Vuelta a España - Kenny Elissonde: You cannot do anything else, it’s like this
Aug 19 2021 05:05 am CET
Trek-Segafredo
Trek-Segafredo's Kenny Elissonde has taken the overall lead in the Vuelta a España after Rein Taaramäe was held back by the crash of the day.
It seemed like the fifth stage of the Spanish grand tour was going to be a calm day for the riders, but everything changed with 10 kilometres to go. There was a big crash in the pack that affected mainly riders like Romain Bardet, Mads Würtz Schmidt and Mikel Nieve, but that also caused a break in the pack.
The then GC leader, Rein Taaramäe, got stranded by the crash and lost the Red Jersey, that Kenny Elissonde then got. The Frenchman had mixed feelings about the way he managed to climb to the top of GC.
"I did not see the crash. I was in the top 10-15 positions at this moment. This is not the way I wanted to take the jersey. We know in cycling when there is wind there is risk. And you could lose it also with an echelon, so you have to be vigilant. Still, I don’t like it. It’s not a pleasure. But at the end of the day, you cannot do anything else, it’s like this."
It’s still incredible to wear this jersey as leader of a Grand Tour. After the Tour and the Olympics, I took it easy, and the team asked me if I could go to the Vuelta and just take it day by day. And look! That’s cycling. It’s incredible.
"I spoke with Rein this morning – because he crashed yesterday – and I said to him you are lucky it was in the last 3kms because you deserve the jersey and I would not have been that happy to have taken it in that way. And now, today, that happened.
Vuelta a España - Kenny Elissonde: You cannot do anything else, it’s like this https://t.co/WQ5NkVY4fI#LaVuelta21
— CyclingPub (@CyclingPub) August 18, 2021
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