Ivan Sosa wins 2019 Vuelta a Burgos

Image 1 of 7

Ivan Sosa (Team Ineos) secured overall victory for a second consecutive year at the Vuelta a Burgos in northern Spain, winning the final stage on the mountain finish of Lagunas de Neila to extend his winning margin.

The 21-year-old Colombian won stage 3 to Picon Blanco and started the final stage in the purple race leader's jersey. The final climb to Lagunas de Neila was steep and sparked several late attacks but Sosa waited until the final 500 metres to attack himself, catch Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) and win alone.

He finished eight seconds ahead of Costa, with Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Dimension Data) third at 14 seconds, just ahead of Giro d'Italia winner Richard Carapaz (Movistar) on his return to racing.

In the final overall classification, Sosa beat Oscar Rodriguez (Euskadi Murias) by 31 seconds, with Carapaz third at 42 seconds.

"In the final kilometres, the team helped me to so much, they went full gas and it was fantastic. As we were approaching the final kilometre, I was a bit on the limit, so I tried to accelerate and bridge to Rui Costa as he looked strong. And then I was able to attack again," Sosa said in a Team Ineos press release.

"I'm so happy with the team, happy that they believed in me, as this is such a big result for me. I'm very excited about this win."

The climb to the finish was the biggest feature of the 146km stage, with riders trying to get away early in the hope of staying away and snatching at least the stage glory. However Team Ineos kept a firm grip on the race all day, gradually pulling back a 17-rider break before the climb up to the finish.

Androni Giocattoli climber Daniel Muñoz was the first to accelerate with nine kilometers to go and he caught last attacker Simon Pellaud (IAM Excelsior) as the climb to Lagunas de Neila started to bite.

After the gradient shook out the peloton, Carapaz launched the first attack from the overall contenders with 2.5km to go. He was followed by Sergio Samitier (Euskadi Murias) and Costa, but Kenny Elissonde was there to help Sosa control the attacks and dragged his teammate back into contention.

Costa was determined to try to win and hit out alone on the steepest part of the climb. He got a gap and looked strong but had gone a little early, giving Sosa something to aim for.

When the young Colombian accelerated with 400 metres to go he quickly distanced his rivals, swept up Costa and then surged onto win alone.

Sosa's victory confirmed why he is likely to be a key part of the Team Ineos squad for the upcoming Vuelta a Espana.

Full Results