Stage 14 of the 2019 Vuelta was without incident for 187 of its 188 kilometres. Then, a huge crash under the flamme rouge caused chaos. With only a handful of sprinters left, Tosh Van Der Sande of Lotto-Soudal tried to launch a long-range attack but Sam Bennett of Bora-hansgrohe easily caught and passed him to take the win.
Capitalising on a revised second day parcours to take victory, Philippe Gilbert clung on to Dan Martin‘s wheel on the queen stage to secure the overall in the final edition of the Tour of Beijing, consigning the Irishman to the runner-up spot for the second year running.
It’s October, the nights are drawing in, and the beautiful Race of the Falling Leaves is a but a fond memory. This can only mean one thing. Yes the Tour of Beijing is upon us, and with it the official end of the WorldTour race calendar.