Remco Evenepoel wins La Vuelta as Juan Sebastian Molano springs surprise on final stage in Madrid

Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) cruised through Sunday’s procession into Madrid to confirm his maiden Grand Tour title at La Vuelta, with UAE Team Emirates lead-out man Juan Sebastian Molano unusually winning the bunch sprint on Stage 21. The Belgian was all but guaranteed to keep the red jersey after surviving the final mountains test on Saturday’s penultimate stage, with the 22-year-old enjoying some celebratory photos with his Quick-Step team-mates on the slow run to the Spanish capital.

Ad In a messy bunch sprint, UAE looked strong with Molano and Pascal Ackermann battling with the green jersey of Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) – although the eventual winner was not the one the team would have expected. Vuelta a EspañaCan Evenepoel topple Pogacar and Vingegaard at Tour de France?A DAY AGO The first half of the 96km stage, which started in Las Rozas, on the outskirts of Madrid, was ridden, rather than raced, at a celebratory pace.

As the peloton rolled gently towards the city centre, Evenepoel and his Quick-Step team-mates indulged in the usual photocalls at the back of the bunch. Only after Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), making his last of 16 appearances in his home Grand Tour, had been able to enjoy a solo lap of honour did the racing proper get underway.

Once Valverde had been returned to the bunch, it was two strong time trialists, Julius Johansen (Intermarche–Wanty–Gobert Materiaux) and Luke Plapp (Ineos Grenadiers) who decided to try and upset the odds. For the better part of 50km, the pair worked together impeccably, as if they had been team-mates for years rather than been brought together by the circumstances.

They rotated in a timely fashion, sticking like glue to each other’s wheels. “Was there a