Vuelta 2025: Marc Soler Soloes to Seventh Stage Win on Tough Final Climb UAE Emirates XRG

Bernal and Ciccone drop out early
It took a while, but eventually the Belgian-Dutch duo was able to rejoin. At that moment, the break approached the Alto Tenebreo with a lead of almost five minutes. Marc Soler was the first over that climb, but the break remained together. That changed on the Puerto de San Lorenzo. Here the break thinned out significantly. Gijs Leemreize launched an attack at the base but had to drop afterward. About ten other riders shared the same fate. At the top, eleven leaders remained. Van Dijke and Campenaerts were no longer with them.

Not only was the breakaway thinned out, but in the peloton, where UAE Emirates XRG took over from Visma | Lease a Bike, Egan Bernal had to give up early. Then when Juan Ayuso took the lead, Giulio Ciccone also faded. The Colombian and Italian were respectively twelfth and eighth in the general classification in the morning but both would suffer a setback.

La Farrapona
Up front, Shaw was first over the Puerto de San Lorenzo and continued pushing on the descent. The Brit rode solo for a while but saw his ten remaining breakaway companions catch him just before the start of La Farrapona. Then, Soler and Staune-Mittet immediately broke away. The two attackers had a solid three-minute advantage at the base over the group of favorites, which now also included Nico Denz and Van Dijke, who had dropped back from the breakaway and were riding full gas for Jai Hindley. Did the Australian have plans?

After Van Dijke was spent, Mikkel Bjerg was left alone. The Dane from UAE Emirates XRG was now riding behind his teammate, as Soler had shaken off Staune-Mittet and was riding solo up front. The gap remained relatively stable for the following kilometers, even as Jay Vine and then Felix Großschartner set the pace. Only when Giulio Pellizzari, working for Hindley, took over did Soler’s lead start to shrink faster. At that point, he was already less than three kilometers from the finish.

Soler takes the win
Soler’s stage victory was never in doubt. The Spaniard secured UAE’s seventh day win in this race. Behind him, we saw a late acceleration among the favorites. Hindley launched the attack. Only Almeida and Vingegaard could follow; Pidcock had no answer. In the final few hundred meters, Almeida went for it, while Vingegaard sat on his wheel. The Dane ultimately powered through, crossing the line second and picking up six bonus seconds. Almeida, who finished third, had to settle for four bonus seconds.