Britain’s Hugh Carthy claimed his first Grand Tour stage win on stage 12 of the Vuelta a Espana, as Richard Carapaz retook the overall lead after a gruelling final ascent on the Angliru.
EF Pro Cycling rider Carthy, 26, distanced a trio of Aleksandr Vlasov, Enric Mas and Ineos Grenadiers’ Carapaz in the final two kilometres to win by 16 seconds and move to third overall.
Ecuador’s Carapaz sits 10 seconds clear of former leader Primoz Roglic.
Ireland’s Dan Martin dropped to fourth.
“It’s a dream come true to win any race but to win in a Grand Tour, on a mythical climb, it doesn’t get any better than that,” Carthy said.
The Lancashire rider added: “It’s hard to put into words. It’s exciting. We have a close race going into the time trial. Everything is still to play for.”
Carapaz and Jumbo-Visma’s Roglic began the day level on time, with Roglic wearing the leader’s jersey on Sunday based on better stage placings.
Starting in Pola de Laviana, the mountainous 109km stage included five categorised climbs – and three first category ascents on the Mozqueta, Cordal and the Angliru.
The finish at the top of the challenging Angliru saw the riders endure a 12.4km ascent at 9.9%, with the final seven kilometres averaging a gradient of 13% – rearing up to 23.5% at its steepest section.
Two-time winner Chris Froome pushed the pace for Ineos on the penultimate climb but it was Jumbo-Visma who took charge on the Angliru until only seven riders – including the top-five in the general classification – remained at the front.
Tour de France runner-up Roglic, winner of three stages so far, had team-mate Sepp Kuss in support but could not respond as Carapaz moved clear.
And it was Carthy who had the most left to give as the Englishman stormed to a memorable victory that takes him to within 32 seconds of the race lead.
Monday is the second rest day of the race before Tuesday’s Stage 13 33.7km individual time trial from Muros, which ends with a category three ascent of the Mirador do Ezaro.
Riders issue statement after Saturday’s protest
A statement supported by the “entire peloton” was released prior to Sunday’s stage, after the start of Stage 11 on Saturday was delayed by a protest led by Ineos Grenadiers.
Roglic was retrospectively awarded the overall lead after bursting clear to win Friday’s stage 10, with organisers later changing the initial three-second cut-off on the final climb to the usual one-second gap found on mountain-top finishes.
The change placed Roglic three seconds ahead of Carapaz – then in the red jersey – overall, prompting Ineos team-mate Froome to lead a protest as the whole peloton waited in support.
“Two days ago, during Stage 10, the UCI jury made changes to the time gap rules without consulting or informing teams or riders,” the statement said.
“The riders and teams spent months researching stages extensively and a lot of work goes into team strategy on a daily basis to put lead riders or possible stage contenders into the best position possible.
“While we have no issues with the rules being implemented, we object to the fact that the major stakeholders – riders and teams – were not informed of this critical change by the UCI jury.
“The protest towards the situation includes not only the team that lost the jersey due to this ruling, but the team that gained the jersey. It is supported by the entire peloton of La Vuelta 2020. The rules need to be applied in a just and swift manner to allow for a fair race outcome.”
Stage 12 result
1. Hugh Carthy (GB/EF Pro Cycling) 3hrs 8mins 40secs
2. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus/Astana) +16secs
3. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) same time
4. Richard Carapaz (Ecu/Ineos Grenadiers)
5. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Jumbo-Visma) +26 secs
6. Sepp Kuss (US/Jumbo-Visma) same time
7. Dan Martin (Ire/Israel Start-Up Nation)
8. Wout Poels (Ned/Bahrain-McLaren) +1min 35secs
9. Michael Woods (Can/EF Pro Cycling) same time
10. Felix Grossschartner (Aut/Bora-Hansgrohe) +2mins 15secs
General classification after stage 12
1. Richard Carapaz (Ecu/Ineos Grenadiers) 48hrs 29mins 27secs
2. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Jumbo-Visma) +10secs
3. Hugh Carthy (GB/EF Pro Cycling) +32secs
4. Dan Martin (Ire/Israel Start-Up Nation) +35secs
5. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +1min 50secs
6. Wout Poels (Ned/Bahrain-McLaren) +5mins 13secs
7. Felix Grossschartner (Aut/Bora-Hansgrohe) +5mins 30secs
8. Alejandro Valverde (Spa/Movistar) +6mins 22secs
9. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus/Astana) +6mins 41secs
10. Mikel Nieve (Spa/Mitchelton-Scott) +6mins 42secs
