Tronchon wins Vuelta stage 10 in surprise bunch sprint; Mas keeps red jersey

Bastien Tronchon won stage 10 of the Vuelta a España on Tuesday, edging a chaotic bunch sprint to take victory on the 184.7km route from Alcaraz to Elche de la Sierra. Magnus Cort Nielsen finished second and Thibau Nys third, while Enric Mas retained the red jersey ahead of Primoz Roglic and Felix Gall in the general classification.

Tronchon put his right hand to his helmet in surprise when crossing the line and sobbed when his teammates congratulated him. “I finished on the line but I wasn’t sure if there was some guys in front or not, so I didn’t put my hands in the air,” a delighted Tronchon said. The five-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar was firm favourite to win the race until he crashed heavily on Saturday, breaking his collarbone and abandoning the event.

Seven riders established a lead during the stage, but Visma-Lease a Bike and Cofidis organised the chase and kept the escapees within reach. The controlled tempo in the peloton meant the breakaway never resisted long enough to avoid a bunch finish. That team work shaped the race into a sprint for the line.

With 10km to go Michael Gogl and Fredrik Dversnes remained the only riders ahead of the main group, their advantage of just a few seconds soon erased by the chasing peloton. Yevgeniy Fedorov and Xabier Azparren launched attacks with a kilometre remaining but were caught just before the line. The collapse of the late moves left the bunch to contest the sprint.

Tronchon, the Groupama rider, timed his final surge to perfection to claim the win. He was followed over the line by Magnus Cort Nielsen, with Thibau Nys finishing third after edging Wout van Aert to complete the day’s podium. Team celebrations followed immediately as Tronchon reacted emotionally at the finish.

On Wednesday stage 11 runs 153.8km from Cartagena to Lorca, a largely flat profile suited to the sprinters, although a category-three climb up Morrón de Totana offers a challenge before the end.