Cycling star Wout van Aert missed out on his first stage win on the seventh stage of the 81st Vuelta a España. The Belgian Paris–Roubaix winner was part of a breakaway group for much of the stage, but six kilometres from the finish at the mountain top finish in Aramón Valdelinares, the 31-year-old was unable to keep up with the eventual stage winner, Andreas Leknessund (27) from Norway.
Leknessund celebrated one of the greatest successes of his career. After 149.8 kilometres, starting in Vall d'Alba, his compatriot Tobias Johannessen crossed the finish line in second place, whilst van Aert finished third on the day.
Pogacar still in the lead
Cycling star Tadej Pogacar crossed the finish line 4 minutes and 23 seconds behind Leknessund, having shown no intention of catching the breakaway riders. The exceptional Slovenian rider defended the red jersey as overall leader and remains the clear favourite to win the Vuelta.
In the overall standings, the five-time Tour de France winner leads the runner-up, Enric Mas of Spain, by 3 minutes and 50 seconds. Primož Roglič is in third place, 4 minutes and 50 seconds behind his compatriot Pogacar.
The eighth stage of the Vuelta sees the professionals tackle a flat stage covering a distance of 171 kilometres between Puçol and Xeraco in the east of the country. The tour finishes on 13 September in Granada.
Copyright 2026, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved
