Leknessund Claims First Grand Tour Stage Victory

Norway’s Andreas Leknessund achieved a significant milestone by securing his first Grand Tour stage win during stage seven of the Vuelta a Espana, leading a remarkable one-two finish for Norway. The 27-year-old cyclist was part of the breakaway group from the start of the stage. After covering 137 kilometers, he broke away from his fellow riders on the final climb, completing the last seven kilometers solo and winning by a margin of 34 seconds over his Uno-X Mobility team-mate, Tobias Halland Johannessen, with Wout van Aert finishing in third place.

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“It really hurt today,” Leknessund reflected. “I didn’t expect it to be this emotional.”

The Norwegian success was particularly poignant following the recent passing of King Harald V of Norway, with both Leknessund and Johannessen donning black armbands in his honor.

World champion Tadej Pogacar, aiming for a full set of Grand Tour titles, finished the stage in 19th place, four minutes and 23 seconds behind Leknessund. However, he managed to extend his lead in the general classification by an additional 16 seconds, pulling away from his main competitors in the closing kilometers.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Oscar Onley lost further time in the red jersey standings, but rose to sixth overall in the general classification and took a commanding lead in the young rider’s classification, now leading the race for the white jersey by almost four minutes.

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Stage seven results

1. Andreas Leknessund (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) 3hrs 49mins 47secs

2. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) +34 secs

3. Wout van Aert (Bel/Team Visma – Lease a Bike) +47 secs

4. Jakob Omrzel (Slo/Bahrain Victorious) +58 secs

5. Juan Felipe Rodriguez (Spa/EF Education – EasyPost) +1min 13secs

6. Ivan Sosa (Col/Equipo Kern Pharma) +1min 16secs

7. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz/NSN Cycling Team) +1min 44secs

8. Eddie Dunbar (Ire/Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) +1min 51secs

9. Leo Bisiaux (Fra/Decathlon CMA CGM) +1min 53secs

10. Raul Garcia Pierna (Spa/Movistar) +2mins 14secs

General classification after stage seven

1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 19hrs 32mins 37secs

2. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +3mins 50secs

3. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora – hansgrohe) +4mins 50secs

4. Felix Gall (Aut/Decathlon CMA CGM) +5mins 1secs

5. Sepp Kuss (US/Team Visma-Lease a Bike) +6mins 5secs

6. Oscar Onley (GB/Netcompany Ineos) +6mins 6secs

7. Richard Carapaz (Ecu/EF Education-EasyPost) +6mins 12secs

8. Mattias Skjelmose (Den/Lidl-Trek) +7mins 17secs

9. Harold Tejada (Col/XDS Astana) +7mins 46secs

10. Gregor Mühlberger (Aut/Decathlon CMA CGM) +9mins 29secs

Norway’s Andreas Leknessund secured an emotional first Grand Tour stage win as he led home a Norwegian one-two on stage seven of the Vuelta a Espana.

The 27-year-old was part of the break from the start of the stage and after 137 kilometres he left behind his remaining companions on the last climb to ride the final seven kilometres solo, winning by 34 seconds from fellow Norwegian and Uno-X Mobility team-mate Tobias Halland Johannessen, with Wout van Aert finishing third.

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“It really hurt today,” said Lenessund. “I didn’t expect it to be this emotional.”

A Norwegian one-two was fitting given Norway’s King Harald V died on Friday, with both riders sporting black armbands in his memory.

World champion Tadej Pogacar, who is looking to complete a full set of Grand Tour victories, finished 19th – four minutes and 23 seconds behind the winner – but extended his lead in the general classification by a further 16 seconds after pulling clear of his main rivals with a few kilometres to go.

Britain’s Oscar Onley lost further time to the red jersey but climbed to sixth in GC and took a firm grip on the young rider’s classification, now leading the battle for the white jersey by nearly four minutes.

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Stage seven results

1. Andreas Leknessund (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) 3hrs 49mins 47secs

2. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) +34 secs

3. Wout van Aert (Bel/Team Visma – Lease a Bike) +47 secs

4. Jakob Omrzel (Slo/Bahrain Victorious) +58 secs

5. Juan Felipe Rodriguez (Spa/EF Education – EasyPost) +1min 13secs

6. Ivan Sosa (Col/Equipo Kern Pharma) +1min 16secs

7. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz/NSN Cycling Team) +1min 44secs

8. Eddie Dunbar (Ire/Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) +1min 51secs

9. Leo Bisiaux (Fra/Decathlon CMA CGM) +1min 53secs

10. Raul Garcia Pierna (Spa/Movistar) +2mins 14secs

General classification after stage seven

1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 19hrs 32mins 37secs

2. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +3mins 50secs

3. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora – hansgrohe) +4mins 50secs

4. Felix Gall (Aut/Decathlon CMA CGM) +5mins 1secs

5. Sepp Kuss (US/Team Visma-Lease a Bike) +6mins 5secs

6. Oscar Onley (GB/Netcompany Ineos) +6mins 6secs

7. Richard Carapaz (Ecu/EF Education-EasyPost) +6mins 12secs

8. Mattias Skjelmose (Den/Lidl-Trek) +7mins 17secs

9. Harold Tejada (Col/XDS Astana) +7mins 46secs

10. Gregor Mühlberger (Aut/Decathlon CMA CGM) +9mins 29secs