00:00On to the 21st and final stage of La Vuelta. One last spin around Granada and an opportunity to pay
00:07tribute to several riders who are completing their final Grand Tour before retirement.
00:13The last day of your career. Are you sad?
00:16No. No. There's a mix of emotions. Today is my last race as a professional cyclist. I'm finishing the season
00:25here at La Vuelta a España, my final season.
00:29It's not sadness. It's joy, emotion, thinking about all of those moments that are coming to an end. After today's
00:36stage, it's the start of a new chapter.
00:39One of the men hanging up his bike is Danish champion Magnus Cort, who'd love to take a final win
00:44in his home away from home.
00:46I want to say thank you to all the people of Spain for having me and being friendly in my
00:54whole career.
00:55Spain has a special part in my heart. This is my favourite country for racing but also training.
01:03Two riders have beaten Visma at this Vuelta, but they admit it'll be tough to do so again today.
01:10Today is a half chance, let's say. It'll be selective and tough. I think Van Aert will be able to
01:16attack and if there's a small group behind him, then Brennan will be there to sprint.
01:22Van Aert can take a lot of risks because he knows he'll have Brennan not far behind. It's not going
01:27to be easy to manage.
01:28But the main priority is positioning on the second climb because Movistar should control the race until the end of
01:34the first climb.
01:36Visma targeting an eighth win on a day with a similar vibe to the Montmartre stage at the Tour de
01:41France, which Van Aert won last year.
01:44It's a rather long climb for the circuit. The climb is two kilometres long and the circuit is only 10k,
01:50I believe. So, yeah, it will be a super hard repetition of a five-minute effort.
01:57Is it similar to the Montmartre stage at the Tour? Honestly, I think this is way harder.
02:04Stage 21 is 112 kilometres around Grenada with a punchy final circuit featuring four climbs to the Alhambra Palace.
02:11That's nearly 2k at around 7%, so it could well prove too much for the pure sprinters.
02:16The GC times will be neutralised 9.8k from the finish.
02:25The final stage of a Grand Tour is an opportunity to celebrate the finishers and the riders who have distinguished
02:30themselves over three weeks of racing,
02:33notably the men in the distinctive jerseys and the top three overall.
02:38Henrik Maas becoming the first Spanish winner of La Vuelta since Alberto Contador in 2014, with his Movistar team-mates
02:45decked out in white and red for the occasion.
02:48It's also been a superb race for Visma Lisa bike with seven stage wins, five for their new star Matthew
02:54Brennan and two for Watt van Aert plus the green jersey.
02:57They were favourites, down an eighth victory today as La Vuelta finished in Granada for the first time.
03:04A procession of around 70 kilometres before the first of four climbs to the Alhambra.
03:09Once all of the photos had been taken, Movistar took control of the peloton, the speed gradually increasing as they
03:16approached the final circuit.
03:23The riders entering Granada and heading over the finish line for the first time, Movistar still on the front as
03:29they began to climb towards the Alhambra.
03:31No attacks for the time being, the would-be stage winners would wait until the second passage of the finish
03:37line to start making their moves.
03:41And accordingly, when they went into the next lap, Groupama FDJ United tried to up the ante.
03:47Bastien Tranchant putting the hammer down on the climb and shredding the peloton, only seven or eight riders managed to
03:53stay with him, including Matthew Brennan.
03:58In the third lap, a lot more riders caught up and there were soon two distinct groups.
04:03The stage contenders at the front, at least 40 or 50 riders.
04:07And further back, the main peloton led by Movistar, who were waiting for the GC times to be frozen with
04:12around 10k to go.
04:14Still lots of strong riders in this front group after three climbs of the Alhambra.
04:20Magnus Court moving to the front with Thibaut Nays and Axel Laurence also up there, plus Van Aert and Brennan.
04:26Bahrain victorious leading them into the slightly shorter final lap.
04:30And on the climb at Peo Bilbao, another man who's retiring at the end of the year, went on the
04:34attack.
04:35The Spaniard getting a small gap as Van Aert was dropped.
04:40Look at the acceleration of Peo Bilbao. This could be the most scintillating finish to a career.
04:50A big effort from Bilbao, but he was quickly joined by Laurence.
04:53And in the end, a group of 11 riders came together to contest the final stage win.
04:59Brennan was the obvious favourite, but he didn't have any teammates.
05:02This was going to be a tactical run-in, with the weaker sprinters trying to go from distance.
05:08They kept bringing them back though, with Brennan closing down a lot of moves.
05:12The final kilometre approaching, as Ramses De Bruyne made one final roll of the dice.
05:22De Bruyne yesterday was fantastic. He didn't win the 20th stage, but he might win stage 21.
05:29They are all out now, as Butrago decides this could be the stage to win.
05:35Brennan is banking on someone bringing it all back together.
05:38But De Bruyne now starts the sprint slightly uphill.
05:42Romola's on the wheel. Could Johanesson finally win the stage he's been looking for?
05:47All the way through La Vuelta, and in every Grand Tour he's ridden so far,
05:51it looks like it's going to be a victory from the top three on the road.
05:55Here goes Johanesson. Has he gone too early?
05:59Johanesson and Romola. De Bruyne tucks in on the wheel.
06:03Johanesson locks it up into this left-hander.
06:06Is he safely through? Yes, he is.
06:09Comes up to the final right-hander. Romola's there.
06:12De Bruyne sprinting for all he is worth.
06:14Is Romola going to find he win this stage?
06:17Johanesson all out. Tobias Johanesson.
06:20Can he win this final stage?
06:22Romola alongside him. It's going to be almost a photograph,
06:25but it's Tobias Johanesson of UNOX mobility.
06:29He wins the final day.
06:33Tobias Johanesson finally ending his long drought,
06:37surprisingly in a sprint instead of on the climbs.
06:39Since his last win three years ago, the Norwegian has had 12 second places,
06:44including three at the Grand Tours.
06:46A perfect way for UNOX to round out an excellent campaign
06:50which saw them win at the Giro, the Tour and La Vuelta.
06:56We really wanted to make the last day of the coach's career really special
07:01and try for him, but in the last lap I heard that I was in the front group
07:06and I tried to not pull in case the court came back, but then in the end I saw we
07:12had a gap
07:12and in the end I was so focused on trying to get that win
07:17because I've been knocking on that door for a long time.
07:21I think it's well over three years since the last time
07:23and it feels really special to do it today and I don't know what to say, I'm so happy.
07:32Johanesson taking his fifth professional win ahead of Romola,
07:35who narrowly missed out on his first.
07:37De Bruyne leading in the rest with Brennan fourth at Tranchon fifth
07:41and Bilbao sixth on a lively final day.
07:46Henrik Maas becomes the 64th man and the 25th Spaniard to win La Vuelta,
07:51the 31-year-old finally conquering his home Grand Tour after four podium finishes.
07:57Yeah, it was a long wait and a long wait to today.
08:03But to be honest, it was always a special world task
08:07and this one I think is the special one.
08:12Maas winning this 81st edition ahead of the four-time champion Roglic
08:16with Gall taking another Grand Tour podium this year after second place at the Giro.
08:21Carapace and Kuss rounded out the top five.
08:25Visma dominated the points classification with Van Aert and Brennan completing a one-two.
08:30The Belgian, also the race's most combative rider, adding to his green jersey at the Tour de France in 2022.
08:38Buetrago takes the first polka dot jersey of his career but missed out on a stage win with two second
08:44places.
08:45Van Aert and Lechnesund completed the podium.
08:49Onli finished as the best young rider ahead of the stage 12 winner Omrazel with Bizio in third.
08:58And so La Vuelta 26 comes to a close with a new King of Spain in Henrik Maas,
09:04Movistar's first Grand Tour winner since 2019.
09:07Join us again next time and, as ever, thanks for watching.
