Leknessund Takes Emotional Victory on Valdelinares
VALL D’ALBA > ARAMÓN VALDELINARES (August 28, 2026) – Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) took his head in his hands in disbelief after securing a special victory atop Aramon Valdelinares in Stage 7 of La Vuelta 26. The Norwegian’s emotional win came on a day when he and his Norwegian teammates wore black armbands in tribute to King Harald V, who had died Friday.
At the start in Vall d’Alba, the Norwegian riders moved to the front of the peloton to pay tribute to their king. Moments later, Leknessund was part of the first breakaway move on a day marked by a flurry of attacks.
The experienced baroudeur spent the entire day at the front before making his decisive move on the final climb. With 7.5 kilometers remaining, Leknessund attacked his breakaway companions and gradually extended his advantage to claim Norway’s first La Vuelta stage victory since Thor Hushovd won in Murcia in 2010.
Sixteen years after Hushovd’s victory, he was now the manager of Uno-X Mobility, which was making its La Vuelta debut. The team had now won stages in each of the last four Grand Tours in which it had participated: Jonas Abrahamsen at the 2025 Tour de France, Tobias Halland Johannessen at the 2026 Giro d’Italia, Søren Wærenskjold at the 2026 Tour de France and now Leknessund at La Vuelta.
Uno-X Mobility also took the top two places on Valdelinares, with Tobias Halland Johannessen finishing second, 34 seconds behind his teammate, and ahead of Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), who was third at 47 seconds.
Among the overall contenders, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) gained several seconds and once again stamped his authority on the race.
Van Aert and Leknessund Went Early
The first summit finish of La Vuelta 26 came after 149.8 kilometers from Vall d’Alba to Aramon Valdelinares, with 3,685 meters of climbing. The riders had already faced an uphill finish at Font-Romeu on Stage 3, but extreme weather had changed the nature of that stage.
With the green jersey on his back, Van Aert attacked as soon as the flag dropped. Leknessund and Milan Vader (Bahrain Victorious) followed, while a fierce battle developed behind them for the breakaway.
The early attackers set a strong pace, eventually dropping Vader at kilometer 19. A group of 25 riders then formed in pursuit of the leaders.
Three of the chasers bridged to the front inside the final kilometer of the first climb, the Category 2 Puerto El Remolcador, which topped out at kilometer 51.8. They were Tobias Halland Johannessen, Eddie Dunbar (Pinarello Q36.5) and Alexey Lutsenko (NSN). Lutsenko had finished second at Aramon Valdelinares in La Vuelta 14.
The Chasers Struggled to Close the Gap
The race settled over the Alto de Zucaina at kilometer 65.5 and the following valley. With 60 kilometers remaining and the race entering Aragon, the five leaders held a 1:30 advantage over the chasing group.
UAE Emirates XRG controlled the peloton, allowing the gap to grow to more than six minutes.
On the Category 3 Alto Fuente de Rubielos, Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) increased the pace in the chase. The gap fell to 1:10, but the chase lacked cooperation and the advantage grew again to 1:30 as the leaders reached the penultimate climb, the Category 2 Puerto de San Rafael.
The strongest climbers in the chase increased the pressure and reduced the gap to one minute before the final climb. The peloton was still seven minutes behind.
Leknessund Made His Winning Move
The final ascent to Aramon Valdelinares was a Category 1 climb of 9.8 kilometers at an average gradient of 5.9%, with sections reaching 13 percent.
Leknessund made his decisive attack with 7.5 kilometers remaining. Lutsenko and Van Aert tried to bring him back, but the Norwegian continued to extend his lead.
Leknessund crossed the finish line alone to secure Uno-X Mobility’s first La Vuelta victory on an emotional day for the Norwegian team. Johannessen attacked inside the final kilometer to take second, 34 seconds behind, while Van Aert finished third at 47 seconds.
Behind, Decathlon CMA CGM increased the pace in the overall contenders’ group. Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) attacked inside the final two kilometers, with Pogacar and Enric Mas (Movistar) following.
Pogacar eventually settled into his own pace and gained several seconds on his overall rivals. After seven stages, he led Mas by 3:50 and Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) by 4:50. Gall was fourth overall at 5:01.
Extended Highlights:
Stage 7 Results:
| 1 | A. LEKNESSUND | UNO-X MOBILITY | 03h 49′ 47” | – | B : 10” | – |
| 2 | T. JOHANNESSEN | UNO-X MOBILITY | 03h 50′ 21” | + 00h 00′ 34” | B : 6” | – |
| 3 | W. VAN AERT | TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | 03h 50′ 34” | + 00h 00′ 47” | B : 10” | – |
| 4 | J. OMRZEL | BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | 03h 50′ 45” | + 00h 00′ 58” | – | – |
| 5 | J. RODRIGUEZ CONTRERAS | EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST | 03h 51′ 00” | + 00h 01′ 13” | – | – |
| 6 | I. SOSA | EQUIPO KERN PHARMA | 03h 51′ 03” | + 00h 01′ 16” | – | – |
| 7 | A. LUTSENKO | NSN CYCLING TEAM | 03h 51′ 31” | + 00h 01′ 44” | B : 4” | – |
| 8 | E. DUNBAR | PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM | 03h 51′ 38” | + 00h 01′ 51” | B : 2” | – |
| 9 | L. BISIAUX | DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | 03h 51′ 40” | + 00h 01′ 53” | – | – |
| 10 | R. GARCIA | MOVISTAR TEAM | 03h 52′ 01” | + 00h 02′ 14” | – | – |
General Classification after Stage 7:
| 1 | T. POGACAR | UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | 19h 32′ 37” | – | B : 34” | – |
| 2 | E. MAS | MOVISTAR TEAM | 19h 36′ 27” | + 00h 03′ 50” | B : 12” | – |
| 3 | P. ROGLIC | RED BULL – BORA – HANSGROHE | 19h 37′ 27” | + 00h 04′ 50” | – | – |
| 4 | F. GALL | DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | 19h 37′ 38” | + 00h 05′ 01” | B : 8” | – |
| 5 | S. KUSS | TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | 19h 38′ 42” | + 00h 06′ 05” | – | – |
| 6 | O. ONLEY | NETCOMPANY INEOS CYCLING TEAM | 19h 38′ 43” | + 00h 06′ 06” | B : 4” | – |
| 7 | R. CARAPAZ | EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST | 19h 38′ 49” | + 00h 06′ 12” | – | – |
| 8 | M. SKJELMOSE | LIDL-TREK | 19h 39′ 54” | + 00h 07′ 17” | – | – |
| 9 | H. TEJADA | XDS ASTANA TEAM | 19h 40′ 23” | + 00h 07′ 46” | – | – |
| 10 | G. Mühlberger | DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | 19h 42′ 06” | + 00h 09′ 29” | – | – |
