Danish rider Vingegaard goes up where skiers go down to win the Spanish Vuelta's 9th stage

VALDEZCARAY, Spain (AP) — Jonas Vingegaard attacked with 11 kilometers to go and finished strongly to win the ninth stage of the Spanish Vuelta and consolidate his status as the race favorite on Sunday.

The Danish rider finished 24 seconds ahead of Tom Pidcock and João Almeida as he cut Norwegian rider Torstein Træen’s overall lead to 37 seconds before the race’s first rest day on Monday.

Træen was 1:46 off the pace in 17th on Sunday.

It’s the 40th career stage win for Vingegaard, a two-time Tour de France winner, who wasn’t daunted by the heavy rain or uphill finish at the ski resort of Valdezcaray.

Sunday’s stage took the riders on a hilly 195.5 kilometer (121.5-mile) route from Alfaro to the category-one finish. The race finishes in Madrid on Sept. 14.

Vingegaard is favored to win his first Vuelta after top rival Tadej Pogačar and four-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic both opted to skip the race.

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Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard, from Visma | Lease a Bike team celebrates at the podium after wining the ninth stage of La Vuelta from Alfaro to Valdezcaray, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard, from Visma | Lease a Bike team celebrates at the podium after wining the ninth stage of La Vuelta from Alfaro to Valdezcaray, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard, from Visma | Lease a Bike team celebrates at the podium after wining the ninth stage of La Vuelta from Alfaro to Valdezcaray, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard, from Visma | Lease a Bike team wins the ninth stage of La Vuelta from Alfaro to Valdezcaray, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard, from Visma | Lease a Bike team wins the ninth stage of La Vuelta from Alfaro to Valdezcaray, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's capital city said Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to link a man charged in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband in their Columbus home last month to the killings.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview that authorities now believe Michael David McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, was the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tepe's home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also traced to evidence at the scene, she said.

An attorney representing McKee could not be identified through court listings.

His arrest Saturday capped off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.

“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the vehicle that he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular vehicle,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms taken from the property of McKee, and one of those firearms did match preliminarily from a NIBIN (ballistic) hit back to this actual homicide.”

Bryant said that the department wants the public to keep the tips coming. Investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private tip shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest, she said.

That work culminated in the apprehension of McKee in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He has been charged with premeditated aggravated murder in the shooting deaths. Monique Tepe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39. Her husband, a dentist whose absence from work that morning prompted the first call to police, was 37.

McKee waived his right to an extradition hearing on Monday during an appearance in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working out details of his return to Ohio, with no exact arrival date set. His next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city doesn't prioritize high-profile cases any more than others, noting that the city's closure rate on criminal cases exceeds the national average. The city also celebrated in 2025 its lowest level of homicides and violent crime since 2007, Ginther said.

“Every case matters. Ones that receive national attention, and those that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and for folks to be held accountable, and the rest of the community deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”

Ginther said it is vital for central Ohioans to continue to grieve with the Tepes' family, which includes two young children, and loved ones, as they cope with “such an unimaginable loss.”

“I want our community to wrap our arms around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.

This undated booking photo provided by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, shows Michael David McKee, who was charged in the killing of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband Spencer Tepe at their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Spencer and Monique Tepe's home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

This image taken from video shows Michael David McKee walking into the courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR News/Pool Photo via AP)