Spain tour-Vuelta: Torstein Træen surprised with great serenity

The Vuelta a España is always good for surprises. In 2019 the Spain Tour was a kind of delivery room for the birth of the dominant cycling professional of the present: Tadej Pogačar immediately finished third and then won four times at the Tour de France and once at the Giro d’Italia. Last year the Australian Ben O’Connor was flushed to the top of the classification by an outlier group – and stayed there until the favorite Primož Roglič still stopped three days before the end. This year the role of the surprise man Torstein Træen takes on. On the stage, the Norwegian took over the red jersey thanks to a more than 100 kilometer flight.

Long suffering

So far, Træen brilliantly defended the lead on Spain’s steep ramps. Only when I climbed Valdezcaray’s skiing did not lose more than a minute and a half to the stage winner and big favorite Jonas Vingegaard on Sunday. “It was very hard. Jonas drove super quickly and I suffered for a long time, “said the 30-year-old afterwards and was only able to be amazed at the acceleration of the Danes:” It was pretty quick. Then I saw how they sprinted out of the curve and was surprised how much faster they drive again. ”

In the end, however, he was satisfied: “I was lucky that I was in the second group and that they left me the jersey. But I also believe that you are happy with Visma that Jonas does not have to do the work that is connected to the leader jersey. «

So Træen was able to go to the day of rest with the red jersey – and immediately announce a party. That suits him. Because he learned to take every day as if it were the last. In May 2022, testicular cancer was diagnosed. At that time he was under contract with the subclass team UN X and trained in the Spanish Sierra Nevada. “At breakfast we were still joking that something bad would happen – after all, it was Friday, the 13th,” he recalled. Hours after the training, he received a call to his team doctor. He informed him of a positive result of a doping control. The hormone HCG had been measured in a high concentration. HCG, human chorionic gonadotropine, occurs especially in women during pregnancy. In Træen, the following examinations showed that he was ill with testicular cancer and that the unusual blood values ​​are due to it.

Good doping control

The doping control may have saved its life. “In any case, she saved me from chemotherapy,” said Træen later. He was surgically removed the left -wing testicles affected with cancer cells. Two months later he competed again. He had to wait another two years for the first victory. At the Tour de Suisse 2024, he crowned himself as a outlier at the Gotthard Pass to the day winner. That was the breakthrough. And also the confirmation that it was worth training further.

Experience with the serious illness and surgery also changed him. “If I have a bad day now, it becomes clear to me compared to that: the day is not that bad. I am now grateful that I can do what I love. And I also noticed that cycling, yes the whole life, can be taken away very quickly. «With the serenity of a man who jumped from the shovel, the next difficult days of the Vuelta has been going on for Bahrain Victorious for Bahrain Victorious.

Team Israel Premier Tech Turned

Meanwhile, there is less serenity at the racing team of Israel Premier Tech. In terms of sport, you can look forward to the great appearances by Sprinter Ethan Vernon, who became second in the day and once fourth and in the point ranking in second place. Politically, however, the team in Spain counteracts violent wind. The party Izquierda Unida (United Left) spoke out due to the war in Gaza against participation of the racing team, which was an ambassador of Israel. During the team time trial last week, demonstrators even stopped the drivers. The global political situation now also arrives in cycling.