"The Vuelta suits me better than the Tour" - Mikel Landa finds himself to finish on the Top5 of Vuelta a Espana

Mikel Landa completely missed his best legs at the Tour de France, but finally returned to his best level towards the end of the Vuelta a Espana. He was, as everyone, no match for Jumbo-Visma, but has ridden into a strong fifth place in the end.

“It did indeed turn out differently. I did my best in this Vuelta, after the Tour did not go well," Landa told Eurosport. “I lost my confidence in riding classifications during the Tour, but I have now found that again." Early in the year the Basque thrived, second at the Vuelta a Andalucia and Itzulia Basque Country for example, behind only Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard respectively. After finishing on the podium of the 2022 Giro d'Italia too it was safe to say Landa was in the best form of his career.

At the Tour however, far from it. The Vuelta's GC also seemed to be unlikely at the start, but the breakaway on stage 6 - which saw Sepp Kuss jump into the main GC fight - had him climb up the standings. Although he went as low as 11th after the time-trial, Landa rode for the overall classification and his form improved throughout the race. This peaked at the Alto de l'Angliru where he was the only rider close to matching the Jumbo-Visma. This saw him rise from seventh to fifth on the day, position he held until today.

He did try to assault Juan Ayuso's fourth place on several occasions but unsuccessfully. However a place in the Top5 is a good result for a race that was very hard, but suited him. “The Vuelta suits me better than the Tour," he concludes. "This also made me enjoy riding around more. I didn't start this race very well, but as the race progressed I got better and better,"