2019 Boels Ladies Tour, 2019 Vuelta a España, Daily News Digest, Features, Mikel Iturria, News - September 5, 2019

Iturria solos out of the break to win Vuelta stage 11: Daily News Digest

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Welcome to your Daily News Digest. Here’s what’s happening today:

Mikel Iturria solos clear from the break to win stage 11 of the Vuelta a España, Lorena Wiebes sprints to victory on stage 1 of the Boels Ladies Tour, Ineos extends Lawless and Doull. Those stories and more in today’s Daily News Digest.

Story of the Day: Iturria nabs Vuelta stage 11 from the break

Mikel Iturria (Euskadi-Murias) took his first pro win in style on Wednesday, claiming stage 11 of the Vuelta a España out of the break on home soil in the Basque Country.

The 27-year-old attacked out of the main breakaway group with around 25 kilometers to go in the 180-kilometer stage from Saint Palais to Urdax-Dantxarinea. Iturria held on all the way to the line to take the win, one that comes at a critical time for Euskadi-Murias. The team faces an uncertain future as management struggles to find sponsors for next year. As the squad’s search for financial stability has yet to bear fruit, riders were recently told they are free to talk to other squads for next year.

Jonathan Lastra (Caja Rural) rode to second place on stage 11, with Lawson Craddock (EF Education First) in third. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) finished safely in the peloton 19 minutes later to retain his overall race lead.

More to come…

Moving Pictures

You can get your daily dose of tech from Eurobike in video form thanks to tech editor James Huang and roving reporter Dave Everett. First, there’s a closer look at the brand new Wahoo Fitness KICKR Bike …

… and then there’s CeramicSpeed’s Driven shaft drive, which is inching closer to becoming a viable product …

Race Radio

Wiebes sprints to Boels Ladies Tour stage 1 victory

Lorena Wiebes (Parkhotel Valkenburg) sprinted to victory on stage 1 of the Boels Ladies Tour.

The 20-year-old Dutchwoman, who has been one of the most successful riders in the sport this season, outkicked Kirsten Wild (WNT-Rotor) and Letizia Paternoster (Trek-Segagredo) to pick up her seventh WorldTour victory of the year at the end of the 123-kilometer stage from Stramproy to Weert.

Prologue winner Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) continues to lead the general classification at the Boels Ladies Tour, but Wiebes jumped into second overall and now sits three seconds back. Paternoster has moved into third overall, four seconds down.

????????@lorenawiebes of ????????@PushingDreamsNL wins stage 1 of ????????@ladiestour #BLT2019 (????@L1) pic.twitter.com/5kyRlR1Ttd

— World Cycling Stats (@wcsbike) September 4, 2019

Police seize marijuana plants shown on Vuelta broadcast

The Vuelta really does have a little bit of everything – big stars, great racing, and apparently, television images leading to the seizure of marijuana plants.

Police seized marijuana plants growing on a roof in Igualada after they were seen on the broadcast towards the end of the Vuelta’s eighth stage. Officers reportedly took around 40 plants from the location, revealed via the TV helicopter.

According to Catalan newspaper Ara, police had previously been informed of the site by neighbors, who said the occupants had departed and left all the apartment’s furniture in the street.

As Ara reports, Marijuana is decriminalized specifically for personal use in private spaces in Spain. Its sale is prohibited and it cannot be grown in public view.

Ineos extends Lawless and Doull

Owain Doull and Chris Lawless will both ride on with Ineos for the next two seasons.

Doull, 26, turned pro with the team in 2017. He is currently making his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España. The Welshman has become a reliable member of the squad’s Classics lineup, and after a fine start to this season that saw him win a stage at the Herald Sun Tour, he claimed runner-up honors at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne in March.

Lawless, 23, turned pro with Ineos in 2018. He won the Tour de Yorkshire this May and also figures to be a key member of Ineos’s Classics squads for the future.

Coming up at the Vuelta

Stage 12 at the Vuelta a España runs 171.4 kilometers from the Circuito de Navarra race track to Bilbao.

With three third-category climbs inside the final 40 kilometers, the lumpy stage in northern Spain will give the aggressive riders plenty of opportunities to get clear.