For local rider Ivon Ruiz (Iquipo-Kern Pharma), the second stage of the Ituriá Basque stage was 200km long, but only 400m separated a career-best victory and 139th place.

"I feel helpless that I was so close to winning and didn't achieve it," Lewis said. It was unbelievable for me and for the Khan Farma team."

"When I got to the start, I didn't think the breakaway would last, but as the kilometers went by, that idea changed, and when I was alone, I imagined myself being the winner.

With 15 km to go until the finish in Viana, Luis was part of a breakaway group of four Spanish riders.

The breakaway, composed entirely of ProTeam riders, was leading the peloton by more than two minutes and had a good chance of an upset victory.

Then the cooperation between Luis, Fren Amezqueta (Caja Rural), Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH), and Ibay Azurmendi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) began to fall apart.

A gap of more than two minutes with the peloton meant that he was heading to the finish line in Viana, only 60 km from his birthplace. But the WorldTour teams behind him picked up the pace, and the distance between him and the solo rider became seconds instead of minutes.

As the peloton passed the 1km banner and headed into the sprint, Ruiz was in sight. He held on for the final 400m, but disappeared from the back of the pack as Julien Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Alfa Vinyl) popped up from the front and the Spaniard came within inches of winning.

The win was not only Luis' first, but also the first WorldTour win for his Spanish team, which was promoted to a professional team in 2021 and earned a wildcard entry into the Vuelta a España.

"Today we will go to sleep with our fingers crossed and knowing that we have touched victory, as we are so close to achieving victory in the highest category," said Juanjo Oros, director of Kernfarma. 'I am confident that we are all in this together, just a few more miles away from victory.'

Still, Luis and his team did not go home empty-handed, taking the lead for the most fought-for rider award and the mountain prize.

"I remembered the team, my family, my partner, the Basque fans. 'There was a lot of emotion and effort, but I'm happy with this performance and the mountains prize.'