Belgium’s cycling star Wout van Aert won his first stage of this year’s Tour of Spain on breakaway day. The classics specialist came out ahead of Frenchman Valentin Paret-Peintre after 192.8 kilometers from Almunecar to Loja. The duo broke away from a nine-man escape group around four kilometers from the finish. Van Aert’s British teammate Matthew Brennan, who had already won three stages, came third.
There were no changes in the top positions in the overall standings. Spaniard Enric Mas, who took the lead after Tadej Pogacar’s retirement, is still 1:45 minutes ahead of four-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic. The Austrian Felix Gall is third, 2:06 minutes behind Mas.
Tomorrow the next difficult mountain finish is on the agenda. The overall leader Mas is the favorite on the 154.9 kilometer long route to the Sierra de La Pandera. The 11.8 kilometer long final climb has an average gradient of 7.5 percent. Red Bull captain Roglic can’t really afford to lose any more time if he wants his fifth Vuelta victory to remain within reach.