“I’m very happy I could put the finishing touches on things today,” Vingegaard said afterwards. “I felt better than I did in the mountain stages over the past week. It’s nice to be able to reward the hard work of my team-mates. Not just today, but over the last three weeks they’ve been fantastic. I knew I had a great chance of winning today. I attacked at the right moment, although the final of the stage was incredibly tough. I hope to get through tomorrow’s stage without problems and then cross the line in Madrid wearing red.”  

On the eve of the final stage in the Spanish capital, the riders faced another brutal mountain stage. After 165 kilometres, the finish lay atop the Bola del Mundo, a hors catégorie climb. A large breakaway went clear early on, but the peloton allowed them little room. Approaching the foot of the final climb, the leaders’ advantage quickly decreased. In the favourites’ group, Team Visma | Lease a Bike held a numerical advantage. Among others, Ben Tulett and Kuss, who turned 31 today, looked strong.  

On the slopes of the Bola del Mundo, João Almeida launched the first acceleration. The Portuguese rider began the day 44 seconds behind Vingegaard. The Dane reacted sharply and soon after countered with his own attack. In the steep final kilometre, he rode solo to his third stage win in this Vuelta, putting him on the verge of securing his maiden overall victory in the Spanish Grand Tour.  

“It was a hard but beautiful day,” said Kuss, who finished second. “UAE Team Emirates really went for it, but we were ready. We started the final climb with five riders in the favourites’ group, so the situation was ideal. Everyone worked incredibly hard to make this possible. It’s brilliant that Jonas could finish it off in this way. He attacked at the perfect moment. It was impressive to see.”