"We saw people trying to take the road" - Jonas Vingegaard on the protests that jeopardized Bilbao finale

Jonas Vingegaard had a clear goal today at the Vuelta a Espana: Win the stage. It was his son's birthday which provided extra motivation, but the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider didn't have the chance to take the stage win as the finale was neutralized due to protests at the finish.

"It's my son's birthday; he turned one today. So I really wanted to win for him, and we worked all day to achieve that. I think it's a real shame that we didn't get that chance. I would have loved to have had the chance to win the stage for him, but it is what it is."

Vingegaard responded to the attacks of João Almeida on the penultimate climb of the day, where already there was a road block - which luckily didn't stop the race however. Then a few minutes later came the news that there would be no finish line or stage winner, and times would be taken 3 kilometers away from the finish line.

"I was a little disappointed. I didn't want to do anything, but then Tom Pidcock attacked and I had to let him go. I came back on the descent, and we worked well together, so we were able to regain some time. I wasn't sure if Tom was aware of the situation, because he wanted to keep going".

Vingegaard responded to the attacks, dropped twice but managing to close the gap to the Briton who was attacking his and João Almeida's positions in the overall classification. Ultimately, the Dane had to draw out the positives.

"As a team, we did really well. The fact that we saw a three-man breakaway on a day when everyone wanted to be in the group speaks volumes," he said. Ben Tulett and Victor Campenaerts showed themselves incredibly strong on the climbs, and Vingegaard did win a few seconds on João Almeida.

Asked directly on the protests, Vingegaard shares what he saw the first time going through the finish line in Bilbao. "The police did a very good job. The first time we crossed the finish line, we saw people trying to take the road. We were also blocked once on that other climb, but we were able to keep going."