Tour of Spain - Kämna narrowly misses second success - Costa wins stage

German professional cyclist Lennard Kämna missed out on his second victory at the 78th edition of the Vuelta. A crash shortly before the finish did not stop the 27-year-old, and it was only in the sprint that he narrowly failed to finish second in Lekunberri.

After the 158.3 kilometres of the 15th stage, the Portuguese rider Rui Costa won, with Santiago Buitrago in third place. Last Sunday, Kämna had celebrated his first Vuelta success, winning once in each of the three Grand Tours.

"I had a really good chance. It was stupid of me to take such a risk going into the bend," said Kämna on Eurosport. His subsequent return to the front surprised him.

About 100 kilometres before the finish, a group formed that included the German riders Nico Denz, who was at the front for a long time, and Kämna. With eight kilometres to go, the rider from Bremen had a spectacular battle with Buitrago and Costa. Just 2.5 kilometres before the finish, Kämna crashed slightly and the two rivals passed him. However, he immediately got back on his bike and came back.

Team Jumbo-Visma continues to dominate

Nothing has changed at the top of the overall standings. One day before the second rest day, the three top riders Sepp Kuss, Primoz Roglic and Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard continue to dominate the Grand Tour. For the third time in a row, the professional cyclists of the Dutch team Jumbo-Visma took the first three overall places. Kuss leads by 1:37 minutes ahead of Roglic. Kämna is not among the top ten.

Last year's winner Remco Evenepoel rehabilitated himself a little on Saturday with victory one day after his heavy defeat and a gap of 27 minutes to the leader. However, his gap to the leader is still a whopping 16:22 minutes.

After the rest day on Monday, a mostly flat and undulating stage between Liencres Playa and Bejes awaits the professional cyclists one day later, which is likely to end in a steep showdown. The category two finish climb includes a 14 per cent gradient over the last five kilometres.

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