"You always have to keep faith and fight, even if the results are sometimes hard to find" - Rigoberto Urán takes emotional win at Vuelta a Espana

Rigoberto Urãn had won a stage at the Tour de Suisse last year, but over the last seasons he has struggled to bring in the big wins. The 2022 Vuelta a Espana will be a very meaningful race in his career, as he raised his arms in glory for the first time in five years at a Grand Tour.

“I already had victories in the Giro and the Tour, but this gives me a lot of joy. This is very nice for my career. I've been trying to win a stage in this round for years and I'm very happy with it," Urán said in a post-race interview. The Colombian knew it was a day for the breakaway to succeed, and he managed to get himself in the winning group, not only getting himself in position to fight for the stage win, but also to climb up the GC - with some rising form seeing him just outside the Top10 at the beginning of the day.

Urán played his cards perfectly, twice launching counter-attacks that saw him distance several of his rivals, but having to close down Lawson Craddock towards the final kilometer. When Jesús Herrada launched his attack in the final kilometer it briefly seemed as if he'd be getting away with the win, but the EF Education-EasyPost rider had the legs to close down the move in sight of the line. Then it was a matter of who had the best legs, but Urán managed to hold off a surging Quentin Pacher to cross the line first. "At three hundred meters from the finish, it was now or never," he described.

“Because I was the closest in the general classification, I had to give a little more along the way. I also had strong competition in the leading group," he added. Urán gained large minutes in the overall classification, and with the abandon of Primoz Roglic, he's managed to ascend from 12th to 9th - with the possibility of climbing further in the coming mountainous days. Whatever happens, it has been a successful race for the 35-year old already.

"I am very grateful to my team and my family. They have always believed in me. This victory also proves that you always have to keep faith and fight, even if the results are sometimes hard to find,” he continued. “The most important thing is that you wake up every day with a good attitude. If it doesn't work once, you just have to try again.”