Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick Step) made the most of his pure speed to snatch a prestigious stage win in Madrid. The young Dutch national champion out-sprinted the Irish national champion Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) to claim his second Grand Tour victory. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) made it safely to the line to become the first Slovenian rider to win a Grand Tour, ahead of the World champion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) and another Slovenian, the 20 yo wunderkind Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates). Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana Pro Team) is the most aggressive rider of the race.
Sun greets the riders as a 153-man peloton rolls out from Fuenlabrada in the afternoon. The 50km leading to Madrid are an opportunity for the riders to celebrate their achievements after three weeks of hard racing. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), set to win La Vuelta, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team), 2nd on GC, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), 3rd overall and best young rider, and Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R La Mondiale), King of the Mountains, share a beer. Jesus Ezquerra (Burgos-BH) successfully proposes his girlfriend.
The intensity picks up as the race enters Madrid, with nine 5.8km laps to go along some of the most prestigious venues of the Spanish capital. Riders try their luck as soon as the pack crosses the finish line for the first time. But with a very high pace, it’s hard to build any gap.
Daniel Martinez (EF Education First) and Diego Rubio (Burgos-BH) get to the front with 43km to go. Deceuninck-Quick Step, Bora-Hansgrohe and UAE Team Emirates work together to control the gap around 20”. The two attackers are caught with 7km to go. Deceuninck-Quick Step set the sprint and Fabio Jakobsen delivers with the stage victory ahead of Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe).
