
For Jai Vine, yesterday marked his third victory at the Vuelta a España, following his two wins in 2022, and it's also his tenth professional success. The twenty-nine-year-old from UAE Emirates was incredulous about his victory and now, besides helping his team in the general classification, he wants another personal success to take home. "It was difficult to win the stage because there was always the possibility that the breakaway wouldn't go through," Vine said after the stage. "In short, I know these roads quite well. I come from down the hill, and Comella is my favorite climb in all of Andorra. So this road was not a novelty for me."
The stage ending in Pal Andorra revolutionized the general classification, and while the red jersey of race leader passed to Traeen, a Norwegian from Bahrain-Victorious, Vingegaard slipped to fifth position with a delay of 2'33", while Ayuso, Vine's teammate, now has a delay of over 10 minutes.
"I would have liked to set up the climb more aggressively, but with the headwind, it was difficult to convince the guys to give their all and make the climb really tough. So I decided to reach the top and then tackle the wet descent strongly. I know the descent very well, and I thought: okay, this is my chance to break away, and there's nothing strange about it, just a man in the breakaway, a man in the breakaway."
Jai Vine was not supposed to compete in the Vuelta, and his call-up came only at the last minute. The Australian was happy with the call he received and thought that this Vuelta could be a good opportunity for him.
"I was called to participate in this race about four weeks ago. Initially, it wasn't in my plans. So, being able to win in Andorra, in front of my son and my wife, was truly incredible. It was incredibly but also very motivating. In the last 5 km, all I could think was: This is for you, Harris. These kinds of motivations are strong and make you ride faster."