“Vuelta a Espana” debutant Liepiņš finishes 13th place in the tour stage, enters the epicenter of discussions / Article / LSM.lv

When starting for the first time in one of the three big tours of the season, the cyclist of the team “Trek Segafredo” Emīls Liepiņš finished 13th in Castilla on Thursday in the ninth stage of “Vuelta a Espana”, according to the organizers. In the last kilometer, Sems Benets against Liepiņa violated the rules that paid the Irishman the first place in the stage.

Grateful to the sprinters, the German Pascal Akerman (“Bora-Hansgrohe”) became the winner in the shallow 158-kilometer distance after Bennett’s punishment, and Liepins, who has his 28th birthday on Thursday, crossed the finish line with the same result in a group of 110 riders.

Video of the violation against Emils Liepiņš

Ai ai, Bennett with the quack # LaVuelta20 pic.twitter.com/pFkpdJhDbk

– Niels Hurkmans (@NielsHurkmans) October 29, 2020

In the fight for the position, Benets twice pushed Liepiņa out of the racing chain with his shoulder, which did not go unnoticed by the judges.

Bennett’s punishment sparked controversy, cyclingnews.com reported. Benet’s Deceuninck-QuickStep team defended their athlete for the finish line, while others felt the Irishman had acted irresponsibly and threatened his rival.

Akerman, who won the stage, supported the judges’ decision, pointing out that more thought should be given to other riders, and that the place in the rider’s “train” should not be beaten with his elbows. At the end of the Benet stage, the large group was ranked 110th.

The leader in the overall standings is Ecuadorian cyclist Richard Carapass (“Ineos Grenadiers”), 13 seconds ahead of his closest rival Slovenian Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma).

The participants of the “Vuelta a Espana” must cover 2,897 kilometers in 18 stages, divided into 18 stages, by the end of the last major tour of the season in Madrid. The cycling trip was scheduled to start on 14 August in the Netherlands, but the pandemic changed both the route and the timing of the 75th Vuelta a Espana.

The competition in Spain has gathered many high-level cyclists, among whom Roglich is trying to defend the title won a year ago.

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