Clément Champoussin won his first professional victory this Saturday on the World Tour circuit. And the young Nice from AG2R-Citroën, in his second year of professional contract, has “chosen” a prestigious setting for this, between Sanxexo and Castro de Herville, in Galicia: the penultimate stage of the Tour of Spain, whose general classification seems promised to Slovenian Primoz Roglic.
Champoussin (23), placed at the front all day, stayed in the wheel of the favorites when they resumed the breakaway and counterattacked two kilometers from the finish leaving the trio Adam Yates behind. Enric Mas and especially Roglic, second on the stage.
🎥Etapa 20 – Stage 20 | # LaVuelta21
🇪🇸 Vive el último kilómetro de la victoria de @clemchampou in el Alto Castro de Herville gracias a @CarrefourES
🇬🇧 Live the last km. of Clément Champoussin’s impressive victory thanks to @CarrefourES#CarrefourConLaVuelta pic.twitter.com/YGA8OQiClm– La Vuelta (@lavuelta) September 4, 2021
While the final was marked by several attacks in the group of favorites, the Basque of Euskaltel Mikel Bizkarra tried his luck a few seconds before Champoussin, but was taken … and it is the attack of the French, which was the maid. Mouth wide open in the small final hill, the Nice, at the end of the effort, did not even have the strength to raise his arms when crossing the line.
A stopwatch to finish
This year, even if he indicated at the finish that he had experienced a Vuelta “with ups and downs”, Champoussin still finished fifth on the 14th stage at the top of Pico Villuercas and above all third on the 10th stage. in Rincon de la Victoria.
Sunday, the last stage of this Tour of Spain 2021 will be an individual time trial of 33.8 kilometers between Padron and Santiago de Compostela, a time for which Roglic is once again favorite, after his victory. on the initial time trial in the first stage. Third in the general classification this morning, Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez, winner of the 18th stage on Thursday, retired.