Even driving rain could not dampen Australian smiles on Spain's north coast as Kaden Groves' victory on stage 17 of La Vuelta a Espana topped off a memorable day in which he, Ben O'Connor and Jay Vine wore and retained the grand tour's three main jerseys.
Groves (Alpecin–Deceuninck) cemented his status as the event's leading sprinter in the wake of the withdrawal of Visma–Lease a Bike's Wout van Aert, who crashed on Tuesday, winning a superbly timed finish on the Santander beachfront to retain his green points jersey.
A day of treacherous conditions in Cantabria, dominated by a breakaway that was caught in the last 100 metres, enabled O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) to hold on to his red leader's jersey for a 12th day.
