Vuelta a Espana 2023: Wout Poels denies Remco Evenepoel in thrilling sprint as Sepp Kuss closes in on Grand Tour title

Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) claimed his first Vuelta stage win at the age of 35, denying Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step) a fourth win at this year’s race.

Poels took Stage 20 in a sprint finish as he saw off the challenge of Evenepoel, Pelayo Sanchez (Burgos-BH), Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Dstny) and Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) who all peeled away from the breakaway on the final climb.

Outgoing champion Evenepoel has performed admirably since his general classification dreams went up in smoke but was outsmarted in the end, and unable to finish with a fourth stage win.

The longest day of the 2023 edition, ahead of Sunday's Madrid procession, was set up as a 208km classic-style Vuelta finale. The parcours the riders were faced with was spoken as bearing comparison with Liege-Bastogne-Liege - albeit some 50km shorter, making the 4200m of climbing across the 10 categorised climbs even more concentrated and attritional.

The first of those 10 coming at kilometre zero meant the battle to get into the break was always going to be an intense one. Nonetheless, with Jumbo-Visma having all but wrapped up the podium, the Dutch team was happy to allow a large group containing almost anyone slip away. Evenepoel was again given licence to roam, with the king of the mountains able to take three team-mates with him for company and assistance.

A total of 31 riders made up the group of escapees by the time Jumbo moved to the front to signal a general easing in the peloton. All the same, they weren't prepared to allow the breakaway's advantage to blow up, but rather it was permitted to establish itself slowly over the first half of the stage, and settle at around 4:30. There was also the impression that the breakers didn't want to over-exert themselves on a day when it seemed inevitable one of them would win it.

Evenepoel having sewn up the mountains competition, there was no battle for points, and the riders simply rolled over the summits of each category three climb. An inner circuit meant three of the hills would be tackled twice, before the route would veer off towards the finish. The final climb containing steeper ramps than all the rest meant it was likely any attacks would come late, but it was nevertheless surprising that there were no moves made to reduce the group before 71km to go.

Ben Zwiehoff (Bora Hansgrohe) was the rider to make the first challenge to the Remco supremacy, on the second passage of the Alto de Santa Maria de la Alameda. It was noble but doomed as Evenepoel saw that as the time to gather his troops and seize control of the situation. First James Knox was set to work, followed by Louis Veraeke, Mateo Cattaneo and finally, fourth in line, Evenepoel himself.

Into the final third of the race, and as the breakaway headed off the circuit, Soudal-Quickstep set such a hard pace as to make any attacks all but impossible. Only the final climb contained gradients that would be worth it for the likes of Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) or Rui Costa (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) to attack.

The stage seemed set for the sort of Evenepoel demolition we've seen so many times before, but as the Belgian lost his last domestique, it was veteran Wout Poels who swung the sledgehammer. The Dutchman's attack, halfway up the 4.5km Alto San Lorenzo de El Escorial, as the road was at its steepest and the corridor of spectators at their most intense, was so ferocious that at first only Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny) was able to follow it. Soler and Pelayo Sanchez (Burgos-BH) were not so distanced as to be completely out of it but it looked, at least at first, as if Evenepoel did not have the legs.

Somehow, however, as the gradients eased the 23-year-old fought his way back into contention. He was still some way off over the top of the climb but used his aerodynamic advantage on the descent to not only get back on terms but to even briefly sail straight past the four at the front.

Soler kept Evenepoel from disappearing completely and a five-man group made their way towards the finish. No-one wanted any more riders to join them, so the quintet maintained a reasonable level of cohesion and cooperation into the barriers demarcating the finish. From a five-up sprint Evenepoel's powerful kick made him the favourite but the experience of Poels proved every bit as valuable.

Poels positioned himself at the back of the group as Van Eetvel was allowed to lead through the snaking turns and through the flamme rouge. He chose the final corner to launch his jump, pulling out of the line and carrying enough speed through the left-hander to at once give himself a seven-metre lead.

It was enough, and he held it as the road continued to rise. Evenepoel had tried to respond but it was only as he came over the small crest that he was he able to tuck himself down, gain an aerodynamic advantage over the taller man, and start to get back on terms. Had the finish line been a few metres further away, the Belgian might have managed it, but his throw for the line was to no avail.

Red jersey holder Sepp Kuss rode safely home to retain the lead, flanked by Jumbo-Visma team-mates, Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard.

Sunday's Madrid finale being a flat stage, where the race lead is traditionally not in play, means Kuss is all but sure to be this year's Vuelta champion.

"I'm super relieved," the American said. "I'm still recovering from that last climb but [we've] almost made it. it was perfectly in control thanks to the guys in the beginning. Robert [Gesink] and Dylan {Van Baarle] were pulling for 90% of the stage. It was a long hard stage and they were out there all day, so big hats off to them. They were amazing. Attila [Walter] was there on the last climb, and Primoz did a lot of work for me on the flat with Jonas."

"It was a super special moment to be able to relax that much in the last kilometre of a mountain stage with your two team-mates. It was really cool, but it hasn't sunk it yet."

Kuss will become the first rider in history to be on the same team as two Grand Tour winning riders, and then to win one himself, in the same season.

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