Sunday’s second stage of the 80th Vuelta a España was the first of many summit or uphill finishes over the next three weeks, and at the crest Jonas Vingegaard defeated his rivals, beating Giulio Ciccone in a photo finish to take the red jersey from Jasper Philipsen.
The Course
The first summit finish of the 80th edition and hardest Italian stage was a “mere” Cat. 2, 10 km of 5.1 percent at the end of 159 km, but it was where Vingegaard, Almeida, Ayuso and anyone else who wished to be on the podium in Madrid had to strut his stuff.
Soon after the start in Alba, a quartet bounced clear: Denz, Glivar, Otruba and Slock. Sinuhé Fernández replaced Denz. The quartet first reached the rain and then the day’s intermediate sprint at Kilometre 67 with a 1:40 lead. Philipsen’s Alpecin-Deceuninck and Tom Pidcock’s Q36.5 powered the peloton on the long Italian uphill drag to the foot of the climb. Canadian Nickolas Zukowsky was present at the front as the rain thickened.
The tipping down rain was to Slock and Co.’s advantage. With 26 km to go there was a large crash in the peloton that took down Vingegaard and several others, chilling out the pace of the field. Elbow scraped, Vingegaard changed bikes and caught up.
The red jersey group raced with intent as Limone Piemonte loomed closer and the road dried, dropping Philipsen. Slock, Gliver and Otruba started up with a 30 second gap. Slock rocked and stayed away until 5.8 km to go.
In a still-large group, Vingegaard was loaded at Position 2 behind teammate Ben Tulett. It would Marc Soler who would kick off the attacks inside the red kite. Sepp Kuss responded before Pidcock took a stab at it. Giulio Ciccone took over from Pidcock but the Dane, in a close bike throw, would prove the faster than the Italian.
The last day in Italy has a Cat. 4 uphill finish.
2025 Vuelta a España Stage 2
1) Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark/Visma-Lease a Bike) 3:47:14
2) Giulio Ciccone (Italy/Lidl-Trek) s.t.
3) David Gaudu (France/Groupama-FDJ) s.t.
2025 Vuelta a España GC
1) Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark/Visma-Lease a Bike) 7:56:16
2) Giulio Ciccone (Italy/Lidl-Trek) +0:04
3) David Gaudu (France/Groupama-FDJ) +0:04
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…