Jonas Vingegaard Claims Stage Nine Victory in Vuelta a España
Twice Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard secured a solo victory in stage nine of the Vuelta a España after an impressive performance on the demanding ascent to Valdezcaray on Sunday, narrowing the gap to overall leader Torstein Træen by almost two minutes. Træen now holds a 37-second lead in the general classification.
Vingegaard, riding for Visma-Lease a Bike, controlled the 13.2km category one climb that concluded the 195.5km route from Alfaro to Valdezcaray. Despite efforts from Tom Pidcock and João Almeida to close the distance, they crossed the line 24 seconds behind the Dane.
The 28-year-old, who briefly faced a mechanical issue before rejoining the peloton with 75km remaining, credited his team’s efforts for setting up his victory. "I felt strong today, especially on the final climb. The team worked perfectly, and I was able to finish it off,” Vingegaard said.
Træen, who struggled earlier on the climb, mounted a late surge in the last 3km to finish 1 minute 46 seconds behind Vingegaard, ensuring he retained the red jersey.
Earlier in the stage, multiple breakaway attempts failed until Michel Hessmann, Liam Slock, Michal Kwiatkowski, Archie Ryan, and Kevin Vermaerke formed a leading group, opening a two-minute gap at the 70km mark. Heavy rain around the 120km point made conditions difficult, but the peloton gradually reeled in the breakaway in the final 30km.
Carlos Verona and Andrea Bagioli of Lidl-Trek tried to set up Giulio Ciccone for a push on the climb, but Vingegaard stayed close before attacking decisively with 11km left. Ciccone dropped back, while Pidcock and Almeida battled for the remaining podium spots.
Almeida now sits third overall, 1 minute 15 seconds behind Træen, with Pidcock trailing him by 20 seconds. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) held onto the green jersey as the points classification leader. The race resumes on Wednesday with a 175.3km stage from Arguedas to El Ferial Larra Belagua following a rest day.
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