Torstein Træen Keeps La Vuelta Leadership
# Torstein Træen Successfully Defends La Vuelta Leadership in Stage 7
Torstein Træen has once again showcased his resilience by successfully defending the leader’s jersey after his inaugural day in red. Completing the formidable Stage 7 of La Vuelta a España, Træen navigated a daunting 188 km route from Andorra to Cerler, marked by the year’s most mountainous course, featuring more than 4,400 meters of elevation gain across four categorized climbs.
The stage was heavily influenced by a decisive breakaway led by Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates – XRG), who initially struck out on the Port del Cantó, later joined by 11 other riders. Team Bahrain Victorious took on the critical responsibility of controlling the peloton, maintaining the gap through the Puerto de la Creu de Perves and the Coll de l’Espina, ultimately reaching the significant final 12 km ascent to Cerler – Huesca La Magia.
With about 10 km to go on the last climb, Ayuso launched his winning breakaway, achieving solo victory ahead of Frigo (IPT) and Perna (Arkéa–B&B Hotels). Meanwhile, Træen and the General Classification (GC) group crossed the finish line 2 minutes and 35 seconds later, ensuring that the Norwegian retained the leader’s jersey for another day.
Reflecting on the emotional challenges of the stage, Træen stated, “Today’s stage was quite emotional for me because I really felt the pressure after seeing how much work my teammates did to keep me in position to defend the jersey. At one point I was really nervous, because I didn’t feel so good, but on the last climb I managed it well. Jack rode super, super good, closing big gaps and big groups. Finlay was excellent too on the climbs, Santi helped me a lot, and then obviously Roman, Mathijs and Nicolò were riding like motorbikes when they came back. I’m really proud to have teammates like these.”
As Træen gears up for Stage 8, he maintains a 2-minute and 33-second lead over Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) and a 2-minute and 41-second advantage over João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates). With the upcoming stage designed for the sprinters, Træen appears poised to defend the red jersey for at least another day.
