MADRID, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Kaden Groves of Bike Exchange-Jayco gave his team some good news when he won a tight bunch sprint at the end of Stage 11 of the Vuelta a Espana cycle race.
Groves finished inches ahead of Danny van Poppel (Bora Hansgrohe) and Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Decunnick) at the finish line in Cabo de Gata.
Groves's win gave a positive end to a day that had started badly for his team when Simon Yates was forced to withdraw from the race after testing positive for Covid-19.
The 2018 La Vuelta winner had been in good form, after finishing seventh in Tuesday's time trial and had climbed to fifth overall, 4 minutes and 40 seconds behind Evenepoel.
Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers), Roger Adria, Hector Carretero and Pau Miquel (Equipo Kern Pharma) also had to pull out after returning positive test results.
The final kilometer of the 191 kilometers between the El Pozo Factory to Cabo de Gata was the only real entertainment of a boring stage which saw the riders looking to conserve energy after Tuesday's draining time trial.
There were no changes to the overall standings with Remco Evenepoel (Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl) maintaining a 2: 41 lead over Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) and 3:03 over Enric Mas (Movistar).
Nevertheless, even the dullest of stages still have their perils, and Evenepoel suffered a big blow with 62 kilometers left in the stage when his team-mate Julian Alaphilippe had to abandon the race after breaking his collarbone in a fall on what should have been a straightforward corner.
The reigning World Champion is a key member of Evenepoel's team, both for his experience and his ability to ride on the front of the peloton, and will be a big loss to the young Belgian's Vuelta challenge.
The injury also means Alaphilippe will almost certainly not be able to defend his world crown in Wollongong, Australia on September 25th.
Thursday's Stage 12 between Salobrena and Penas Blancas, Estepona has a similar profile for 172 of its 192 kilometers, but the stage has a big sting in the tail and ends with a 20-kilometer first category climb that could be a launchpad for Roglic and Enric Mas to try and test Evenepoel's lead. ■
