Visma favourites beaten as Johannessen proves strongest attacker in spectacular Vuelta finale

The final stage was never expected to be a simple ride towards a bunch sprint, as the organisers had still found plenty of climbing in Granada. The climb to the Alhambra was set to be the key feature of the day. The riders tackled the 2.1-kilometre climb at an average gradient of 6.6 per cent four times in total, although the finish was not at the summit but eight kilometres later.

That made it a battle between sprinters and punchers, who would both have every opportunity to fight for the stage win. The general classification times were taken when the riders entered the final lap. For race leader Enric Mas, the final 9.8 kilometres would therefore be a victory parade, while those interested in the stage win still had one final chance to go all-out.

As usual, however, there was first time for a celebration. Before the stage, retiring riders received a guard of honour from their colleagues. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Jesus Herrada (Burgos Burpellet BH), David de la Cruz (Pinarello - Q36.5), Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) and, of course, Steven Kruijswijk (Visma | Lease a Bike) were given a beautiful moment at the start.

After the start, the peloton continued at walking pace. The successful teams were given the chance to enjoy their moment. Movistar posed with overall winner Enric Mas, Visma | Lease a Bike celebrated Wout van Aert’s green jersey, Netcompany INEOS showed off Oscar Onley’s white jersey and Bahrain Victorious displayed Santiago Buitrago’s polka-dot jersey. Afterwards, Movistar moved to the front and the riders gradually began making their way back towards Granada.

With just over 40 kilometres remaining, the riders crossed the finish line for the first time, with Movistar leading the way. The climb to the Alhambra, the decisive point of the day, followed, but nobody wanted to make a move on the first ascent. That soon changed, however, as Visma | Lease a Bike, Uno-X Mobility and Visma | Lease a Bike took control of the race, immediately increasing the pace.

And on the climb, the race exploded. It was Bastien Tronchon (Groupama-FDJ), winner of stage ten, who launched the first acceleration. He was joined by, among others, Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike), Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek), Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Milan Vader (Pinarello - Q36.5). However, they were caught again a few kilometres later.

The real battle was therefore saved for the final lap. Bahrain Victorious set things up for retiring rider Bilbao. The Basque climber attacked on the Alhambra climb, where Wout van Aert was dropped: it was not going to be his day. Bilbao continued to build his advantage, but Netcompany INEOS led the chase from a group of around fifteen riders.

Before the summit, Laurence Pithie launched an acceleration, showing no mercy as he immediately flew past the struggling Bilbao. The chase was led by Nys, Romele, Marco Brenner (Tudor), Jarno Widar (Lotto-Intermarché), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X) and Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech), while Brennan was unable to follow. The Briton did return on the descent, together with Tronchon and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step).

Pithie was caught by the chasing riders, after which the waiting game began. With only individual riders remaining, cooperation was difficult to find. Everyone knew Brennan was the pre-race favourite, and a barrage of attacks followed. Romele, Debruyne and Johannessen proved to be the strongest attackers, after which the Norwegian from Uno-X finished the job in the sprint.