Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard won the 16e stage of the Tour of Spain on Tuesday to climb into second place in the general classification behind his teammate Sepp Kuss.
Vingegaard, who has won the last two Grandes Boucles, increased the pace on the hill leading to the finish line after a stage that took place mainly on the flat, near the coast of northeastern Spain . It was the Dane’s second stage victory at the “Vuelta”, which ends on Sunday in Madrid.
Earlier today, the Jumbo-Visma team announced that Belgian rider Nathan van Hooydonck, who is not taking part in the ‘Vuelta’, was involved in a road accident after feeling “unwell” while he was driving on Tuesday. The Dutch team said he was taken to hospital for treatment.
Vingegaard dedicated his victory to his hospitalized teammate.
“I’m just happy to have won today. We heard terrible news this morning, and I absolutely wanted to win for Nathan,” he said.
Kuss, Vingegaard and their Jumbo-Visma teammate Primoz Roglic, a three-time winner of the Tour of Spain, occupy the top three places in the general classification since Vingegaard triumphed in the 13e stopover at the Col de Tourmalet — during a brief getaway to France.
Vingegaard’s second stage victory on Tuesday in the Spanish region of Cantabria allowed him to overtake Roglic in the general classification. Kuss now has a 29-second cushion ahead of Vingegaard, and 1:33 ahead of Roglic. Juan Ayuso, the leader of UAE Team Emirates, is fourth at 2:33.
Kuss is the first American rider to lead a major event since Chris Horner at the “Vuelta” in 2013. He started the Tour of Spain as a support rider to Roglic and Vingegaard, but took the red jersey of leader during the eighth stage and never gave it up again.
The 17e stage scheduled for Wednesday will stretch over 124.5 km and will culminate at the summit of the Altu de L’Angliru, a legendary pass in the Tour of Spain.