Corbin Strong sprinted to third place on stage 14 of the Vuelta a España after teammate Marco Frigo animated the stage with a daring breakaway attempt.
“I thought this was a really good stage for me,” Strong said after the finish line and revealed; “I have been battling a bit of sickness since the first rest day, and I haven’t had the best legs, so it was really nice to be up there today.”
The stage started at a furious pace, with countless attacks and counterattacks. Having picked today as a good day to try his luck from a breakaway, Frigo was eager to make it into the right group. And he did just that.
Unfortunately, the peloton never let the break get a gap of more than a few minutes, and towards the top of the final climb, it all came back together. From here on, the IPT riders rallied around Strong to set him up for the final sprint.
“The team was great, and George Bennett did a really good job in the final kilometers. Unfortunately, I lost a few positions in the run-in to the last corner, so I had to start my sprint from seventh or eighth wheel.
“I’m really happy with my third place, but I would have had a much better chance of winning had I started my sprint on the wheel of Van Aert [2nd] or Groves [1st]. Hopefully, I can improve my positioning in the coming days and have another shot at it.”
Today’s third place is Strong’s second podium spot in this year’s Vuelta a España. Bennett remains the best-placed IPT rider in the general classification, in 12th place.
