“I felt fantastic throughout the entire stage today. On the final climb, I gave the signal to my teammates to launch me. They did it in an impressive way. I’m incredibly happy to finish it off like this”, Vingegaard says after taking his second stage victory in this year’s Vuelta.

All eyes in ninth stage were already on the decisive ascent to Valdezcaray ski resort. After a group of five escapees was caught at the foot of the first-category climb, the focus shifted to the battle among the general classification contenders. Team Visma | Lease a Bike took control, with support from Matteo Jorgenson among others, to launch Vingegaard.

The Dane quickly dropped Giulio Ciccone and gradually increased his lead over João Almeida and Thomas Pidcock. Vingegaard crossed the line solo, 24 seconds ahead of the duo. With that, the team leader made important gains in the overall standings. His deficit to red jersey wearer Træen is now down to just 37 seconds.

“I’m very happy with that”, Vingegaard says. “It wasn’t really our plan to attack, but I had very good legs today. When the team launched me, I was a bit surprised that the finish was still quite far away, but I had a gap, and then you just have to go all-in. Without the work of my teammates, this wouldn’t have been possible.”

Sports director Jesper Mørkøv called it a fantastic day: “We rode very strongly and stayed well grouped heading into the final climb. When Jonas asked to be launched, we didn’t hesitate for a second. Normally, the climb to Valdezcaray isn’t typically one that suits Jonas perfectly. To finish it off like this is truly impressive.”

Team Visma | Lease a Bike closes the first week of the Spanish stage race with its 32nd victory of the season. “It’s been a very good week for the team. I wouldn’t call it ‘perfect,’ since we unfortunately lost Axel, which was a big disappointment for him and for us. At the same time, we’ve taken two stage wins and spent several days in the red jersey. That’s fantastic”, a satisfied Mørkøv concludes.