Vuelta a Espana 2023 Stage 12 LIVE: Kaden Groves eyeing hat-trick of sprint wins as Sepp Kuss defends red

“I don’t have too much to say. Jim [Janssens] did a fantastic job but in the end, we got bumped by UAE who came with momentum. And my chain actually dropped, so… I managed to get it on, and I think I showed a really strong sprint, but unfortunately it was too far back, too late.

“I’m super disappointed because it could have been win number three. But we’re still in the hunt for the points [jersey] which is also important for us.”

Sepp Kuss retained the red jersey ahead of tomorrow's summit showdown on the Tourmalet. The only small change among the favourites is fourth-place Primoz Roglic moving four seconds closer to his rival Remco Evenepoel and his team-mate Kuss - the Giro winner is now 1'32" down.

1. Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates)
2. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
3. Boy van Poppel (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty)
4. Rui Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates)
5. Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek)
6. Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost)
7. Alberto Dainese (Team dsm-firmenich)
8. Orluis Aular (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)
9. Hugo Page (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty)
10. Milan Menten (Lotto Dstny)

The Portuguese lead-out man was so strong that he took fourth place there behind team-mate Molano, the Australian Groves and Dutchman Boy van Poppel of Intermarche.

What a finish from UAE Team Emirates. They came from behind and took the right line around the last left-hand bend onto the home straight. Rui Oliveira pulled Molano through and launched him with gusto - and Groves not only had too much ground to make back, but also a gearing issue which condemned him to second place...

Everyone wants Kaden Groves' wheel - and Marijn van den Berg is fighting tooth and nail to hold it. Groves still has two Alpecin lead-out men with him... surely this one has his name all over it.

Kaden Groves' team-mates manage to muscle in after a couple of roundabouts - and they have taken the initiative once the GC teams drop back after the 3km marker. Geoffrey Soupe, meanwhile, is following the wheel of Pippo Ganna, while Lidl-Trek have riders near the front for Theuns. Molano is there, too - ditto Dainese.

They cover the river again and are heading into the centre of Zaragoza now. Four riders from EF are near the front now alongside Van Baarle of Jumbo. But it's hard to watch from the aerial cameras on account of the trees on the side of the road.

But that will soon change once the magic 3km mark has been passed. You can already see the boys in pink - EF Education-EasyPost - preparing to tee up Marijn van den Berg.

They're keeping their man in white, Remco Evenepoel, out of trouble so that he can be their man in red tomorrow. Or to that effect. Carlton Kirby is talking about washing machines - it's that kind of finish.

They're working for Alberto Dainese, who has won on the Giro before, but has been misfiring here in Spain. Hugo Page of Intermarche is also in the thick of it, and Hugo Hofstetter of Arkea-Samsic. Orlius Aular, the Venezuelan champ, has a couple of Caja Rural team-mates with him, too. But it's still Bahrain, who don't really have a sprinter, who dictate the tempo.

Things have eased up a touch after Bahrain Victorious took up the tempo-setting following the sprint. But it's also getting nervous with the GC riders flocking forward as well ahead of the 3km mark, while the teams of the sprinters help pave the way for their fast men.

It's the green jersey who extends his lead and warms up his legs with the 'win' at the intermediate sprint, with Primoz Roglic taking second place ahead of one of Evenepoel's team-mates. So, Roglic will take four seconds on the other GC favourites, which is a small victory of sorts. Who knows whether it will matter in the grand scheme of things... but every little helps.

They're all getting ready for the intermediate sprint in case one of their rivals has a pop. But it's Alpecin-Deceuninck who now take it up and string out the peloton accordingly...

He won the TT on Tuesday and then did his best to set up team-mate Thomas yesterday. Will Pippo Ganna try to do what he did last week in Stage 5 and beat Kaden Groves at his own game? The Italian powerhouse is on fine form and he could look to time trial his way clear in the last kilometre. It should be noted that Ganna won a bunch sprint in the Tour de Pologne and so it wouldn't be out of the blue, either.

With the breakaway neutralised that may spark some movement from the GC favourites at the intermediate sprint in Villanuega de Gallego coming up. There will be 6-4-2 bonus seconds up for grabs and we've seen Remco Evenepoel dip his toe in for less in the past. Of course, it's all small beer compared to the potential time gaps on the Tourmalet tomorrow, which is why the red jersey rivals may opt to keep their powder dry.

No one is denying that Kaden Groves is the outright favourite today - and it's not spitting in the Soupe to suggest that he and his Alpecin-Deceuninck team won't let lightning strike twice. But should he fail to complete his hat-trick it would be down to Juan Sebastian Molano. The Colombian came second in stage 4 and fourth in stage 7, but he won the last stage of last year's Vuelta in Madrid and had three wins to his name this year. Edward Theuns is probably the other likely sprinter to watch.

The Dutch lone ranger has been caught by the peloton on this sweeping, gradual descent from the top of that uncategorised climb. UAE have joined Alpecin-Deceuninck on the front of the pack, no doubt paving the way for their fast man Sebas Molano, who will look to go head to head with Kaden Groves for the win.