Michael Storer (Team DSM) rode solo for the final 19 kilometres to win stage 10 of the Vuelta a España. Mauri Vansevenant (Deceuninck-QuickStep) led a chasing group of four riders into Rincón de la Victoria 22 seconds later and finished second, with Clément Champoussin (AG2R Citroën Team) securing third. While Dylan van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers) was fourth, the rider placing fifth, Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), took over the general classification lead once the chaos behind him settled.
Stage 10 featured 189 kilometres along Spain's southern coast starting in Roquetas de Mar. With mostly flat terrain for the first 169km, the final segment provided a category 2 incline of Puerto del Almáchar, an average of 4.9 per cent over 10.9 kilometres.
The Australian launched his attack from a 31-rider breakaway on the Puerto de Almáchar. That front group continued to gain time with every kilometre, advancing to a 12-minute advantage. Two riders were especially dangerous, Eiking becoming the virtual GC leader on the road and Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) in virtual second place.
Sensing urgency, Roglič attacked from the peloton and began to make up time. On the descent he slid out in a right-hand corner, hitting the tarmac hard, then remounted to be caught by his rivals on GC, Enric Mas and Miguel Angel Lopez (Movistar Team) and Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious).
Eiking, who had a 9:10 deficit to Roglič before the stage, gained a 2:17 advantage over the Jumbo-Visma rider when the leaders finally finished, putting Roglič in third on GC. Eiking’s breakaway partner Martin, who finished 12th on the stage, moved to second overall, just 58 seconds out. Movistar’s duo of Enric Mas and Miguel Ángel López dropped to fourth and fifth, respectively, in the GC.
