Following yesterday’s tough stage, the riders faced another demanding route in Spain today. With five categorized climbs and the second summit finish of this year’s Vuelta, attention quickly turned to the breakaway. Once again, Van Aert was eager to be part of it. The Belgian went clear immediately after the start alongside Andreas Leknessund and was later joined by three more riders. As the stage progressed, the breakaway was given the green light by the peloton.

Van Aert then took maximum points at the intermediate sprint, after which the battle for the stage victory was decided on the slopes of the final climb to Aramón Valdelinares (9.8 km at 5.9%). The Uno-X Mobility duo of Tobias Johannessen and Leknessund played their cards smartly. Leknessund was the first to attack, forcing Van Aert to let go when the pace increased. Leknessund, who had been Van Aert’s breakaway companion from the very start, went on to claim the stage victory unchallenged. The 31-year-old Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider fought his way to an impressive third place, which was enough to move him into the lead in the points classification.

“I had a feeling that today could be a good opportunity for the breakaway”, Van Aert says afterward. “It’s often difficult to get into a breakaway when you’re wearing a jersey, so I wanted to go for it right from the start. Spending the whole day at the front was quite an effort, and I probably paid the price for that on the final climb. It’s nice to see that my breakaway companion Andreas managed to make it all the way to the finish today.”

The Belgian continues: “These are the days I enjoy the most. I’m very happy with my performance. Of course, it feels better to lead the points classification rather than simply wearing the jersey as the rider in second place. We’ll keep trying to collect as many points as possible. It’s going to be a tough battle all the way to the end.”