La Vuelta 2022: Kaden Groves grabs Stage 11 to heal BikeExchange-Jayco pain from Simon Yates' Covid exit

Team BikeExchange-Jayco bounced back in the best way possible from the Covid withdrawal of leader Simon Yates by launching sprinter Kaden Groves to a maiden Grand Tour stage win in Cabo di Gata on the Costa del Almeria. Groves benefited from a flawless lead-out as he latched onto the wheels of Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) and Daniel McLay (Arkea-Samsic) to power clear on the home straight of Stage 11 before holding off Danny van Poppel (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Deceuninck) for a stunning win.

Ad The win was the perfect tonic for BikeExchange-Jayco, who are embroiled in a dogged relegation battle to retain their WorldTour status – a battle made distinctively harder by the enforced withdrawal of Yates, who entered the stage in fifth place in the general classification. Vuelta a EspañaCovid withdrawals could be 'disastrous' for Vuelta — Lloyd2 HOURS AGO Green jersey Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) could only take fifth place in the largely flat 191km stage in Andalusia in southern Spain – although the Dane extended his lead in the green jersey competition to almost 100 points over his nearest rival, Remco Evenepoel, the race leader.

Belgium’s Evenepoel finished safely in the peloton to retain his 2’41” lead over the triple champion Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) but the red jersey was dealt a blow after influential team-mate Julian Alaphilippe crashed out. The French world champion dislocated his shoulder in a fall around 60km from the finish and was taken to hospital, putting the rest of what was already a troubled season very much in the balance.

But the day belonged to 23-year-old Groves, who came of age with a masterful sprint just when his team needed it most. “It feels fantastic,” a thrilled