Full Breakdown
Van Aert’s Breakaway Regret and Green Jersey Lead After Stage 7 of the Vuelta a España
8/29/2026, 8:19:59 AM
Stage 7: Breakaway Dynamics and Final Climb
A five-rider breakaway formed early on the 149.8 km stage from Vall d’Alba to the summit finish at Aramón Valdelinares. The group included Belgium’s Wout van Aert, Norway’s Andreas Leknessund, his Uno-X teammate Tobias Johannessen, Eddie Dunbar and Alexey Lutsenko. The peloton allowed the escape to stay clear, and the riders worked together to build a gap of about one minute at the foot of the final 9.8 km climb (average 5.9 % gradient).
Points Battle and Green Jersey Shift
Van Aert took maximum points at the intermediate sprint 25 km from the finish (20 points) and, after being dropped on the steepest section, fought back to finish third, earning an additional 15 points. Those 35 points raised his total to 104, giving him a two-point lead over Tadej Pogacar in the points (green-jersey) classification. Visma | Lease a Bike teammate Matthew Brennan remains third with 60 points.
Team Strategies and Tactical Comments
Visma | Lease a Bike has positioned van Aert as its primary contender for the green jersey, using him as a lead-out for sprint-specialist Matthew Brennan while allowing van Aert to target intermediate sprints and hilly finishes. After the stage, Tadej Pogacar suggested the team should decide which rider to back for the points competition, noting the abundance of points still available over the remaining 15 stages.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Honestly, I regret maybe a little bit that I didn't have confidence in myself for the last climb,” — Van Aert
- “I hope it will not take as much energy every day as I did on this stage, but in the Vuelta you also need climbing legs to compete in the green jersey classification, so if the legs are there, then let's ride,” — Van Aert
- “It’s been a special day for the team and also for the whole of Norway,” — Andreas Leknessund
- “I didn’t expect it to be this emotional, but for sure there’s so much feelings around this,” — Andreas Leknessund
- “During the stage, I perhaps realised too late that the stage win was possible,” — Van Aert
- “I’m happy that I’m leading the classification and not merely wearing the jersey,” — Van Aert
Data & Statistics
- Breakaway composition: van Aert, Leknessund, Johannessen, Dunbar, Lutsenko.
- Intermediate sprint: 20 points (van Aert).
- Stage finish: Leknessund 1st, Johannessen 2nd (34 s behind), van Aert 3rd.
- Points classification after the stage: van Aert 104, Pogacar 102, Brennan 60.
- Final climb length: 9.8 km at 5.9 % average gradient.
What’s Next
Stage 8 will be a 176.4 km flat route from Pucol to Xeraco, offering sprinters a chance to collect points while the green-jersey battle continues to unfold.
