Australian Vine Wins in Andorra as Norway’s Traeen Leads Vuelta

Jay Vine delivered a commanding solo ride to secure victory on stage six of the Vuelta a España, while Norway’s Torstein Traeen moved into the leader’s red jersey, Sport360NG reports.

The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider attacked decisively with 20km remaining on the 170.3km route from Olot in Catalonia to Pal in Andorra, distancing his breakaway companions on the race’s first summit finish. It marked the third stage win at the Vuelta for the 29-year-old Australian, who resides in Andorra.

“This race wasn’t originally part of my programme, so to take a win here, in front of my wife and son, feels really special,” said Vine. “These are the climbs I train on, La Comella is my favourite in all of Andorra, so today was unforgettable.”

Traeen, riding for Bahrain Victorious, crossed the line 54 seconds behind Vine but his efforts were rewarded with the overall lead. The 30-year-old, who overcame testicular cancer in 2022, now holds a 31-second advantage over Bruno Armirail of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale in the general classification. Italy’s Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) completed the podium on the stage and climbed to third overall.

Former race leader Jonas Vingegaard slipped down the standings after struggling on the climbs, dropping to fifth place overall, 2 minutes 33 seconds behind Traeen.

Britain’s James Shaw impressed with a sixth-place finish on the day, leaving him 21st in the general classification.

Stage seven on Friday offers no respite, with another mountain test taking the peloton from Andorra la Vella to Cerler.

Stage six results (top 10):

Jay Vine (Aus/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 4hrs 12mins 36secs

Torstein Traeen (Nor/Bahrain Victorious) +54s

Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita/XDS Astana) +1m 10s

Bruno Armirail (Fra/Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +1m 15s

Pablo Castrillo Zapater (Spa/Movistar) +1m 52s

James Shaw (GB/EF Education-Easy Post) +2m 05s

Louis Vervaeke (Bel/Soudal–Quick Step) +2m 15s

Ramses Debruyne (Bel/Alpecin-Deceuninck) +2m 19s

Archie Ryan (Ire/EF Education-Easy Post) +2m 42s

João Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +4m 19s

General classification after stage six (top 10):

Torstein Traeen (Nor/Bahrain Victorious) 20hrs 25mins 46secs

Bruno Armirail (Fra/Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +31s

Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita/XDS Astana) +1m 01s

Louis Vervaeke (Bel/Soudal–Quick Step) +1m 58s

Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma–Lease a Bike) +2m 33s

João Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +2m 41s

Giulio Ciccone (Ita/Lidl-Trek) +2m 42s

Matteo Jorgenson (USA/Visma–Lease a Bike) +2m 49s

Jai Hindley (Aus/Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +2m 53s

Giulio Pellizzari (Ita/Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) same time