Vuelta a España 2023

Stage 19 – La Bañeza > Íscar (177.5km)

Scheduled start: 13:15 CET

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Stage 18 Result

1st Remco Evenepoel (4/1F)

2nd Damiano Caruso (40/1)

3rd Andreas Kron (50/1)

4th Max Poole (33/1)

Stage 18 Bets

Remco Evenepoel 3pts win @4/1 – 1st

Jonas Vingegaard 1pt win @14/1

Marc Soler 1pt each way (4 places) @22/1

Damiano Caruso 1pt each way (4 places) @40/1 – 2nd

Once in the break, Evenepoel never looked in trouble and won at a canter. An excellent second place for Caruso delivered a welcome 1-2 for the picks and a full five caps on the chapeau-meter. Interestingly, Evenepoel said in the pre-race interview that the plan was to get up the road with teammates and help one of them win the stage rather than take the win himself, so it’s maybe an idea to look for a price on Cattaneo and Vervaeke for Saturday. Though of course, that might have been a load of nonsense.

Meanwhile, following a massive backlash, Jumbo-Visma did the right thing and supported Kuss who, barring disaster, should now win this year’s Vuelta a España.

Stage 19 Preview

As we make our way towards Madrid, those fast men who have survived the mountains without too much fatigue are given another opportunity for a win on a flat stage that should end in a sprint finish. A disruptor could be the wind; however, the forecast suggests it won’t be strong enough to cause echelons.

The final isn’t too technical – there’s a right-hander 2km out, otherwise it’s a flat run to the line. At this stage in a Grand Tour, a breakaway always has a chance given the tiredness in the peloton, but that tiredness can work the opposite way in that quite a few riders will fancy a day off and will be desperate to see Sunday.

Stage 19 Contenders

Kaden Groves (6/5; 2.20) dropped his chain and ran up the backside of his leadout man on stage 12, missing out on the chance of a third sprint win. Alpecin-Deceuninck had done a perfect job up to that point and he showed just how much speed he’s got by still getting up for second from a virtual standing start. The green jersey wearer will be desperate to put things right here and is a strong favourite to do so.  

Juan Sebastián Molano (10/3; 4.33) led by an excellent Rui Oliveira got the jump on Alpecin in that finish and given they don’t have the resources for a long train, something similar will be the plan here. Molano has the speed, but any value appears to have gone from his price.

Filippo Ganna (9/1; 10.00) may fancy mixing it this time given that the final isn’t too technical and Ineos Grenadiers’ need to at least try to take every opportunity of a stage win for the rest of the Vuelta. He may even get help from some heavy hitters like Castroviejo and Thomas.

Alberto Dainese (11/2; 6.50) has a fourth and a seventh from the sprints so far which is a poor return for one of the fastest men on the startlist. Poor legs and positioning appear to be the reasons, which isn’t ideal, and the price looks far too short.

Marijn van den Berg (16/1; 17.00) was a little hampered again in the stage 12 sprint – it would be interesting to see how close Van den Berg could get with a clear run. As probably the best climber out of the sprinters, the mountains shouldn’t have fatigued him as much as his rivals and that price looks attractive again.

Edward Theuns (22/1; 23.00) has consistently been in the mix with a couple of thirds and two more top 10s, but on a flat finish, you’re probably just playing for the place.

If Alpecin-Deceuninck can repeat their excellent stage control and leadout from stage 12 – which isn’t guaranteed as they’re now two men down – then Groves, with a clear run and free of mishaps, should win.

Stage 19 Bets

Kaden Groves 3pts win @6/5

Posted 21:17 BST Thu 14th Sept 2023

Prices to win the stage (in brackets) are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change - find the best prices available on the Vuelta a España at Oddschecker

[Vuelta a España stage profiles reproduced by kind permission of Ben Lowe at Veloviewer.com]

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