Raul Garcia-Pierna 3rd in Cerler

Race reportAug 29, 2025

World Team TeamLa Vuelta Ciclista a España

Third in the second mountain stage of the Vuelta a España, Raul Garcia Pierna has climbed to 15th place in the overall standings. He is also third in the best young rider classification.

Raúl García Pierna

This seventh stage of the Vuelta was difficult with the summit finish in Cerler. It was tough right from the start. I knew the first climb. I felt good. I came out behind Juan Ayuso. I was caught up, then I came out again with another group. We were a good group of breakaway riders. I finished third in this mountain stage of the Vuelta a España and moved up to 15th place in the provisional general classification. Juan Ayuso was the strongest, we saw that when he broke away. Behind him, I tried to give it my all. I gave it my all and I'm happy. It was a good day. I wasn't sure how I was going to manage the Tour de France and the Vuelta back to back. I also needed some rest between training sessions to recover from three weeks of racing. The start of the Tour of Spain was a bit of a struggle for me, but now, the more days go by, the better I feel. I know that the top places in the overall classification of a Grand Tour are very difficult to achieve, if not impossible. I'm going to try to achieve the best possible overall ranking, while mixing in days like today, i.e. trying to break away. If I can finish in the top 15 overall, that would already be a great performance for the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team and also for me personally. And if I get the chance, why not try to win a stage?

Mickaël Leveau

Sports Director

This seventh stage was conducive to breakaways. Raúl slipped into the right move. The gap widened to over four minutes, but Bahrain-Victorious found teammates in the valley who made the connection. This return of ‘manpower’ allowed them to maintain the gap with Raúl's group. The next objective was to play the stage, with the possibility of taking the white jersey for best young rider. Raúl finished third at the top of Cerler. He made a nice move up in the general classification, climbing to 15th place this evening. He is also third in the white jersey classification. Raúl caught up with Frigo on the slopes of Cerler, but Frigo overtook him in the final stretch to take second place. It was a good day, especially after the loss of Cristián Rodriguez, who was ill and did not start this morning in Andorra. But Raúl had announced on the bus during the briefing that he would be on the offensive in this stage. He did just that, continuing the positive momentum of the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team. I would also like to commend the impressive climb by our young riders on Cerler: Louis Rouland, Pierre Thierry and Léandre Lozouet. They are discovering what a Grand Tour is all about, but they are not intimidated. And that's good, because that's the mindset they need to have.

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