Attacking Sivakov goes close

20 Aug 2021

Attacking Sivakov goes close

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Vuelta a Espana stage seven: Gandía › Balcón de Alicante, 152km.

Pavel Sivakov put in a tenacious stage-long attack from the break to finish third on stage seven of the Vuelta a Espana. 

Sivakov was part of a four-rider group that attacked the final climb, with Michael Storer (Team DSM) able to accelerate away from his fellow escapees on the Balcón de Alicante and seal victory. The Russian was active from kilometre zero and accrued mountain points throughout, meaning he was rewarded for his aggressive performance with the King of the Mountains jersey.

Behind, the GC battle saw Adam Yates and Richard Carapaz test their rivals’ condition with several attacks throughout the stage, with Yates pushing the pace on the final climb to finish with a small group of favourites and move into the top 10 overall.

Earlier on, Sivakov had escaped in a 20-rider breakaway which attacked a mountainous stage which was bookended category one climbs. The 24 year old was ever-present in the front of the break, collecting points for the mountain classification before really picking up the pace in the final 48 kilometres. 

He slowly shed his fellow escapees, and with just Storer and Lawson Craddock for company accelerated on the penultimate climb to go clear, only to suffer a dropped chain which helped Storer steal a march. Sivakov battled to catch his Australian rival and was able to reach him before the decisive Balcón de Alicante climb. 

However, Storer took the advantage on the gruelling nine kilometre ascent and won the stage from Carlos Verona (Movistar) who had caught the pair from behind. Sivakov finished third and will wear the polka dot jersey on stage eight after his 152km  climbing adventure.
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Pavel Sivakov

“I probably got a bit carried away in the first part of the race and then again in the final when there was three of us. Maybe I underestimated Storer a little bit and he was going really well.  I had a bit of bad luck when I dropped my chain on the second last climb and I wasn’t really happy to see him attacking when I did it! 

“So then I came back and he was not too keen to pull, but that’s the race and how it goes. But I think anyway, he was the best on the final climb which was really, really hard. 

"In the final I felt really good, but I had to do a big effort to come back to the front there and that probably cost me a little bit in the final climb. In such hot conditions you pay for any big effort and it was great to fight for the victory. 

"The whole team was really good. In the first part when the race exploded we were with numbers in the front and that was really good to see. Compared to all the other teams I think we were the most represented in the front.” 
Overall standings:

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 25:18:35
2. Felix Großschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe) +8"
3. Enric Mas (Movistar) +25"
4. Miguel Angel Lopez (Movistar) +26"
5. Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) +38"
6. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) +41"
10. Adam Yates (INEOS Grenadiers) +1:22"
16 Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) +2:48"