Carapaz seals polka dots, Carlos seventh at Vuelta

The Vuelta a Espana concluded on Sunday in Madrid as Richard Carapaz secured the polka dot jersey and Carlos Rodriguez wrapped up seventh place overall.

 

For Carapaz it was the end to a memorable race that produced three stage victories and the mountains classification in his final Grand Tour for the team.

 

The Ecuadorian’s performance on Saturday’s penultimate stage personified the team’s never give up attitude, as did the brave battling ride of Rodriguez. The Spanish champion crashed hard earlier this week and has been forced to battle through the remainder of his debut Grand Tour. Riding as high as fourth throughout the second week, the young Grenadier demonstrated what an incredible talent he is.
 
With just one second separating him from sixth place, and despite being battered and bruised, Rodriguez and the team still attempted to sprint for bonus seconds as the race arrived on the streets of Madrid.

 

Fellow Grand Tour rookie Luke Plapp used the following lull as a chance to launch clear, linking up with Julius Johansen (Intermarche-Wanty) to great effect as the laps ticked off. The two powerful youngsters opened out a gap and made the sprinters work hard for their bunch sprint, finally caught with just 800 metres to go. Ben Turner, also completing his debut Grand Tour, sprinted to ninth at the line.

Carapaz (14th) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (19th) both came home inside the top 10 on GC. Dylan van Baarle crossed the line alongside Rodriguez in Madrid, with Turner and Plapp happy to finish their first Grand Tour. Ethan Hayter and Pavel Sivakov were sadly unable to complete the race after registering positive lateral flow tests.