Vingegaard wins Spanish Vuelta’s 2nd stage with bloodied elbow from crash

By Canadian Press on August 24, 2025.

LIMONE PIEMONTE, Italy (AP) — Jonas Vingegaard finished strongly to win the second stage of the Spanish Vuelta in Italy on Sunday, justifying his status as the favorite in Tadej Pogačar’s absence.

Vingegaard was involved in a big crash involving many riders – including his Visma-Lease a Bike teammates – but he rejoined the peloton with blood on his left elbow. The Danish rider finished just ahead of Giulio Ciccone in a mass sprint for the line on the mountain-top finish at Limone Piemonte near the French border.

Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet became the first to abandon the race as rainfall made the roads treacherous on the 159.6-kilometer (100-mile) route from Alba. The French rider crashed on a descent.

That was followed by another crash after a roundabout that involved Vingegaard and teammate Axel Zingle – who needed attention from the race doctor – among others.

Early leaders Gal Glivar, Jakub Otruba and Liam Slock were swallowed up by the peloton in the final kilometers, with Visma’s Wilco Kelderman driving the bunch with Vingegaard just behind.

Julien Bernard took over for Lidl-Trek teammates Ciccone and Andrea Bagioli, before Spanish rider Marc Soler made a break 600 meters out. Instead it was Vingegaard who pipped Ciccone to the line, followed by David Gaudu and Egan Bernal.

The opening stages are being held in northern Italy before Stage 4 dips across into France, and the Vuelta then shifts to Spain, where it will avoid any racing in the south, before its traditional finish in Madrid.

The race’s 80th edition features eight summit finishes in the high mountains, including the highly anticipated climb of L’Angliru on Stage 13, which could prove decisive.

Pogačar, who won the Tour de France, and four-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic both opted to skip the race.

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The Associated Press