.
As a result his lead over Nibali is down to one minute 16 seconds, with Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) remaining third but closing slightly to two minutes 13 seconds.
For Aqua Blue Sport, though, the stage win is the story of the day. That’s also the case for Irish cycling, which has enjoyed success in the event in the past. These include Shay Elliott’s two stage wins and third overall, Sean Kelly’s overall victory in 1988 plus more recent stage wins by Nicolas Roche and Dan Martin.
Meanwhile Dutch rider Belle de Gast (WV Breda) was best on the opening day of the An Post Rás na mBan on Wednesday, winning a bunch sprint up the main street of Gowran, Co Kilkenny. She beat Alice Barnes (Team GB) Typhaine Laurence (Team Breizh Ladies), plus the rest of the bunch.
The stage featured constant attacking but no move was able to stay clear until the end. Mel Lowther (Great Britain) was last to try but was caught before de Gast made her winning sprint. Best of the Irish was Eve McCrystal (Garda CC), who placed 12th and consequently leads the Kilkenny County Council Best County Rider Classification. Laura Massey of the Isle of Man is the leader of the Wicklow 200 Queen of the Mountains Classification.
