As he took his head in his hands in disbelief at Aramon Valdelinares, Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) secured a special victory underlined by the black armbands he and his Norwegian compatriots wore on stage 7 of La Vuelta 26. At the start in Vall d’Alba, they were at the head of the peloton, paying tribute to King Harald V, who had passed away on Friday. Moments later, Leknessund was part of the first move on a day marked by a flurry of attacks. The experienced baroudeur spent the whole day at the front and eventually dropped his breakaway companions on the final ascent of the day, with 7.5 km to go, to take Norway’s first La Vuelta stage win since Thor Hushovd’s victory in Murcia in 2010. Sixteen years on, Hushovd is the manager of Uno-X Mobility, who are making their La Vuelta debut and have now claimed victory in the last four Grand Tours they’ve participated in: Abrahamsen at the Tour 2025, Dversnes at the Giro 2026, Waerenskjold at the Tour 2026, and now Leknessund. Even better, the Scandinavian team achieved a 1-2 in Aramon Valdelinares with Tobias Johannessen finishing ahead of Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike). Among the GC contenders, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) gained a handful of seconds to stamp his authority again.
Onto the first summit finish of La Vuelta 26! The peloton already had an uphill rendezvous in Font-Romeu (stage 3) but extreme weather flipped the script. On day 7, the sky seems much more clement, as the riders head to Aramon Valdelinares with 149.8 km of racing (3,685 metres of elevation) from Vall d’Alba.
Van Aert and Leknessund go early
With the green jersey on his back, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) attacks as soon as the flag drops. He is followed by Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) and Milan Vader (Bahrain Victorious) while a fierce battle for the breakaway unfolds behind them.
With a flurry of attacks in their wake, the early attackers set a strong pace, too strong for Vader, who is dropped at km 19. Meanwhile, 25 chasers emerge in pursuit of the lead duo.
Among them, three manage to bridge the gap inside the last kilometre up the first climb of the day, Puerto El Remolcador (cat. 2, summit at km 51.8): Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Eddie Dunbar (Pinarello Q36.5) and Alexey Lutsenko (NSN). The latter was 2nd at Aramon Valdelinares in La Vuelta 14.
The chasers stay behind
The situation settles over the ascent of Alto de Zucaina (km 65.5) and the following valley. As they face the final 60 kilometres and enter Aragon, the five leaders are a minute and a half ahead of their chasers. Meanwhile, UAE Emirates XRG control the bunch and the gap increases to over 6 minutes.
Onto the Alto Fuente de Rubielos (cat. 3, km 103.9), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) push the pace in the chase group. The gap drops down to 1’10’’, but the collaboration is not good. The gap is back up to a minute and a half when the leaders tackle the penultimate ascent of the day, Puerto de San Rafael (cat. 2, km 135.3).
Leknessund secures a special win
The strongest climbers in the chase up the ante. They bring the gap down to a minute ahead of the final climb, the cat. 1 ascent of Aramon Valdelinares (9.8 km at 5.9% with gradients up to 13%). Meanwhile, the peloton trail by 7 minutes.
Andreas Leknessund attacks 7.5 km from the finish line. Lutsenko and Van Aert try to chase him down, but the Norwegian powerhouse extends his lead. He eventually claims Uno-X Mobility’s first victory at La Vuelta, on a day marked by the passing of Norway’s king Harald V. Johannessen sets off in the final kilometre to secure the second place (+34’’) ahead of Van Aert (+47’’).
In the GC group, Decathlon CMA CGM up the ante and Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) attacks into the final two kilometres. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) and Enric Mas (Movistar) follow him until the Slovenian sets his own pace and gains a handful of seconds. After seven stages, his GC lead is up to 3’50’’ on Mas and 4’50’’ on Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). Gall is fourth (+5’01’’).
