Bastien Tronchon claimed a surprise La Vuelta stage 10 victory after a chaotic finish in which the leading sprint teams failed to establish control.
The French rider, representing Groupama-FDJ United, surged past late attackers Yevgeniy Fedorov and Xabier Mikel Azparren with only around 50 metres remaining on the 184.7km route from Alcaraz to Elche de la Sierra.
Magnus Cort of Uno-X Mobility finished second, with Lidl-Trek’s Thibau Nys third. Wout van Aert was fourth after the Visma-Lease a Bike train helped close the gap to the breakaway in the closing kilometres.
Fedorov and Azparren had attacked inside the final kilometre and looked capable of holding on, but their move was finally swallowed up on the finishing straight. Tronchon then produced the strongest acceleration in a disorganised sprint to secure the biggest win of his career.
The stage marked Tronchon’s first victory in a Grand Tour. The 24-year-old had already won a stage of the Vuelta a Burgos in 2022, but had not previously taken a victory at cycling’s three-week races.
Enric Mas safely finished with the main group to retain the race leader’s red jersey. La Vuelta continues on Wednesday, September 2, with a flatter stage from Cartagena to Lorca.
