Vingegaard wins in Bejes for the drama of Van Hooydonck and approaches the leadership of the Vuelta
In Bejes, a lightning stage from Liencres with his mind on the Angliru on Wednesday, the Dane conquered his second stage in the Vuelta, alone and with a lot of emotion: he did not even raise his arms at the finish line. In the head of the fallen comrade, the drama of Nathan Van Hooydonck. [Narration and ratings]
Jumbo cyclist Nathan Van Hooydonck, in critical condition after a traffic accident
In the morning the blow came to the Dutch team, the car accident of one of its props in the city of Kalmhout (Belgium). A heart attack while driving with his pregnant wife at his side. Disturbing news about the seriousness of his condition that gradually softened. “During the stage we heard that he was a little better,” Sepp Kuss later reassured.
Vingegaard paid tribute to the teammate who helped him win his second Tour last July, voracious at the end of a rainy day of less than three hours along the steep Cantabrian coast.. The feeling is that each day that the Dane progresses he is getting finer, more confident.
The Jumbo Visma is everything in this Vuelta that dominates with overwhelming clarity. Jonas's victory, after an attack just beginning the only climb of the day in which everyone was too paralyzed, opens up the possibility of even finishing in red in Madrid. He scratched more than a minute (and the 10 bonus seconds) on the rest of the favorites and five seconds more on the leader, his teammate Sepp Kuss, perhaps the day it was shown that he is not the one chosen by the Jumbo.
Everything will surely become clear in the fierce Angliru, where Primoz Roglic will also have something to say. In Bejes, Liébana region (almost five kilometers at 8.5%), no one reacted to Vingegaard's early attack, again Tourmalet's tactics. It opened more gap than expected and only in the last two kilometers did hostilities break out. Almeida's hardening, Roglic's attack, Enric Mas's push and Kuss's small weakness.
The three Jumbos continue in search of that unprecedented podium while waiting for two very tough stages. On a day also marked by the misfortune of Luis León Sánchez: one day after announcing his retirement from professional cycling, he suffered a fall 17 kilometers from the finish line. Fortunately, he was able to continue in the race.