"There have been days when I have regretted having come" - Mikel Landa reflects on up-and-down 2024 Vuelta a Espana

It has not been an easy Vuelta a Espana 2024 for home crowd favourite Mikel Landa. The Basque rider arrived after a spectacular Tour de France and a lot was expected. He was in the fight for the podium or, at least, very well placed to finish in the top five for the majority of the race too. However, he fell away in the third week, eventually finishing 8th overall.

However, he came to the race with not very good feelings and suffered a lot as, on the other hand, almost always happens in a Vuelta a España in which he has never been able to perform as well as in Giro and Tour. In spite of everything, he leaves the race satisfied and with his batteries full to continue performing in 2025. These were his feelings after crossing the finish line in Madrid:

"Difficult feelings, which were not good, I am satisfied in the end. It makes me want to continue, the years go by, it's a routine, it's a bit the same, you lose the illusion, but this year I've recovered it again and I'm looking forward to next year. In the Tour I flew, with a freshness that I hadn't had for a long time and here I haven't had, but even so we've been ahead and that's what I'll keep. To Landismo and the fans in general I give a 10, I can't be more grateful. There have been days when I have regretted having come, but then in the end you enjoy it too," Landa assessed post-stage 21.