"You never get used to it" - Jay Vine on yet another Vuelta a Espana triumph

At this point in his career, it is safe to say that the Vuelta a Espana is Jay Vine's ultimate race. Back in 2022 he had a stupendous breakthrough with two stage wins; In 2024 he won the KOM classification; and with only 10 stages of the 2025 race ridden he has both won two stages and is leading the classification once again.

After his triumph at 'home' in Andorra, the Australian found himself in the breakaway of the day once again on stage 10 to Larra Belagua, back in the Pyrenees. "It was very, very tough. When it happens, it's an incredible feeling. You never get used to it; it's a feeling as incredible as it is tough. My move started two hours into the race, trying to catch the groups ahead of us".

The breakaway formation was the crucial part of the stage, and most riders knew this. Without any team showing interesting on chasing to fight for the stage win behind, those who wanted a stage win knew they had to move early on, but ironically this meant we wouldn't have a front group formed until the final hour and a half of the stage.

But eventually, this did happen, with around 30 riders including Vine and teammate Mikkel Bjerg making it to the front. "There was a crash, so I got stuck behind, and we continued for another 45 minutes. Some teammates decided to save their legs for tomorrow, but with Mikel's support, I saw that I could break away during the toughest part of the race, which was a key factor at the end".

It came as little surprise, however when all eyes are on you, the pressure or the tactics from rivals can make it quite hard for someone like Vine to take the win on a day like this that became very tactical in the breakaway. However the gaps remained relatively stable and he found himself in the right front group.

Without any serious accelerations, the KOM jersey was able to drop all of his competitors. "I started the climb a little more calmly, but I realized I had to react, and little by little, I caught up with the riders until I reached Pablo [Castrillo]. From there, I set my pace to reach the finish and take the stage win".

Vine, one of the peloton's best climbers, helped João Almeida in the past mountain stage, and with this second stage win he cements himself as one of the headliners of this Vuelta thus far and matching Jasper Philipsen and Jonas Vingegaard as a double stage winner.