Juan Ayuso outgunned breakaway companion Javier Romo to take a second Vuelta a España stage win at at Los Corrales de Buelna on stage 12.
The Spanish UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider, who has been in the media over the last few days following a controversial announcement about his departure from the team, attacked from a huge breakaway group with 26km of the mountainous stage to ride.
How it happened
Bookended by two decent-sized mountain ascents and not a huge amount in-between, much of the action on this 144.9km outing in northern Spain centred around the beginning and the end of the parcours.
Thankfully, today’s stage ran its course and a winner was celebrated at the end – as opposed to yesterday, where the chequered flag in Bilbao was put away again without ever waving a rider through. Not properly, anyway.
The peloton stayed together over the first 20km before the early break went on the approach to the day’s first climb – the cat-two Puerto de Alisas – which began at 32km.
So far so normal. But perhaps less predictably, that first break was 18 riders strong. What’s more, another huge bridging group also quickly formed and before too long, the two had joined up to form a very strong break of around 40 riders.
Boasting riders the strength of Juan Ayuso, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Mikel Landa (Movistar) and many more, it soon became clear that Vingegaard’s Visma Lease a Bike team would have their hands full limiting the gap, let alone bringing it back.
The break did go all the way, building out a gap to six minutes and beyond. Equally predictably, the final climb of the cat-one Collada de Brenes proved the catalyst for the eventual winning move.
First James Shaw (EF Education-EasyPost) had a pop, but that was followed more emphatically by Ayuso’s move, with Romo shadowing him. The pair formed a fractious working relationship that took them all the way to the finish, with the big break splintering behind them as riders did their best to rein them in.
Ultimately, Ayuso managed to position Romo right where he wanted him in a sinuous final kilometre, before sprinting around him without too much difficulty.
Result
Vuelta a España 2025, stage 12: Laredo > Los Corrales de Buelna (144.9km)
1. Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 3:16:21
2. Javier Romo (Spa) Movistar, at s.t.
3. Brieuc Rolland (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, +13s
4. Victor Campanaerts (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, +17s
5. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek,
6. Nico Denz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe, both at s.t.
7. Damian Howson (Aus) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +18s
8. Santiago Buitrago (Col) Bahrain Victorious, at s.t.
9. Pablo Castrillo (Spa) Movistar
10. Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, both at s.t.
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