Jonas Vingegaard will become the first Dane to win the Vuelta a España. The Dane proved strongest in the queen stage by being the first to reach the top of the Bola del Mundo. Teammate Sepp Kuss completed the celebration for Visma | Lease a Bike by climbing to second place in the stage results. Vingegaard now only needs to safely finish the shortened final stage in Madrid to secure the overall victory.
Anyone who thought the Vuelta would wind down quietly towards Madrid after the time trial and sprint stage was completely mistaken. On Saturday, the toughest stage of the Grand Tour took place, with the riders finishing on the Bola del Mundo (12.5 kilometers at 8.5%). This final climb was the last chance for the GC contenders to make a difference. Could João Almeida manage to challenge for the red jersey?
But before that brutal final climb, the riders still had to tackle several tough ascents in the Sierra de Guadarrama. In order: the Alto de la Escondida (11 kilometers at 3.7%), Puerto de la Paradilla (5.5 kilometers at 5.5%), and the Alto del Léon (7.4 kilometers at 7.1%) in the opening phase, followed by the Puerto de Navacerrada (6.9 kilometers at 7.6%) in the penultimate part.
Stage winner and classification leaders after stage 19
The gaps at the top of the general classification were still relatively small before the stage. Almeida still appeared to have a shot at the red jersey with only 44 seconds behind Jonas Vingegaard, while Tom Pidcock and Jai Hindley were set to battle for the final podium spot. There was also the fight for the white jersey between Giulio Pellizzari and Matthew Riccitello.
Chaotic opening phase
Beforehand, it was expected that the GC contenders would fight for the stage win on the Bola del Mundo, but that did not stop an aggressive INEOS Grenadiers from joining the early breakaway. Filippo Ganna tried to get his teammate Egan Bernal to the front of the race. Bernal was not the only one wanting to be in the move; the entire peloton seemed to opt for attacking.
After several attempts to form a break over the first two climbs of the day, 32 riders were eventually given the green light by the peloton. Well, green light… Almeida’s and Hindley’s teams ensured that the peloton’s deficit never grew beyond two minutes.
Due to the chase by UAE Emirates XRG in the peloton, it quickly became clear that Almeida’s team wouldn’t simply surrender the overall win to Vingegaard. Moreover, this made the breakaway’s mission seem nearly impossible. At the foot of the penultimate climb of the day, the Alto de Navacerrada, they were only one and a half minutes ahead. Additionally, the breakaway quickly thinned out from there thanks to work by Lidl-Trek for Giulio Ciccone.
Van der Lee proves one of the strongest escapees
Meanwhile, Juan Ayuso was driving the pace in the peloton. The Spaniard clearly intended to support his leader Almeida once more. The break continued to shrink, with Bernal, Ciccone, Landa, Armirail, and Dutch rider Jardi van der Lee proving the strongest. The Dutchman from EF Education-EasyPost looked to be struggling but still collected maximum KOM points at the summit of the penultimate climb.
This partly ensured that Jay Vine could no longer be caught in the mountains classification. The Australian now only has to finish safely in Madrid on Sunday to definitively claim the King of the Mountains jersey. In the valley towards the Bola del Mundo, a large portion of the original breakaway was brought back by the peloton. Two-time stage winner Ayuso was still setting the pace. At the foot of the final climb, only Ciccone, Bernal, Landa, and Van der Lee remained at the front.
Large protest causes danger
Unfortunately for that group of four, reaching the base of the final climb was far from easy. A large-scale protest caused a roadblock. Several protesters even appeared to charge at the riders in a threatening manner. Fortunately, the breakaway riders escaped unharmed. Shortly thereafter, the peloton was also able to pass the demonstrators, though it was not without difficulty.
On the first kilometers of the Bola del Mundo (12.5 kilometers at 8.5%), Landa and Ciccone dropped their breakaway companions. The Italian from Lidl-Trek and the Spaniard from Soudal Quick-Step were clearly the strongest at the front but appeared unlikely to claim the stage win. The chasing peloton was riding at less than one minute behind the leaders. The work of Marc Soler and Ayuso was done by then. Felix Großschartner and later Jay Vine took over the pace-setting from the Spanish duo.
Favorites group thins out, Pellizzari in trouble
Almeida could count on his teammates, but GC leader Vingegaard was also well supported about 7 kilometers from the finish. Sepp Kuss, Ben Tulett, and Matteo Jorgenson were long part of the favorites group. Meanwhile, Felix Gall and white jersey holder Giulio Pellizzari surprisingly had to drop off early. This allowed Matthew Riccitello to make gains in both the youth classification and overall standings.
With just over three kilometers to go, the steepest ramps (often 15%) began, and the last two breakaway riders were caught. Under Vine’s leadership, the favorites group quickly thinned out. On the steepest sections, Vine’s work was done, and Almeida had to set his own pace. Only Vingegaard, Hindley, Pidcock, and Kuss could follow.
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Hindley probes, Vingegaard strikes back
Even stronger: Hindley chose to accelerate with two kilometers to go. The Australian from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe sensed weakness in third-placed Pidcock and decided to push on. The Q36.5 Pro Cycling leader was struggling, as were Almeida and Kuss. Only Vingegaard seemed to follow Hindley’s wheel with ease. The Dane could see the overall victory approaching meter by meter.
But for Vingegaard, the meters were not passing quickly enough. The red jersey wearer launched a searing acceleration just over one kilometer from the finish, leaving the other favorites behind. In the chasing group, Pidcock appeared to regain some composure. The Brit would go on to secure third place overall.
One rider unable to secure his GC position was Giulio Pellizzari. The young Italian from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe lost the white jersey to Matthew Riccitello, who also moved up in the overall classification. Kuss completed the celebration for Visma | Lease a Bike by climbing to second place in the stage results.
An opening phase full of attacking attempts - photo: Cor Vos
UAE Emirates XRG controlled the peloton - photo: Cor Vos
Jardi van der Lee made a strong impression in the breakaway group - photo: Cor Vos
Vingegaard sprinted to the stage win and clearly showed he was the strongest - photo: Cor Vos
Vuelta a España| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03:56:23 | |
| 2 | + 11 | |
| 3 | + 13 | |
| 4 | + 18 | |
| 5 | + 22 | |
| 6 | + 24 | |
| 7 | + 47 | |
| 8 | + 01:11 | |
| 9 | + 01:22 | |
| 10 | + 01:30 |
| 1 | - | 72:53:57 | |
| 2 | - | + 01:16 | |
| 3 | - | + 03:11 | |
| 4 | - | + 03:41 | |
| 5 | - | + 05:55 | |
| 6 | - | + 07:23 | |
| 7 | - | + 07:45 | |
| 8 | - | + 07:50 | |
| 9 | - | + 09:48 | |
| 10 | - | + 12:16 |
