Mixed feelings for Visma in Burgos as Felix Gall boosts Vuelta credentials

Visma | Lease a Bike won two stages at the Vuelta a Burgos with Matthew Brennan, but their climbing leaders did not quite deliver what the team had hoped for. Jørgen Nordhagen did finish the race on a positive note with a strong final stage, while Ben Tulett went in the opposite direction and slipped down the standings. Meanwhile, Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) secured the overall victory. For the Austrian, it was a timely confidence boost ahead of the Vuelta a España.

The grueling final stage to Lagunas de Neila was won by Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), but behind the Italian, Nordhagen managed to climb with the best riders in the race. That was an encouraging sign after the Norwegian had struggled to find his best form during the previous days. “A good result with Jørgen today,” team director Maarten Wynants said on the team’s website. “It’s the confidence boost he needed ahead of the upcoming Vuelta.”

Nordhagen will make his Grand Tour debut there, potentially as a secondary GC option, while Tulett is expected to be one of Visma | Lease a Bike’s principal climbers. The Briton had a much more difficult final stage in Burgos, however, fading badly on the final climb and eventually finishing 33rd. In the general classification, he dropped from seventh to fifteenth place. “It was a little more difficult for Ben today. He slipped backwards on the final climb. We wanted to secure a top-ten finish in the general classification, and unfortunately we weren’t able to do that.”

Nevertheless, Wynants believes the team can look back on enough positives from the week, particularly with its bigger objectives still to come. “It was a successful week. We took two victories and Jørgen finished inside the top ten in the final stage. We also brought several young riders here and they did a very good job. Everyone has been able to take some confidence from this race heading into their next objectives.”

Gall, meanwhile, narrowly secured the overall victory in Burgos. “As expected, today was a tough battle, with a very demanding stage and an extremely steep final climb — the kind of climb you only find in Spain,” he explained on the Decathlon CMA CGM website. “I’m incredibly happy because this is my first overall victory, and that really means something. I had a very good altitude training camp in Arc 1950 and then came directly here.”

It was far from straightforward, with Oscar Onley and Giulio Ciccone putting the Austrian under serious pressure. “Oscar and Giulio are very strong riders. It was a difficult battle, but we handled it well as a team and I’m happy that it paid off. I’ve gained a lot of confidence this week. Now I’ll spend a few days at home before heading to the Vuelta.”

It will be Gall’s third Vuelta a España, having finished eighth overall last year. After taking second place at the Giro d’Italia earlier this season, the climber will hope to challenge for another Grand Tour podium in Spain. Winning the race will be considerably more difficult, however, after Tadej Pogačar officially confirmed last week that he will contest the final Grand Tour of the season.