{"id":200770,"date":"2025-08-29T13:07:04","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T13:07:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=200770"},"modified":"2025-08-29T13:07:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T13:07:04","slug":"week-of-surprises-at-la-vuelta-ends-with-a-norwegian-in-red-and-the-gc-war-just-getting-started","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2025\/08\/29\/week-of-surprises-at-la-vuelta-ends-with-a-norwegian-in-red-and-the-gc-war-just-getting-started\/","title":{"rendered":"Week of Surprises at La Vuelta Ends with a Norwegian in Red and the GC War Just Getting Started"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been an exciting and, above all, surprising week in the Vuelta Ciclista a Espa\u00f1a, with astonishing upsets, the race leader\u2019s red jersey changing hands like seats in a game of Musical Chairs, a rare team time trial and new leaders in the GC and points classification.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The latest red jersey change (and surprise) occurred after Thursday\u2019s stage 6, the first difficult (but not super hard) mountain stage, with 3,600 meters of climbing over its 170.3 km from Olot to Pal. Andorra and ending with the second of 10 summit finishes, atop the Alto de Pal (9.6 km @ 6.5%). Race favourite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma\u2013Lease a Bike) wore the red jersey for the third stage in the race but wasn\u2019t intent on keeping it, as his team let a 10-rider breakaway take a lead of 6:30.<\/p>\n

Vine\u2019s solo victory and a new leader<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The breakaway\u2019s lead shrank to 4 minutes on the penultimate categorised climb, the Alto de la Comella (4.2 km @ 8%). Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG) launched a solo breakaway from the breakaway on the wet descent and then rode a 20 km solo to win the third Vuelta (and Grand Tour) stage of his career. The Aussie lives in Andorra, near the foot of that climb, and was welcomed at the finish by his wife and infant son.<\/p>\n

\u201cI decided to go at the top [of the climb] and\u2026 I know the descent really well, and I thought, \u2018OK, this is my chance to get away, and then there\u2019s no funny business. It\u2019s just mano y mano<\/em>\u2019,\u201d Vine said after the stage. \u201cThe Vuelta wasn\u2019t on my schedule originally, so to be able to win in Andorra in front of my son and wife is unbelievable and incredibly motivating. That last 5 km, all I could think of was \u2018This is for you, Harrison, this is for you\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The surprising Norwegian Torstein Tr\u00e6en (Bahrain-Victorious) finished second, 54 seconds behind Vine but 3:25 ahead of Vingegaard, and will wear the red jersey on Friday. It is the first Grand Tour stage podium finish for the 30-year-old Norwegian and the first time he has led a Grand Tour in his career. This represents more than just a sporting success, for Tr\u00e6en was diagnosed with cancer in May 2022. He had surgery and was declared cancer-free two months later. Two years later, in June 2024, he won his first World Tour race, a stage in the Tour de Suisse. Now he has taken an even bigger step in his career, leading the GC in the Vuelta.<\/p>\n

He leads Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) by 31 seconds, with Lorenzo Fortunato in third, at 1:01. Vingegaard now sits fifth, 2:33 adrift and 8 seconds ahead of his main rival, Vine\u2019s Portuguese UAE teammate, Jo\u00e3o Almeida.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by La Vuelta (@lavuelta)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n