Jay Vine scored his second stage win in the Vuelta a España 2025. The Australian proved to be the strongest rider from a large breakaway on the final climb to the Larra-Belagua ski resort. In the background, his teammate João Almeida created excitement among the GC contenders, but the Portuguese rider had to watch as Jonas Vingegaard reclaimed the red jersey from Torstein Træen.
The day after the rest day, yet another Pyrenean stage was on the agenda in the Vuelta a España 2025. The stage resembled Sunday’s with a calm start, mainly rolling terrain, and an explosive finish. The finale was expected to truly erupt on the last ascent, on the flanks of the climb (9.3 kilometers at 6.3%) to the Larra-Belagua ski resort.
Lightning-fast opening, Vingegaard attacks
The battle to get into the early breakaway, however, started much earlier. In a very tense opening phase, the pace remained relentlessly high with countless attacks. Louis Vervaeke (Soudal Quick-Step) and Dries De Pooter (Intermarché-Wanty) were the first to attempt a breakaway together, but they were quickly reeled back in. They were not alone; despite numerous attacks, a genuine early breakaway took a long time to form.
Due to the high initial tempo—the riders averaged around 50 kilometers per hour—the peloton briefly split into two groups, but the dropped riders soon rejoined. The race remained unsettled, resulting in a large crash, but fortunately, the involved riders (except for the Spanish revelation Raul García Pierna, who had to abandon) were able to get back on their bikes.
Un nuevo incidente en #LaVuelta25, provocado por otro grupo de activistas pro Palestina. pic.twitter.com/uKqTvtEx7m
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) September 2, 2025
The runaway peloton, however, had no intention to wait for the fallen riders. The battle for the early break continued, but no one succeeded in building a serious gap. Even Jonas Vingegaard briefly tried an attacking move. The Dane, together with teammate Victor Campenaerts, aimed to surprise, but the other GC contenders did not let that happen easily.
Strong breakaway finally given freedom
With about seventy kilometers to go, things finally moved. A group of around twenty riders—including several strong climbers—seemed to gain a free pass from Bahrain Victorious—the team of red jersey Torstein Træen—and the other GC teams. With fifty kilometers left, the gap was nearly three minutes. This set the stage for a two-front battle.
photo: Cor Vos
The front group featured mountain king Jay Vine, Pablo Castrillo, Alec Segaert, Michal Kwiatkowski, Louis Vervaeke, Johannes Staune-Mittet, Harold Tejada, Kevin Vermaerke, Bruno Armirail, and Junior Lecerf. The latter was the highest-placed rider in the breakaway, 4’21” behind Træen. It was therefore no surprise that Bahrain Victorious kept the gap within limits for their Norwegian GC leader.
Breakaway splinters, Segaert goes solo
Cooperation up front was lacking, so Javier Romo seized his chance. The Movistar Spaniard became the instigator of a new breakaway group of nine riders: Vine, Castrillo, Nicola Conci, Abel Balderstone, Alec Segaert, Archie Ryan, Xabier Mikel Azparren, and Julien Bernard joined forces. For the other breakaway riders, the situation suddenly looked much less promising.
However, the group of nine did not start the nearly ten-kilometer final climb together, because at the summit of the penultimate climb—the Alto de las Coronas (7.2 kilometers at 4.7%)—Segaert took off. Knowing he couldn’t match the better climbers in the group uphill, the strong rouleur from Lotto tried to anticipate the final climb and succeeded by quickly building a nice gap.
Vine pushes on, Almeida shakes things up
At the foot of the final climb, Segaert’s lead had grown to three-quarters of a minute. The Belgian seemed poised for a serious shot at the stage win, but his advantage evaporated in the first climbing kilometers like snow under the Spanish sun. Castrillo was the first to close the gap but was then caught by a counterattack from Vine. Was the man in the blue-and-white polka dot jersey on his way to a second stage win in this Vuelta?
🚴🇪🇸 | Ai, ai, ai. Torstein Træen has to drop out. At the front, João Almeida is now accelerating himself. The gap to the leaders is suddenly down to just a minute and a half. #LaVuelta25
📺 Stream the race on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/JkoIkQd8nP
— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) September 2, 2025
The big threat to Vine no longer came from Castrillo but from the group of favorites. UAE Emirates XRG decided to increase the pace for Almeida. Notably, the much-discussed Ayuso—who is at odds with management—was responsible for the first disintegration. Mikkel Bjerg, who had dropped from the breakaway, then rolled out the red carpet for his leader’s attack.
Vine claims his second, Vingegaard new leader
Almeida accelerated twice, but his main rivals—led by Vingegaard—were able to follow. Almeida’s tempo changes also caused casualties: Felix Gall, Egan Bernal, Ben O'Connor, and red jersey Træen couldn’t keep up. These riders did not return, forcing the Norwegian to surrender the red jersey back to Vingegaard after a few days.
All of this unfolded in the shadow of Vine, who held firm in the final kilometers and thus—after his win in Andorra—celebrated his second victory in the Vuelta a España. The Australian also made excellent gains in the battle for the mountain classification. Castrillo finished second, followed by fellow escapees Romo and Archie Ryan, who in turn just managed to stay ahead of the main GC contenders.
🚴🇪🇸 | Jay Vine seemed on the verge of collapse, but the Australian recovered and soloed convincingly to his second stage win in this Vuelta. Jonas Vingegaard takes the leader’s jersey from Torstein Træen. #LaVuelta25
📺 Stream the race on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/7w2yVqq5mp
— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) September 2, 2025
This elite group included Pidcock, Ciccone, Hindley, Jorgenson, Almeida, and Vingegaard, Riccitello, and Pellizzari. The big absentees were Gall, Bernal, O'Connor, and Træen. They lost valuable time and thus suffered a setback in the fight for a high overall placing in Madrid.
Sendaviva) El Ferial Larra Belagua)Vuelta a España| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03:56:24 | |
| 2 | + 35 | |
| 3 | + 01:04 | |
| 4 | + 01:05 | |
| 5 | " | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | " | |
| 8 | " | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
