"Second isn’t good enough for me" - Iván Romeo puts Movistar in pole position to win Andalucia with brave breakaway

The Vuelta a Andalucía 2026 has a new overall leader: Iván Romeo. The Movistar Team rider claimed stage 2 with a very strong display, after a very early attack together with Andreas Leknessund that proved to be a perfect tactic to put himself in position to win the race.

The Spanish champion jumped into the break with over 80 kilometers to go, attacking from the bunch on the Puerto de la Cabra. From that moment, alongside Andreas Leknessund, the effort was immense to keep the peloton at bay and avoid being caught before the line.

The two collaborated perfectly to hold off the peloton still with a good margin, one that not only allowed them to fight for the stage win; but allows them to go into the second half of the race with a meaningful gap over the rest and a route that is not overly difficult.

With just 2 kilometers remaining and the win certain to come from one of the two, Romeo attacked again, dropping Leknessund and taking a solo win. With this victory (Movistar Team’s second of the season), the rider from Valladolid took the yellow jersey, 7 seconds ahead of Leknessund and 54 over the rest of the top 10.

“A very intense day, absolutely. You could see from the start that everything was going to be fought from the gun. We knew we might have an opportunity,” Iván Romeo said in a post-race interview.

“Luckily I found a gap with Andreas Leknessund. We worked together really well. We knew we had to go all-in to the finish, and that’s what we did. So I’m very happy with the result,” he added, highlighting the key move with the Uno-X Mobility rider up front.

“We knew the hardest part of the stage was in the first half. Attacking later would be very difficult. So when I moved on the climb and Leknessund joined me, it was all about cooperating so they wouldn’t catch us in the run-in,” continued an elated Iván Romeo.

With the peloton playing tactically and underestimating the duo, they let a gap of three minutes grow; and with the absence of difficult climbs, the likes of Tim Wellens and Tom Pidcock did not try to close the gap down in the final hour of racing.

“About my attack with 2 kilometers to go, I’m the kind of rider who doesn’t like to risk a sprint if I can arrive alone. At this Vuelta a Andalucía, second isn’t good enough for me, so I tried to open the gap when I saw he was on the limit.”

Now, he has 7 seconds over the Norwegian, time which will not be easy to close down; and 54 over the other main GC favourites. “The goal is to defend the overall. I don’t know exactly what my advantage is, but I hope to keep the yellow jersey".

"We came here to win the Vuelta a Andalucía, and now we’re in a great position to do it,” concluded the Movistar Team star, ready for the challenge of holding the lead through to the finish.