Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) took over the top spot in the Vuelta a España’s mountain classification ranking on stage 16 after Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), the previous leader, crashed heavily on the descent of the mid-stage cat. 1 Collada Llomena and had to abandon the race.
Vine’s rise in the mountains ranking coincided with his compatriot Kaden Groves’ (Alpecin-Deceuninck) ascent to the top spot in the points competition, also previously led by Van Aert, while Ben O’Connor maintained the red jersey. Currently, Australians are leading three out of the Vuelta’s four individual classifications.
The unique scenario emerged after Van Aert’s departure, where he crashed on the descent of the Collada Llomena along with Vine and teammates Marc Soler and Isaac del Toro.
Vine mentioned that his primary focus in the breakaway was not to compete for the jersey but to set up Soler and del Toro for a shot at winning the stage.
Vine expressed his joy at Soler’s stage victory at Covadonga and considered the mountains jersey he received as a bonus.
Describing the crash that led to him wearing the mountains jersey himself on Wednesday as “bizarre,” Vine explained how Van Aert and two other riders fell on a wet patch on a left-hand curve.
While Vine resumed his position as leader in a classification he previously held in the 2022 Vuelta, UAE’s celebration focused on Soler’s remarkable stage victory at Lagos de Covadonga.
Vine expressed his excitement for Soler’s win, highlighting the teamwork that led to the victory.
The strategy of Vine sacrificing himself for his teammates paid off, securing the victory for UAE Team Emirates on the challenging final climb.
Vine highlighted the tense moments within the breakaway group but praised Soler’s exceptional performance on the final climb.
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