Magnus Cort Nielsen might be the only Dane racing in this year’s Vuelta de Espana, but he was the one grabbing all the headlines yesterday following his mesmerising win in the 18th stage.
The 23-year-old Orica-Bikeexchange rider, taking part in his very first grand tour cycling race, found himself at the head of the peloton as the race neared its conclusion and surprised the seasoned sprinters to power across the finish line in first place for the biggest win of his young career.
“It’s really fantastic – a big dream come true,” said Nielsen. “Our main goal at the moment is the general classification and protecting Esteban Chaves and Simon Yates, but every now and again we get the opportunity to give it a try.”
“We saw the same with Jens Keuekeleire on stage 12, and today it was my turn to give it a go, and it was really amazing. This is fantastic for me to win a stage in my first grand tour ever. This is a great team to be a part of at the moment: three stage wins and two guys in the top five overall, it’s pretty special.”
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Bright future
The Bornholm kid, one of Denmark’s brightest young cycling talents, left home-based Team Cult Energy in 2014 to join the Australian outfit Orica-Bikeexchange.
Moviestar’s Colombian rider Nairo Quintana continues to lead the overall standings, a full 3 minutes and 37 seconds ahead of Sky’s Chris Froome. The race ends on Sunday in Madrid.
Check the video below to see how the day was perceived through the eyes of Orica-Bikeexchange.
