“I’m super proud of this overall win, my first Vuelta and the third Grand Tour of my career”, said Vingegaard. “It’s been three tough weeks. I felt very strong in the first week and managed to win twice. Afterwards I had a more difficult phase, but luckily I came back during the final weekend. My stage win on Bola del Mundo gave me great satisfaction. It was a beautiful way to crown this Vuelta.”

Sports director Jesper Mørkøv praised the strength of the team throughout the race. “Yesterday we saw a beautiful final mountain stage. We knew UAE Team Emirates would want to make the race hard, but our guys have done an incredible job supporting Jonas these past weeks. He defended the leader’s jersey with conviction and proved once again that he was the strongest rider of this Vuelta. Three stage wins and now the overall: Jonas is a more than deserved winner.” 

Traditionally, the finale in Madrid delivers iconic scenes of celebrating riders in the Spanish capital. The group photos and champagne toast went ahead, but due to protests, the peloton was never able to enter the city circuit. As a result, Team Visma | Lease a Bike was denied the chance to celebrate its fifth Vuelta overall title in seven years in style.

CEO Richard Plugge: “Above all, I am very happy with and proud of this overall win. It’s sad that we and the fans were denied a beautiful finale in the heart of Madrid. We will celebrate the red jersey with our team in our own way and honour this fantastic achievement.”

“Nowadays, sport is increasingly being used as a platform to address social issues,” Plugge continued. “We must realize that sport is essentially about connection. It can build bridges and foster mutual understanding. But the participants must be protected: they cannot become victims of this societal debate. That debate must always remain outside the athletes’ arena. Athletes should be free to fight their battles on the field of play, in our case, on the road. Otherwise, the very essence of sport as a unifying force is at risk.”