Simon Dalby had two blood clots in his brain last year, but now finishes 9th in a Vuelta stage.

Simon Dalby finished ninth on Friday in the 13th stage of the Vuelta a España, which was won by Wout van Aert—and that can certainly be called a miracle. The young Danish cyclist from Uno-X suffered blood clots in his brain last year, but 10 months later, he’s proving he’s back to full strength.

Last year, Uno-X was forced to announce that Dalby, who was 22 at the time, was in the hospital. The otherwise healthy cyclist suddenly became very dizzy and suffered partial paralysis on his right side. Thanks to his parents’ quick thinking and prompt medical attention, action was taken immediately, and he was taken to the hospital.

That’s when the cause came to light: a common, congenital heart defect (likely a PFO, or patent foramen ovale) that affects 20 to 25 percent of the population. Virtually no one is aware of it, but for Dalby, it led to some really bad luck. Two months after the incident, he was able to resume training.

Still, it wasn’t until April 2025 that Dalby was able to race again, and before the Vuelta, he had only thirteen days of racing under his belt. Despite that limited preparation, the Dane still managed to contend for the win until the very end of the thirteenth stage of the Vuelta a España, alongside top riders such as Wout van Aert and Matthew Brennan.

"Yeah, I think we started the first climb after about 20 kilometers, and then the race just exploded. Several groups formed. At first, we ended up in a group of about 15 or 16 riders, with Kron in it. I then dropped back just before the summit on the descent. After that, another large group caught up with Cort, Leknessund, Skjelmose, and other riders. That’s how we ended up with 42 riders, and from that point on, it was a race all day long, with small groups breaking away constantly."

"You look around and all you see are stars, and there I am right in the middle of them. And of course, there were two Visma riders, so I thought: if I want to make it onto the podium, it all comes down to breaking away with one of them. I broke away with Brennan a few times. One of those times was with about 25 kilometers to go, but the group behind us was still right on our heels.”

"So I chose not to keep going, because we were racing for the win. In hindsight, I should have just pushed on; then I might have finished second. But that’s just how it goes,” he sums up after finishing ninth in the day’s results—his best result so far in this Vuelta a España.