photo credits @La Vuelta
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) mastered the first uphill finish of La Vuelta 25 on Sunday, narrowly getting the better of Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) in Limone Piemonte. The Danish climber was involved in a crash that left him with a bloody left elbow but didn’t prevent him from powering to victory in a punchy finale. He also takes his first La Roja, after claiming the Maillot Jaune on 27 occasions at the Tour de France. He is the third Danish rider to lead the overall standings of La Vuelta after Lars MIchaelsen (1997) and Jakob Fuglsang (2011). David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) completes the stage top-3 after his teammate Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet had to withdraw from the race due to a crash. Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) is the only other rider who managed to finish with the same time as Vingegaard, while Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) dropped 2’’ on the line.
Race Highlights
Gal Glivar (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was the first rider to attack as soon as the flag dropped. He was followed by Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Liam Slock (Lotto). Already a Grand Tour stage winner on Piedmont roads, Nico Denz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) joined them at km 3.
At km 10, Sinhué Fernandez attacked for the Spanish team, opening up a gap of 1’05’’. In the process, he moved past Denz, dropping back to the bunch led by Q36.5 as Tom Pidcock’s teammates reacted when the gap hit a maximum of 2’50″, while after 29 kilometers Fernandez eventually made it a 4-man break for the day.
Xabier Mikel Azparren (Q36.5) was tasked with controlling the gap at around 2 minutes, while Philipsen enjoyed his first day with La Roja. He is the 34th Belgian rider to lead the overall standings of La Vuelta, following the likes of Gustaaf Deloor (winner of the first edition, in 1935) and Wout van Aert (2 days in the overall lead in 2024).
With 46 kilometers to go, Otruba attacked on an uphill section. Glivar and then Slock managed to follow him while Fernandez was distanced and caught by the bunch.
At the bottom of the final climb, the lead trio were cling to just a 40’’ gap ahead of the bunch, while Philipsen is immediately dropped from a fast paced bunch with 7 km to go. Slock was also reeled in a kilometer later.
From there, Visma-Lease a Bike set a strong pace, preventing attacks until the final kilometer. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) tried to get away but Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) controlled their move.
Ciccone then launched a strong sprint but Vingegaard manages to thwart him on the line, taking his third stage win in the Vuelta and his first La Roja.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
