"We fought every day" - Mikel Landa satisfied to finish 2nd behind Jonas Vingegaard at Itzulia Basque Country

Although he couldn't mount a late charge and threaten Jonas Vingegaard's overall lead on the final stage of the Itzulia Basque Country, Mikel Landa has revealed he is still delighted by his performance at the race, finishing runner-up.

"I am happy with this second place," the Spaniard says in an official press release. "The team did a great job defending this result today. We might miss a stage win, but we worked well with the team we had. We fought every day, and today was a super tough stage. I think we should be happy with this podium finish."

Landa was unable to really threaten Vingegaard's overall lead but he proved himself to be comfortably best of the rest, finishing just behind the Jumbo-Visma in second on both stage three and stage four of the race. Eleventh on the final stage was more than enough to secure Landa a podium finish overall. “After a very complicated last stage, we achieved a fantastic result. The race exploded from the start," he explains.

"We had to take control with two Jumbo riders in the leading group. We had to get the best out of all our riders and luckily they all had a good day," Bahrain - Victorious sports director Neill Stephens agrees. "We've worked hard. We did our best to secure the podium with Mikel. Vingegaard was too strong. He really deserved this win, and we deserved second place. So it's a very good result for us."