Hello and welcome to our live coverage of stage 16 of the Vuelta a España.
A look at the map for today's stage, which is largely flat for most of the day as the riders wind inland in Andalucía towards Tomares.
(Image credit: La Vuelta)
So far two more riders have left the race ahead of today's stage.
Lotto Soudal's Maxim Van Gils tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, while EF Education-EasyPost have just announced that Esteban Chaves is a DNS without stating a reason.
A reminder of the stage 15 results and the GC picture heading into today's stage.
Remco Evenepoel remains in the red jersey with a strong lead over Primož Roglič. The GC battle is unlikely to ignite on the closing hills of today's stage.
Evenepoel said yesterday that he's recovering from his crash injuries, though warned that 'danger lurks around every corner' in the final week
(Image credit: DAVID PINTENSBELGA MAGAFP via Getty Images)
On Sunday, Evenepoel shed 15 seconds to Roglič, having lost 48 seconds the previous day. Up the road, meanwhile, Thymen Arensman was on the way to a breakaway stage victory.
Belgian a strong leader, but the third week is still unknown territory as a GC contender
(Image credit: DAVID PINTENSBELGA MAGAFP via Getty Images)
A look at today's final. A couple of small hills that shouldn't put off the versatile fastmen like Pedersen, Coquard, Wright and Ackermann who contested the finish on stage 13.
There's another larger hill at 10km to go which might provide a springboard for a late attack or one last jump from the breakaway, too.
Youngest rider in Vuelta continues to punch above weight with fourth place overall
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The peloton has rolled to begin the neutral zone now. 15 minutes of that before the flag drops.
189km to go
The flag drops and stage 16 is underway!
Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH) y Luis Angel Maté (Euskaltel-Euskadi) are on the attack early on.
It looks like the peloton is letting this two-man breakaway go straight away.
180km to go
Yep, the pair have three minutes and counting. That was a thrilling start to the stage!
Trek-Segafredo control the peloton on behalf of green jersey Mads Pedersen.
We have four hours of this to go... No climbs on today's stage to liven things up.
The gap is now up to 3:45 as Maté and Okamika press on.
174km to go
Cofidis are also working at the front of the bunch along with Trek-Segafredo. The French team will be working for Bryan Coquard today.
An early mechanical problem for Mads Pedersen, who is back in the peloton in no time.
168km to go
Just under four minutes for the break now.
162km to go
A look at the breakaway riders, who now have 3:35 on the peloton.
(Image credit: Tim de WaeleGetty Images)
Today's stage is the first one in the break for 38-year-old Maté.
He's racing to plant trees in a natural park in Andalucía, with every kilometre he puts in the break equalling one tree planted. Vuelta organisers and his Euskaltel-Euskadi team are also backing the initiative.
Evenepoel leading in battle against Roglic, Mas, Rodríguez, Ayuso, Almeida, López
Feeding time for the riders.
(Image credit: Tim de WaeleGetty Images)
120km to go
Still the breakaway rides along 3:25 up on the peloton.
This is what green jersey wearer and stage 13 winner Mads Pedersen had to say about today's stage...
"I think they did the finale in 2017 or 2018, so of course we watched the last kilometres. It's a tricky finale with a good kick in there, so hopefully it suits me well.
"As I said before, you can't sit back and just enjoy, you have to get as many points as possible [for the green jersey]. Everyday we keep fighting to get more and more points, and then hopefully I can still have it on Sunday in Madrid."
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Average speed of 37.6kph so far.
105km to go
The riders are about 10 minutes slower than the slowest predicted schedule so far...
A look at Cofidis in charge at the head of the peloton today.
(Image credit: Tim de WaeleGetty Images)
The gap from break to peloton is still around 3:30 as the riders head into the final 100km of the stage.
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(Image credit: Zwift)
68km to go
Just over two minutes for the two leaders now.
Maté has spent almost 120km in the break today, so 120 trees planted.
It's still Cofidis, Trek-Segafredo, and Movistar up at the front of the peloton.
60km to go
Two minutes for the break. The peloton won't be looking to make the catch for a while yet though.
Race leader Remco Evenepoel safe in the peloton so far.
(Image credit: Tim de WaeleGetty Images)
52km to go
The gap is still stable. Nothing changing at the moment.
The peloton is lined out at the moment, though the pace isn't super high.
All flat roads at the moment until the riders reach the hills inside the final 15km.
The two breakaway men race on during another hot day out at the Vuelta.
(Image credit: Tim de WaeleGetty Images)
40km to go
1:50 for the two leaders.
The last time the Vuelta visited Tomares brought this exact same finish in 2017 with Matteo Trentin taking the victory ahead of Gianni Moscon and Søren Kragh Andersen. You can read the stage report of that day here
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
32km to go
Trek-Segafredo and Cofidis continue to lead the peloton...
The gap between the two breakaway men and the peloton is down to a minute now.
It's all about waiting for the catch now as the break approaches the intermediate sprint.
Maté and Okamika go head-to-head at the sprint point.
28km to go
Maté takes it while Trek-Segafredo lead out Pedersen to grab a few extra points back in the peloton.
Pedersen took 15 points there. He's has a huge lead of the points competition.
20km to go
The peloton has closed to within 40 seconds now.
It's still the same mix of teams leading the way at the moment.
16km to go
17 seconds now.
14km to go
Only a few seconds left now. It's almost over for Okamika and Maté.
And they're caught. No late attacks to try and secure the combativity prize.
BikeExchange-Jayco join the teams at the front of the peloton.
Ibai Azurmendi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) goes on the attack.
The riders are on the unclassified climb before the final run-in. Azurmendi continues to push on.
Azurmendi is brought back before the top of the hill.
11km to go
QuickStep-AlphaVinyl also up there at the head of the peloton. Alpecin-Deceuninck are there too.
A fast pace now as the peloton heads down and towards the final two small hills at the finish.
8km to go
Ineos Grenadiers have moved up front.
A puncture for Kaden Groves at a terrible time for the BikeExchange-Jayco sprinter.
6km to go
Bora-Hansgrohe join the fray at the front of the peloton.
Now Jumbo-Visma move up, too.
Not the widest roads here so not a lot of space up front as the riders head into the town.
Jumbo, Ineos, Trek, Arkéa all represented up front.
4km to go
Alpecin-Deceuninck also up there for Merlier. UAE there for Ackermann as well. All lined out at the front.
3km to go
Uphill now and a high speed at the front.
Coquard, Pedersen, Wright, Ackermann – all the major favourites are up towards the front.
Jumbo-Visma push on! Primož Roglič at 2.7km to go!
Roglič with an ambush move! Ackermann chases him.
There's a gap between the two and Pedersen behind. Remco Evenepoel has a puncture!
This is brutal for Evenepoel...
The Belgian has stopped at the side of the road for help.
Roglič has four men with him.
Evenepoel will get the same time as the peloton given the 3km rule here.
1km to go
Roglič has Pedersen, Ackermann, Wright, and Van Poppel with him.
A five-man group to fight for victory on the last uphill run.
Roglič leads it into the final 500 metres.
Pedersen in second wheel.
Ackermann, Van Poppel, Wright behind.
Pedersen blasts past Roglič on the closing straight!
And Roglič crashes in the sprint! Wow.
A very hectic finish.
Pedersen takes the win!
Pedersen celebrates with his teammates.
The peloton didn't finish much further behind the lead group. Both Evenepoel and Roglič will get the time of the group they were with.
Roglič went down hard on his left-hand side and has cuts to his arm and blood over his leg.
Evenepoel rolls in at over three minutes down but he'll get the same time as the group which finished at just eight seconds down on the leaders.
So after all that, Roglič will have gained eight seconds on Evenepoel.
The helicopter view showed Roglič moving out the way as Pedersen went through. He swung back in and collided with Wright at the rear of the lead group.
Mads Pedersen celebrates his stage win.
(Image credit: Justin SetterfieldGetty Images)
Here's what Evenepoel said after the stage...
"A puncture on my rear wheel. I wasn't in the best position because we did a recon of the final yesterday, and we felt the roads were slippery. I was scared in the last 5km so I lost some positions and I wanted to move up on a steep bump, but my rear wheel just went off, so I felt I had a flat tyre. I'm happy that the 3km rule exists otherwise I would've lost a lot of time today. I heard that Primož crashed so I really hope that he's OK and that he can continue the race.
"We all know that Primož is really explosive and that a final like this is made for him. That makes it even more a pity for him that he crashed. You never want somebody to crash so I hope he's OK.
"I felt recovered. I really needed the rest day, I think. Because of my crash I had some soreness in my muscles, so the rest day was really welcome. I felt much better today than I did on Saturday and even on Sunday, so it looks pretty good for the rest of the week."
(Image credit: Tim de WaeleGetty Images)
Roglič finishing the stage following his crash.
(Image credit: Justin SetterfieldGetty Images)
Here's what stage winner Pedersen had to say after the finish...
"Everyone was working really hard today and I promised Kirsch to win today. He had a daughter yesterday and he wasn't there for the birth so the whole team worked really hard to give this second present in a few days. This win is for Alex and his wife and new kid.
"It was a really smart move [from Roglič]. Everyone was really on the limit. Ackermann was straight in his wheel, a really good job. I had to use a lot of energy to close it. It was a really good move.
"I didn't hear it. I wanted to go to him here and I saw he was with destroyed clothing. It's a pity that he crashed. He hasn't been lucky this year. I hope it isn't too bad so he can continue competing for the victory of the Vuelta."
Despite some confusion after the stage, Evenepoel will continue in red tonight, having lost eight seconds to Roglič.
A great shot of that final sprint, with Roglič on the tarmac in the background.
(Image credit: DAVID PINTENSBELGA MAGAFP via Getty Images)
Take a look back at that final kilometre here.
⚡️ Another victory for 💚@Mads__Pedersen in a very dramatic finale. 📽️ Here's the last KM courtesy of @CarrefourES.#CarrefourConLaVuelta #LaVuelta22 pic.twitter.com/uXbPRf7MfjSeptember 6, 2022
