Chapter 435 209: Super Battle Royale Mode, Reaping the Fisherman's Profit?

The first week of racing wasn't even over, and the top contenders from the various teams had already traded places in the standings several times.

However, after today's stage, the blow was undoubtedly greatest for UAE Team, the number one team on the World Tour.

This was because Almeida's sudden and abnormal collapse wasn't due to ordinary physical fatigue; rather, a post-race test revealed he had unfortunately contracted COVID.

Although this was the 2024 season and the virus was now considered about as serious as the flu, any rider who tested positive still had to withdraw from the race.

The circumstances were identical to when their rider Ayuso had to withdraw mid-race from the Tour de France after contracting COVID, but the implications were entirely different.

Because when Ayuso withdrew, he was, at the end of the day, just a support rider.

But here at the Vuelta a España, Almeida was their one and only Core Commander!

Now that their Core Commander had withdrawn, the team's highest-placed rider in the general classification wasn't even the replacement leader, Adam Yates, but another deputy rider: Sivakov.

Sivakov was currently in 20th place overall, nearly 8 minutes behind the leader, Huang Chong.

Just ahead of him was Bora Team's Core Deputy Commander, Vlasov.

As for Adam Yates, he was ranked 27th overall, one spot behind Almeida, and was already 9 minutes and 3 seconds behind Huang Chong.

With such a massive gap in the general classification, any thought of making a comeback to win the Red Jersey was pure fantasy.

Even if they brought in their strongest rider, Pogačar, there was no way Huang Chong would lose the race after building a nine-minute lead.

So, heading into the hardest and final mountain stage of the first week, the UAE Team immediately adjusted its tactics.

They sent Vine and Soler to help Adam Yates join the breakaway group.

The purpose of this tactical shift was crystal clear: the team wanted Adam Yates to pivot from competing for the general classification to fighting for a stage victory.

For a top-tier World Tour Team, cutting one's losses was crucial.

It was unthinkable for them to deploy such a powerful roster, know that the Red Jersey was essentially out of reach, and still stubbornly persist in that fight, only to risk ending the entire race with nothing to show for it.

Therefore, having Adam Yates go for the breakaway in Stage 9 was an exceptionally wise decision.

If he managed to win from the breakaway, it would not only achieve the team's new goal but also potentially slash his time deficit to the top ten in the overall standings—a classic case of killing two birds with one stone.

Of course, having a leader opt for a breakaway inevitably carried huge risks.

To win, a rider has to shake off all competitors and go solo for at least dozens of kilometers.

Considering the sheer difficulty of such a feat, especially on a brutally hard mountain stage, it was not something just any rider could accomplish.

The second half of Stage 9, in particular, was incredibly difficult.

If he were to crack again, it would be a cataclysmic blow to the entire UAE Team.

On Stage 9, the riders would race from Motril all the way to Granada.

The route covered 178.5 kilometers with a staggering total ascent of 4,486 meters.

The full course included three First Category Climbs.

However, the last two were part of a finishing circuit, meaning the same ascent would be climbed twice.

The summit of the first First Category Climb, the Puerto de El Purche Climb, was situated at the 97.5-kilometer mark.

It spanned 8.9 kilometers with an average gradient of 7.7% and a maximum gradient reaching 11.3%.

The summits of the two subsequent First Category Climbs on the circuit, known as the Hazallanas Climb, were located at the 125-kilometer and 156.5-kilometer marks, respectively.

This climb was shorter than the previous one, measuring 7.1 kilometers.

However, it was noticeably steeper, with an average gradient of a punishing 9.6% and a maximum gradient hitting a staggering 13.4%.

Only in the final 1.1 kilometers before the summit did the gradient ease slightly, dropping to around 6.5%.

Huang Chong was no stranger to the Hazallanas Climb.

This wasn't because he had trained here specifically for the Vuelta a España, but because his team had held their winter training camp in Spain last year and practiced mountain climbing right here.

Many teams came to train on the Hazallanas during their annual winter camps to prepare for the Grand Tours' mountain stages. As such, it was a mountain that most climbers on the World Tour were very familiar with.

Of course, in addition to the three major mountains, the first 50 kilometers of the stage, while at a lower altitude, were peppered with numerous shorter climbs.

For instance, there were three gradual ascents: one 5.1 kilometers long at an average gradient of 4.4%; another 7.1 kilometers long at 4.6%; and a third 6.6 kilometers long at 5%.

All in all, this was truly the most difficult stage of the Vuelta a España's first week.

Once the race began, a breakaway group of what could only be described as epic proportions for this year's Vuelta a España took shape.

In addition to the UAE Team sending a full contingent of three riders—Vine, Adam Yates, and Soler—other teams also dispatched their own key riders.

For example, Carapaz of the EF Education Team had finally made his move and joined the breakaway.

He brought along his teammates Darren Rafferty and James Shaw to work with him.

In addition, there were David Gaudu and Stefan King from the FDJ Team.

Pablo Castrillo from the Kern Pharma Team.

Chris Harper, Paolo Mikel, and Felix Engelhardt from the Jieke Team.

Mathias Vacek and Konrad Patrick from the Trek Team.

Óscar Rodríguez from the Ineos Grenadiers Team.

Torstein Træen from the Bahrain Victory Team.

Xandro Meurisse and Quinten Hermans from the Alpecin Team.

Jonathan Lastra, Jesús Herrada, and Rubén Fernández from the Cofidis Team.

Nélson Oliveira from the Movistar Team.

Jonas Gregor from the Lotto Team.

And Max Poole and Gijs Leemreize from Team DSM, among others.

Seeing a breakaway group of this magnitude, Huang Chong's first reaction, to be frank, was to be a bit stunned.

Not only was the group nearly the size of the peloton, but many teams had sent three riders up the road.

'Most importantly, today is a brutally difficult climbing stage. Why would so many riders choose to get in the break?'

Normally, breakaway specialists target hilly or medium-mountain stages for their attempts; winning from the break on a high-mountain stage like this is actually very difficult.

"Director, something feels off today, doesn't it? Why are so many riders going for the breakaway?"

Huang Chong voiced his concern to his sports director over the radio as soon as the race began.

Frankly, Aldag was a bit baffled himself.

He had anticipated that the UAE Team would try a new tactic, but he never imagined that the moment Adam Yates went on the attack, riders from all the other teams would swarm after him in a frenzy.

After a moment of thought, he replied:

"Don't worry about the breakaway. As long as none of the top-ten GC riders are in it, we just ride our own race.

In that group, only Adam Yates and Carapaz are capable of going all the way to the finish alone. You don't need to be too wary of the others.

Besides, both of them are way down in the general classification compared to you. If they make it to the finish and close the gap on the other GC riders, we can even let it happen, as long as your Red Jersey isn't threatened.

Even though the UAE Team has lost its leader, Almeida, it's actually a good thing for us if Adam Yates can claw his way into the top ten overall.

Let them fight it out. As long as they still have hope for a podium finish, they'll be the ones taking responsibility for pulling the peloton. We can just sit back and reap the benefits."

Hearing this, Huang Chong couldn't help but be impressed by Aldag's strategic mind.

'This guy really doesn't mind a chaotic race!'

But Aldag was right. A team like UAE would only come to the front and control the pace on a mountain stage if they still had a shot at a final podium position.

In any case, if his own team's support riders could get more rest, it was best to take advantage of that for as long as possible.

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