Jay Vine produces breakaway masterclass to take Vuelta a España stage win

With a display that reiterated his credentials as a master of the breakaways, Jay Vine won stage 6 of the Vuelta a España at a canter. The Australian climber was on adopted home roads in Andorra, and used his local knowledge to full effect, dropping his breakaway companions on a tricky descent and riding alone to the summit of the final climb.

Crossing the line almost a minute ahead of the next-best rider, Vine claimed his third career stage victory at the Vuelta, and in doing so, moved into the lead of the King of the Mountains classification. As he pulled on the blue and white polka-dot jersey on the podium, the 29-year-old celebrated back-to-back victories for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Vine’s breakaway success comes, of course, just a day after the Emirati squad won the Team Time Trial in Figueres. On the race’s brief sajourn into Andorra on Thursday afternoon, Vine triumphed from a 10-man breakaway and took UAE Team Emirates-XRG to 75 victories for the 2025 campaign.

Celebrating with his wife, Bre and young son, Harrison, beyond the line, Vine could barely contain his smile. The Australian has now added to his two Vuelta stage victories from the 2022 edition, and moves himself to ten career victories since he turned professional four years ago. Speaking to the TV cameras after the finish, the stage 6 winner described his emotions of winning in his adopted backyard.

Vine: “My aim was definitely to win the stage, but there was always the option that if the break wasn’t going to win, then I could come back and do some work [for my teammates]. It was always on the cards to have me in the breakaway as an option to do something if everything came back together.

“I know these roads pretty well, I’m from just down the hill, so the Alto de La Comella is my favourite climb in all of Andorra. I would have normally liked to have done it way harder, but you know with the headwind, it was hard to get the guys to pull through and make it really hard. I decided to go at the top and with the wet descent, I know the descent really well. I thought, ‘ok, this is my chance to get away, and there’s no funny business, it’s just mano el mano.’

“I got the call up to do this race about four weeks ago, it wasn’t on my schedule originally. So to be able to win in Andorra, in front of my son, in front of my wife, it’s unbelievable. It was incredibly motivating for the last 5km, all I could think of was, ‘this is for you, Harrison, this is for you.'”

Vine had infiltrated the breakaway of the day at the very outset of the stage, with the Australian quickly joined by nine other riders up the road. In total, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG climber would spend 161km off the front of the race, with the GC favourites in the peloton content to see the breakaway battle for the day’s honours.

In turn, Vine rode with honour at the head of proceedings, never skipping a turn and ensuring that the break would head into the final categorised climbs of the day with a lead of well over six minutes. It was to be here that the stage victory was decided.

The penultimate climb was a Category 2 test in the shape of the Alto de La Comella, which stands at an average gradient of 8% for 4.2km. As detailed by Vine in his post-race interview, the Comella is his favourite ascent of the region, and as such, the Australian knew full well how to take advantage.

Having moved to second in the virtual King of the Mountains standings earlier in the stage, Vine made an attack towards the summit of the climb, ostensibly chasing more points to go in search of the polka-dot jersey. What his breakaway rivals did not anticipate, however, was that Vine would press on over the summit and try to extend his advantage on the technical descent that followed.

With rainfall having dampened the asphalt earlier in the afternoon, the descent of the Comella was liable to prove treacherous, and as such, Vine’s first-hand knowledge of its twists and turns was essential. The 29-year-old rode a near-perfect descent and as he headed towards the base of the final climb, he had stretched his lead to over 30 seconds to those nine riders in the breakaway behind.

Alone at the front of the race, Vine need only to press on and worry about getting to the finish line alone. It would be no mean feat, with the last climb averaging 6.5% for 9.6km, but the Australian has proven time and time again that he can climb with the very best when the going gets tough.

Indeed, as the kilometres ticked by, Vine’s lead only grew, and by the finish line it had reached almost a minute. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider could celebrate a job well done and look forward to his family’s embrace beyond the line. It was a sumptuous display and made it two stage wins in as many days for UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the Vuelta.

Meanwhile, in the peloton, Felix Großschartner led his teammates into the final climb and ensured that they would be well-positioned come the crunch moments. Juan Ayuso was forced to bid adieu to the bunch as the pace ramped up, with the Spaniard ceding control of the white young rider’s jersey, but both João Almeida and Marc Soler stepped up for the Emirati squad.

Of the GC contenders, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) were the first to make their move, attacking their rivals inside the last 2km. The pair opened up what looked to be a significant gap to those behind, but it was at this moment that Almeida shone.

Riding at his own pace, Almeida refused to be baited into no man’s land, and instead sat at the front of the group of favourites and slowly but surely reeled in the escaped duo. Thanks to the dogged determination of the Portuguese climber, Vingegaard and Ciccone were forced to relent, with Almeida laying down a further marker by becoming the first GC contender to cross the line.

Heading into another summit finish on Friday, the 27-year-old sits just eight seconds behind Vingegaard in the general classification. The Visma-Lease a Bike rider handed over the red jersey to Torstein Træen of Bahrain Victorious on stage 6, but is the de facto leader of the big contenders in fifth place in the overall standings. The battle lines will be drawn once more on stage 7.

Vuelta a España stage 6 results

1. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 4:12:36

2. Torstein Træen (Bahrain Victorious) +54″

3. Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana Team) +1:10

10. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +4:19

Vuelta a España general classification after stage 6

1. Torstein Træen (Bahrain Victorious) 20:25:46

2. Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +31″

3. Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana Team) +1:01

6. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 2:41