Van Aert is at his best once again! Visma star dominates, securing third Vuelta stage win with a stunning climb

So, we're already on week two. Today, the Vuelta resumed, after a much-needed rest day. The chaotic and scorching first week brought a bit of everything: riders who fell and had to abandon the race, remarkable comebacks, and a red jersey wearer who still holds a significant lead over the rest. So, was there going to be any real racing today, or would the big names take it easy, allowing a breakaway group to go up the road?

We had to wait a long time for real answers to these questions. The pace was already blisteringly high in the first hour of the stage, even as the riders tackled a second-category climb. Van Aert quickly showed his eagerness to be in the break, along with Sepp Kuss, Florian Lipowitz and Cristian Rodriguez. We repeatedly saw Ben O'Connor positioned well at the front, appearing alert and unwilling to let dangerous riders slip away.

The result was a long series of attempted attacks, including one from Eddie Dunbar. The Irishman was very active and once again took Van Aert with him. Sylvain Moniquet also showed himself, as did Mauri Vansevenant. However, the groups never got more than twenty seconds ahead. That was until they approached the summit. Van Aert was joined by Quinten Pacher, William Junior Lecerf, Marc Soler and Juri Hollman.

The peloton kept an eye on who was jumping ahead, and many still wanted to join. Alessandro De Marchi created a gap, and behind him, there was still a lot of movement, but suddenly the bunch calmed down. As a result, the gap for Van Aert and his companions grew to two minutes, and it seemed like De Marchi might still join the front. However, he stalled about half a minute behind and ended up in a classic, hopeless breakaway. After this 'chasse patate', De Marchi soon dropped back. The decision had been made: these five men were going for it today.

Van Aert and Lecerf shared the points on the first three climbs. There was no contest for the mountain jersey, so there was only one question that mattered: who was going to be dropped from the front group? Van Aert didn't shy away from the work, but Frenchman Pacher also did a lot of pulling at the front. The Belgian seemed to be setting up his strategy to force a sprint, which seemed almost inevitable. In the peloton, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe briefly put O'Connor under pressure, but it turned out to be a false alarm, and the storm subsided.

With the big, green elephant in the room, Van Aert also saw an opportunity just before the final climb to make some good progress for the points jersey. There was an intermediate sprint 31 kilometers from the finish, and the Belgian easily took the points. Behind him, Soler — who had been fooling around a bit earlier with a sticky bottle and a fake grimace — was struggling, and Lecerf and Hollman couldn't keep up either. Suddenly, there were only two men at the front: Van Aert and Pacher. The Mougas climb began immediately after this, and the gap was already 22 seconds.

Was the fight in the lead group over as soon as Van Aert accelerated? The answer was yes. The Visma star and Pacher worked well together, extending their lead over the remaining Lecerf and Soler to about a minute over the top of the final climb. In the peloton, EF Education-EasyPost made a brief move, increasing the pace for Richard Carapaz. However, they did not continue, so there was no battle for the general classification today, meaning no time differences.

The focus shifted to the descent and the straight line toward the finish. How would Pacher beat Van Aert in a two-man sprint? There was no bluffing, and Pacher took his turns until the final kilometer. After that, Van Aert sprinted out of his wheel. Soler finished third among the three chasers, ahead of Lecerf and Hollman.