La Vuelta a España has started and, predictibly, Jonas Vingegaard is already leading the pack, taking the red jersey as leader in the General Classification. Without Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar (who has often said he's considering a retirement), the Danish cyclist from Team Visma has been hailed as big favourite for the Grand Tour.
In stage 2, during the ascent of Limone Piemonte (the first stages take place in Italy), winning a tense duel with Italian rider from Lidl-Trek Giulio Ciccone, Vingegaard won his first stage during La Vuelta 2025, despite a mass fall early in the race involving most of Team Visma, that thankfully didn't have big consequences.
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Second stage also saw Guillaume Martín from Groupama-FDJ being the first rider to withdraw from the Spanish Grand Tour. Juan Ayuso, the main local hope for La Vuelta (there haven't been an Spanish winner in La Vuelta since Alberto Contador in 2014) finished eighth and remains ninth in the General Classification, 12 seconds behind Vingegaard, chased by Ciccone and David Gaudu in the top 3.