
On the day Norway's king died, Andreas Leknessund grabbed the country's fourth Vuelta a España 2026 stage victory after he broke away with 7 kilometers to go and battled uphill to the line.
At the end of the mountainous 149.8-kilometer slog from Vall d'Alba, Leknessund finished 34 seconds ahead of compatriot Tobias Johannessen, a teammate with the Norwegian Uno-X Mobility team.
Both men sported black arm bands in memory of King Harald V, who died earlier Friday at age 89.
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"It's been a special day for the team and for the whole of Norway," said Leknessund after the first Vuelta victory by a Norwegian since Thor Hushovd in 2010. "It's a small thing in the bigger picture. But it's special."
Belgian Wout van Aert was third.
Overall leader Tadej Pogačar cruised home 4 minutes and 23 seconds later but padded his lead after he upped the pace on the final climb and dropped his main rivals, who had been sitting on his wheel.
The UAE rider gained 16 seconds on second-place Enric Mas, to increase the race lead to 3 minutes, 50 seconds. Third-place Primoz Roglic lost 29 seconds.
"It really hurt today," Leknessund said. "I didn't expect it to be this emotional."
It was his first stage victory in a Grand Tour after four second-place finishes.
Leknessund and van Aert were part of a trio of riders who attacked from the start line. Both stayed in the leading group for the whole stage. Leknessund said he took heart when Johannessen joined the breakaway.
"We were going really hard, so fast, Tobias came up and it gave me confidence when he was there that we could win," Leknessund said. "We had ambition that one of us had a gap on the final climb; he let my wheel go and basically gave me the win - I'm really proud and grateful."
It was also the first Vuelta victory for Uno-X, which also took stages this year at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.
"It's been incredible," Leknessund said. "I was there in the Giro, and it was really amazing, then the Tour, and now the Vuelta. It really shows how good of a team we are, and I'm super proud to be a part of it."
Vuelta a España 2026 Stage 7 Results – Top 25
- Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) – 3:49:47 (B10)
- Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – 3:50:21 (B6)
- Wout van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 3:50:34 (B10)
- Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain - Victorious) – 3:50:45
- Juan Felipe Rodriguez (EF Education - EasyPost) – 3:51:00
- Alexey Lutsenko (Equipo Kern Pharma) – 3:51:03
- Iván Ramiro Sosa (NSN Cycling Team) – 3:51:31 (B4)
- Eddie Dunbar (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – 3:51:38 (B2)
- Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 3:51:40
- Raúl García Pierna (Movistar Team) – 3:52:01
- Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) – 3:52:30
- Filippo Zana (Soudal Quick-Step) – 3:52:42
- Larry Warbasse (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 3:52:45
- Guillaume Martin (Groupama - FDJ United) – 3:52:44
- Finlay Pickering (Cofidis) – 3:52:48
- Sergio Samitier (Team Jayco AlUla) – 3:53:11
- Koen Bouwman (Team Jayco AlUla) – 3:53:52
- Mats Wenzel (Equipo Kern Pharma) – 3:53:54
- Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 3:54:10
- Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 3:54:16
- Enric Mas (Movistar Team) – 3:54:26
- Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 3:54:39
- Primož Roglič (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 3:54:43
- Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS) – 3:54:43
- Gregor Mühlberger (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 3:55:03
Vuelta a España 2026 Overall Standings – Top 25 After Stage 7
- Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 19:32:37 (B34)
- Enric Mas (Movistar Team) – 19:36:27 (B12)
- Primož Roglič (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 19:37:27
- Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 19:37:38 (B8)
- Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 19:38:42
- Richard Carapaz (Netcompany INEOS) – 19:38:43 (B4)
- Oscar Onley (EF Education - EasyPost) – 19:38:49
- Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl - Trek) – 19:39:54
- Harold Tejada (XDS Astana Team) – 19:40:23
- Gregor Mühlberger (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 19:42:06
- Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain - Victorious) – 19:42:31
- Clément Berthet (Groupama - FDJ United) – 19:43:58
- Guillaume Martin (Groupama - FDJ United) – 19:44:38
- Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 19:44:50
- Jarno Widar (Lotto Intermarché) – 19:45:26 (B6)
- Cristián Rodríguez (XDS Astana Team) – 19:45:39
- Finlay Pickering (Team Jayco AlUla) – 19:47:31
- Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin - Premier Tech) – 19:48:01 (B4)
- Pablo Torres (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 19:48:24
- Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 19:49:41
- Juan Felipe Rodriguez (EF Education - EasyPost) – 19:49:49
- Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – 19:49:58 (B6)
- Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Netcompany INEOS) – 19:50:14
- Jan Hirt (NSN Cycling Team) – 19:53:19
- Filippo Zana (Soudal Quick-Step) – 19:57:03
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