De La Cruz cements top-10 in Vuelta España

UAE Team Emirates brought down the curtain on the 2021 Grand Tour season, ending the 3 weeks with a stage victory through Rafal Majka and 7th place overall with David De La Cruz.

The overall title went to reigning champion Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) who also won the final stage time trial at Santiago de Compostela ,with De La Cruz closing the race in 7th place at 18’33, climbing two places in the last time trial.

The team narrowly missed out on further wins, with three second placings through Matteo Trentin, Rui Oliveira and Ryan Gibbons.

De La Cruz: “I came into this race with a clear objective of finishing in the top-5 and winning a stage. I came within touching distance of both and in the end I’m content with my final result. The team put in a brave display every day and attacked the race, managing to win a stage with Majka who also worked tirelessly for me in the hills. It was a really hard Vuelta this year and I’m proud of what we achieved as a team.”

Joxean Matxin Fernandez (Team Manager) : “We showed ourselves to be an attacking and combative team throughout this race, and I’m very proud of the guys for their attitude and mentality. We would have liked more wins and we came very close through the aggressive racing that the guys showed.
The stage win from Majka was a real highlight for us and was a testament to his quality as a rider and De La Cruz put in a good General Classification and came within touching distance of winning the queen stage. We leave this race with our heads held high.”

Results 21st stage – Vuelta España

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 44’02”
2. Magnus Cort (EF-Nippo) +14″
3. Thymen Arensman (Team DMS) +52″
11. David De La Cruz (UAE Team Emirates) +2’14”

Final General classification Vuelta España
1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 83h55’29”
2. Enric Mas (Movistar) +4’42”
3. Jack Haigh (Barhain-Victorious) +7’40”
7. David De La Cruz (UAE Team Emirates) +18’33”