Jonas Vingegaard "super happy to win a week-long WorldTour stage race for the first time" at Itzulia Basque Country

Jonas Vingegaard is a rider who has achieved great things, but until today he had never won a one-week stage-race at World Tour level. Today at Itzulia Basque Country he crossed that off the list, winning with an ambitious and risky solo move, and taking his third stage win of the week.

“It was a very nice day for us. I have to thank my teammates again, they were fantastic. We had the race locked with two guys in the leading group. We did perfectly today," Vingegaard said in a post-race interview. Jumbo-Visma had Attila Valter and Steven Kruijswijk - both of his domestiques in the climbs - in the breakaway to anticipate attacks at Krabelin. None came, and the Dutch team was still able to put them to use despite being caught in a brutal part of the stage.

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Jonas Vingegaard seals Itzulia Basque Country win as he takes epic solo win on the final day

In the climb to Itzua Vingegaard was comfortable and despite leading the race and attacked off the front. Having the best legs on the day, he bridged across to his teammates, and then rode off alone. It was a comfortable win, he pushed hard on the descents too and had a huge gap heading into the finishing straight in Eibar. More than just a win, Vingegaard seemed to want to make a statement, and by winning his third stage in such way - as did Pogacar and Roglic at Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico respectively - he's done so.

“I thought: if I want to attack, it has to be on the penultimate climb, because the last climb is not hard enough to make a big difference. I had the legs and wanted to try it. I don't know if I was the best, but I was able to get away and I'm super happy to win a week-long WorldTour stage race for the first time," he concluded. It was a comfortable triumph which set Vingegaard back on the top step. He will prioritize the Tour de France later this summer, but may still take part in the Ardennes classics over the coming weeks.

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Prize Money 2023 Itzulia Basque Country - €99.000 in total

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