{"id":130874,"date":"2025-09-09T18:46:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T18:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/130874\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T18:46:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T18:46:11","slug":"bernal-takes-his-crown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/130874\/","title":{"rendered":"Bernal takes his crown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stage 16 of La Vuelta 25 had to be shortened due to protests, but it didn\u2019t prevent Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) from taking his 58th professional victory, and his first in the Spanish Grand Tour. The Colombian icon made the decisive breakaway on the roads of Galicia, where he proved to be a driving force for the attackers, before eventually getting the better of Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) in a two-man sprint. The finish was moved to Mos, 8 kilometres before the initial arrival in Castro de Herville, due to protests in the final kilometres of the stage. Already a winner in the Giro, Bernal was also leading stage 19 of the Tour de France 2019 when it was shortened due to weather conditions. This marks his first success in an international race since a life\u2011changing crash in January 2022, after returning to winning ways at the Colombian national championships at the beginning of 2025. Among the contenders for the overall standings, Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) lost almost a minute, while Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) retained La Roja.<\/p>\n

The 155-man peloton dive into the third and final week of La Vuelta 25 with a punchy course on the roads of Galicia: 167.9 km of racing from Poio to Mos, with four categorised climbs and some 3,500 metres of elevation. Four years ago, the same finish, after a similar course, had turned the race upside down. What do the riders have in store this Tuesday?<\/p>\n

Another hard battle for the break<\/p>\n

Attackers eye one of their last opportunities to shine. And a fierce battle for the break unfolds. After a flurry of attacks and counter-attacks, Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek), Bob Jungels (Ineos Grenadiers), Finlay Pickering (Bahrain Victorious) and Victor Guernalec (Ark\u00e9a-B&B Hotels) manage to open a proper gap at km 50.<\/p>\n

Thirteen chasers bridge the gap to make it a 17-man breakaway with Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG),\u00a0Jefferson Cepeda (Movistar Team),\u00a0Nico Denz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe),\u00a0Mikel Landa,\u00a0Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step),\u00a0Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers),\u00a0Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost),\u00a0Cl\u00e9ment Braz Afonso,\u00a0Rudy Molard,\u00a0Brieuc Rolland (Groupama-FDJ),\u00a0Louis Rouland (Ark\u00e9a-B&B Hotels),\u00a0Kevin Vermaeke (Picnic-PostNL) and\u00a0Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech).<\/p>\n

The Bernal show<\/p>\n

Visma-Lease a Bike set an easier pace and the gap increases to 4 minutes en route to the first climb of the day, Alto de San Anto\u00f1ino. The battle resumes on the second climb of the day, with Landa distancing his rivals 3 kilometres away from the summit of Alto do Graba. Bernal and then Braz Afonos join him before the summit. Braz Afonso and Denz come across on the downhill.<\/p>\n

Soler drives a strong chase with Pickering, but they fail to bridge the gap. Denz and Rolland are dropped on the penultimate ascent, Alto de Prado, before the race organisation communicates on Radio Vuelta that the finish will be set 8 kilometres before the original arrival, due to protests.<\/p>\n

Bernal rules the two-man sprint against Landa, while Rolland comes 3rd after Braz Afonso\u2019s puncture in the finale. Bahrain Victorious set a strong pace in the bunch to defend Torstein Tr\u00e6en\u2019s place of 10th in the overall standings and Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) loses 54\u2019\u2019 to his rivals.<\/p>\n


\n \"\"\/<\/p>\n

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