Stage 19 at the Vuelta a España took on a parcours that featured two classified climbs, including a challenging effort to the line on Alto de Moncalvillo, plus a lot of long valley roads. Before the start there was once again the possibility that it could have been a good day for the breakaway so a fierce battled ensued for the opening 40 kilometres as almost every team in the peloton looked to make the move. Team dsm-firmenich PostNL were active in trying to make the splits but in the end the peloton neutralised itself and a group of five went clear.
Building up a gap that reached five minutes, some GC teams then began to pace and it was soon very apparent that it would become a stage fought out between the GC riders in the finale. Riding sharply as a unit, the team moved forward ahead of the intermediate sprint point as with one rider dropping from the break, there were ten points available for the green jersey. Using minimal energy after great positioning by the team, Max Poole managed to snag the ten points and moves into second in that competition. From there, the team took it easier on the final climb, trying to conserve as much energy as possible for one last go on Saturday’s stage.
Talking about the day, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Phil West said: “Today was one of those days where it could have gone either way. With a fairly unchallenging parcours until the late final it was an easier one to control. We first of all kept the overview in case there was an opportunity for a big breakaway with the right combination of guys but it was clear from pretty early on that it wasn’t going to be possible as the GC teams showed interest in keeping control. We were able to sit back a little back and use it as a day to try and recover some energy a bit. I’m happy with how the guys came through the stage. We have one more road stage before the final time trial in Madrid, so we’ll go all-in for it tomorrow again and give it our best shot.”