Jonas Vingegaard Dedicates Emotional Vuelta Win to Friend Nathan Van Hooydonck

Jonas Vingegaard of Team Jumbo-Visma dedicated his stage 16 victory at the Vuelta a España to his friend Nathan Van Hooydonck, who was recently involved in a traffic accident. Vingegaard’s win also allowed him to overtake his teammate Primoz Roglic in the general classification.

In an emotional moment, Vingegaard expressed his dedication to Van Hooydonck, saying, “I would like to dedicate this victory to my best friend. We heard the news just before the start this morning. On days like this, it’s not easy to keep the focus on cycling. I knew that I wanted to win for Nathan. I am happy with this win, but my thoughts are with him. I hope Nathan will be back to his old self soon. He always sacrifices himself for others. He and I have spent a lot of time together over the past few years, and I’ve built up a good relationship with him. He is always there for me. I hope that Nathan and his wife will be all right soon.”

Vingegaard’s teammate, Sepp Kuss, who currently holds the red jersey, also commented on the stage, saying, “Jonas attacked at the perfect moment. You could see that very few riders were able to stop his attack. Primoz and I then decided to defuse any counter-attacks in the group of favourites. All three of us have the freedom to attack. The main goal is to take the red jersey to Madrid with the team next Sunday.”

With this victory, Vingegaard secured his second win in this year’s Vuelta a España and gave his team their fourth victory in the race. The win also brings the team’s total season tally to sixty victories.

The Vuelta a España continues with the challenging climb to the top of the Angliru, where the strongest rider will likely prevail.