Jakob Omrzel delivered an impressive ride on Stage 7 of La Vuelta a España, finishing fourth at the summit of Aramón Valdelinares after spending much of the day on the attack in a large chasing group.

The 20 year old Slovenian, the youngest in this edition and racing his first Grand Tour, was joined by teammate Pello Bilbao in the chasing group after five riders established themselves at the front of the race. Bilbao worked to support Omrzel as the group tried to reduce the gap, but the five leaders maintained their advantage heading towards the final climb.

Andreas Leknessund (Uno X Mobility) attacked on the 9.8 kilometre climb to Aramón Valdelinares and went on to take the stage victory. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno X Mobility) finished second, with Wout van Aert (Team Visma – Lease a Bike) third. Omrzel produced a strong final climb to cross the line fourth, 58 seconds behind the winner.

Sports Director Franco Pellizzotti was pleased with the team’s performance and Omrzel’s ride, he said:

“Finally, in my opinion, we did a really great race. We put Jakob in the breakaway, which was in the plan. It was a big breakaway with the aim of gaining time in GC and trying to win the stage. Pello was there to help him. The only problem was that there were five riders in front, and the group with our riders never really worked all together at full gas, with everyone riding smart, so we never closed the gap to those five riders. In the end, Jakob did an amazing climb, but it was difficult to close the gap. He did an amazing job and we are happy with this result. I’m super happy because the riders raced very well today.”

Jakob Omrzel added:

“From the start, the race was really hard again, just like yesterday, with everyone trying to get into the breakaway. We had the same idea. Pello did a great job to get into the break, and on the next climb I thought that if the pace was hard enough, maybe I could make it across. That’s exactly what happened.

When I reached the breakaway, I knew there was a chance we could make it to the finish. A lot of riders didn’t want to cooperate, but Pello did an amazing job and worked really hard for me. Then I just had to finish it off. I was a little bit short of the podium, but I’m still really happy with today’s stage.

For me, this is one of the best things that could happen in my first Grand Tour. I’m really enjoying it, but I’m also looking forward because I believe we can still achieve a lot.”