Jay Vine clarifies the controversy with Marc Soler about the Mountain classification: "He is a great teammate"

Stage 20 of the Vuelta a Espana 2024, in addition to confirming Primoz Roglic's victory in the general classification, saw Jay Vine snatch the King of Mountains jersey from teammate Marc Soler.

The UAE Team Emirates rider overtook his Spanish colleague, who was leading a classification ahead of the stage. Soler would have (most likely) won had Vine himself not taken any points from the day's categorized climbs.

However, speaking to the official La Vuelta website, Vine clarified that everything had been discussed with Soler before the start of the queen stage: "We talked to Marc on the rest day that he had some unfinished business, and he agreed that he would help me on the last day," Jay Vine began, explaining that the plan had been in place since last Monday.

"Marc was able to help tire out the other two who were trying to go for the points, and also keep me super fresh, so I could get to the end of the stage and try to keep the team overall as well. He's a great teammate. They told me I had to score one more point [on the penultimate climb], and everything was secured," concludes Jay Vine, reiterating Soler's great work, which was rewarded by the Vuelta a Espana organisers with the Combative Rider award for the queen stage.

Final standings of the KoM classification of Vuelta a Espana 2024: