On Sunday, Jonas Vingegaard powered to a beautiful solo victory in Stage 9 of the Vuelta a España. The Team Visma – Lease a Bike leader’s surprise move netted him precious seconds in the general classification. The red jersey remains with Torstein Træen…for now.

“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 said after taking his second stage win of the race.

Vingegaard asks (nicely) to be launched

Attention had already turned to the decisive ascent to the Valdezcaray ski resort. A group of five was reeled in at the foot of the first-category climb. Then, the spotlight shifted to the battle among the GC contenders. Team Visma – Lease a Bike, aided by Matteo Jorgenson and others, took command to set up Vingegaard’s attack.

Jonas Vingegaard is now a Hansen and I for one, very much approve

“Without the work of my teammates, this wouldn’t have been possible,” Vingegaard said. The Dane quickly dropped Giulio Ciccone. He also extended his advantage over João Almeida and Thomas Pidcock, eventually finishing 24 seconds clear. His deficit to Træen is now reduced to just 37 seconds.

A long way to go, but he holds on

“I’m very happy with that,” Vingegaard said. “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.”

Directeur sportif Jesper Mørkøv called the stage “a fantastic day.” He explained: “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.”

Lots of tough days ahead

Team Visma- Lease a Bike closes the first week of the Vuelta with its 32nd win 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,” Mørkøv said.

Monday is a rest day, but racing begins Tuesday with a tough one. You can read what’s ahead this week below.

What’s ahead for the Vuelta in Week 2