Vuelta a Andalucia: Wout Poels takes win on incredibly agressive stage and takes the race lead

The Bahrain - Victorious rider net his first win since 2019 in great fashion after attacking the queen stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia and, despite leading from the front, beating Alexey Lutsenko in a tight sprint in Baza.

It was a brutal day on the bike, with the pressure on from start to finish. As expected, the race completely broke appart in the Alto del Purche as BORA and Astana attacked the race. Several splits happened and groups came together to organize after the climb, however the likes of Emanuel Buchmann, Domenico Pozzovivo and race leader Alessandro Covi never saw the head of the race again as they were dropped and could not get back to the head of the race which had a group of 15 riders, including most of the GC contenders, with Astana Qazaqstan Team and Bahrain - Victorious well represented.

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The group collaborated well and went on to fight for the stage win between themselves. Several attacks popped in the final set of climbs as many riders then looked to make differences between themselves. With 15 kilometers however, riders of both the most represented teams attacked as Alexey Lutsenko and Wout Poels made a move and got a gap.

A flurry of attacks kept surging behind all the way to the line, but with no true organization the leading duo extended their lead and took it all the way until the finish. Wout Poels had the most motivation to work as there are no bonifications on the line and he was on the way to climb into the race lead, he leadout the sprint and nevertheless managed to beat Lutsenko on the line.

Mauri Vansevenant won the sprint for third place as the chasing group arrived 18 seconds behind the leading duo.