De La Cruz 4th on stage, up to 7th in general classification

Courage and determination were the key ingredients for David De La Cruz on the 17th stage of the Vuelta a Espana, 178.2 km starting from Sequeros and finishing on Alto de la Covatilla after cresting 5 categorised climbs.
The Spaniard from UAE Team Emirates rode the last mountain stage of the Vuelta a Espana 2020 in a combative fashion, coming home in 4th place on the stage (win for David Gaudu of Groupama-FDJ) and gaining three positions in the general classification , climbing to 7th place at 7’35 ”from the red jersey Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma).

David De La Cruz, Rui Costa, Sergio Henao and Ivo Oliveira were the three UAE Team Emirates riders present among the 34 members of the main breakaway of the day, an important move that saw De La Cruz make a decisive jump in the general classification, with only the final stage remaining, 139.6 km from the Hipodromo de la Zarzuela to Madrid.

Also noteworthy is the 15th place in the standings by Sergio Henao, at 15’36” from Roglic.

This result equals De La Cruz’s best ever Grand Tour result, on a par with what he already achieved in the Vuelta Espana 2016: “Today we went out to be aggressive from the start and in the end we had four riders in the break. I would loved to have won the stage to pay the guys back for all the work but moving up to 7th on GC is down to them. I gave everything , I never had a team look after me like the guys have done during this race and I cannot praise them enough.”

Stage 17 results
1. David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) 4h54’32”
2. Gino Mader (NTT) +28 ”
3. Ion Izagirre (Astana) 1’05 ”
4. David De La Cruz (UAE Team Emirates) s.t.

General classification after 17th stage
1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 69h17’59 ”
2. Richard Carapaz (Ineos-Grenadiers) +24 ”
3. Hugh Carthy (Ef) +47 ”
7. David De La Cruz (UAE Team Emirates) + 7’35”