Torstein Træen's unexpected victory in the Vuelta a España's red jersey will certainly earn him a few extra beers in Madrid, but as the 30-year-old Norwegian rider confirmed after stage six, this won't change Bahrain Victorious's plans in the slightest.

The team arrived at the Vuelta aiming to fight for a strong overall result and stage wins. With Antonio Tiberi's solid performance on the Pal climb, the Italian rider remains a key contender for the overall standings.

Træen’s second place on the stage, behind solo winner Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates), gave the Norwegian his first Grand Tour lead and gave Bahrain Victorious at least a day at the top of the general classification.

"A few days ago, I was talking to the other Norwegian rider here, Johannes Staune-Mittet, about how I was doing in the general classification, and he told me I was a loser because I was so close but not close enough," Træen said. "I told him that once I took the red jersey after the Andorra stage, he wouldn't call me a loser anymore! I think he owes me a few beers in Madrid now."

This is undoubtedly the biggest victory of Træen's career, even though he had already made headlines for his successful battle with testicular cancer a few years ago. The Norwegian had already won the mountains classification at the Tour of the Alps before his early diagnosis and treatment, and after his recovery, he achieved a memorable stage victory at the 2024 Tour de Suisse, holding off Adam Yates.

Despite the unexpected success, Træen confirmed that this won't change the team's strategy: "Tiberi is a great rider, and we'll continue to fight for him. We'll see how many days we can hold on to the jersey, but this won't change our tactics."