Jonas Vingegaard triumphs at the Vuelta a España 2025 and takes the red jersey. After three unsuccessful Grand Tours, he mastered a challenging race that was characterised by protests, personal dramas and unexpected health and tactical twists and turns.
On the barren summit of the Bola del Mundo, crowned only by the enormous television aerials from the 1950s, we finally saw the Jonas Vingegaard that we had expected to see much more often in this Tour of Spain: a few quick kicks and then he had passed his rivals with ease on the former goat path covered with rough concrete slabs. The stage win was his, the lead in the classification consolidated. But the lead he pulled out that day was not overwhelming. His team-mate Sepp Kuss was only eleven seconds behind, 22 seconds behind his main rival João Almeida, with Australian Jai Hindley and Briton Thomas Pidcock, who finished fourth and third overall in Madrid, in between. Vingegaard was better than them, even on this day, but not by much. In the end, he was mainly relieved. "I wanted to win in Bilbao. I wanted to win at Angliru," he recalled of two stages that had eluded him. The first because of the massive protests by anti-Israel demonstrators, the second he lost to Almeida in sporting terms. "But Bola del Mundo is also something special," he consoled himself. And a small smile appeared on his face, which was covered in sparse beard growth.
Jonas Vingegaard - on the back burner
The week and a half before, he hadn't been able to shine at all. Not even on the Angliru, the queen stage of this Vuelta. He simply couldn't get past Almeida. Couldn't he or didn't he want to? was the question asked during the long six and a half kilometres that the Portuguese rider rode from the front. For all his joy at his success, he also seemed rather surprised by Vingegaard's performance: "I was waiting for him to attack at any moment and thought he would overtake me on the finish line." But the Dane did not dare to leave the shadow of the UAE pro. He admitted that he had reached his performance limit: "I did everything I could."
The following day, his performance was already better than the competition. Behind Marc Soler, who secured the seventh stage win for UAE Team Emirates, he was able to defeat his team-mate Almeida in the La Farrapona mountain sprint. It was a morale-booster for the Dane, boosted by the two bonus seconds he had gained as stage runner-up to the third-placed rider. But the dominance he still had in the first week, when the Vuelta seemed to be decided, he no longer radiated here.
Pro-Palestine protests at the Vuelta a España 2025
The shadow of the Gaza war
What a strange end to this Vuelta: three cool boxes were set up in the car park of the Marriott Hotel near Madrid airport, each labelled by hand with the numbers 1, 2 and 3. The top three in the overall standings and the four jersey winners celebrated on them. They put their arms around each other and enjoyed the applause of their professional colleagues who attended the improvised ceremony, while the official podium of the Vuelta remained deserted. "Boys will be boys", wrote the social media managers of Vingegaard's racing team Visma | Lease a Bike under the Facebook post with which they shared pictures of the subsequent champagne shower. And yes, it could be seen as a conciliatory end to a very special Tour of Spain. The riders had reclaimed their event. Previously, they had been denied entry to Madrid. In the outskirts of the capital, 57 kilometres from the planned finish line, the last stage was over. Demonstrators had broken through barriers. They waved huge Palestine flags and chanted chants against Israel. They were already active on the fringes of other stages, and in the Basque capital Bilbao they caused the 11th stage to be cancelled. The protests were also directed against the participation of the Israel-Premier Tech team, which removed the word "Israel" from its jerseys during the stage race. The sight of the crowds revolting behind the bars sent shivers down the spines of many a rider. "They were almost like wild animals behind a barrier, trying to break free," said Soudal Quickstep pro Louis Vervaeke, describing the events from his perspective.
In Madrid, some demonstrators shouted "Victory for Palestine" at the top of their lungs after the race was cancelled. It may have been a small victory for the activists, but above all it was a resounding defeat for the sport. Two stages out of 21 were not completed, other stages were shortened due to safety concerns, including the time trial in Valladolid. In addition, there were crashes in the peloton caused by demonstrators and breakaway groups that were held up. "You no longer just look for traffic islands and the race situation, but also for barricades on the road," dryly commented Berlin-born Maximilian Schachmann, one of the crash victims.
Vuelta boss Javier Guillén described the events as "absolutely unacceptable", but was also criticised for having reacted far too late and inadequately to the emerging disruptions. At a press conference after the end of the race, he said: "I regret the image that was conveyed to the world as a result." With a view to the planned Grand Depart of the Tour de France 2026 in Barcelona - which was increasingly called into question during the Vuelta - he also demanded: "It is obvious that international organisations have to make certain decisions. Cycling must also work on this and make proposals."
The range of conceivable options extends from massive police deployment and the exclusion of athletes and teams from countries of warring parties to the complete cancellation of major sporting events during major wars.
Impressive explosiveness from Jonas Vingegaard
At the start of the Tour of Spain in Italy, Vingegaard had astonished himself with a sprint victory on the Limone Piemonte ramp on the second day of the Vuelta. Before the start, he had highlighted Pidcock and the Italian Giulio Ciccone as the top favourites for this kind of finish. In the final, he easily left the Brit behind and then sucked up to Ciccone, who already looked like the sure winner. "When I recognised the opportunity to win, I took it. Before the last corner, I still thought it wouldn't be possible to overtake him. But then it was longer to the finish line," he said, describing the thrilling final metres in the fog of northern Italy. Vingegaard showed great class on this day. He was not fazed by a crash or the theft of his racing team's bikes. Physically he was fully there, mentally too.
The next day in Ceres, he once again demonstrated the sprinting skills he had acquired this season. He even fought a duel with sprinter Mads Pedersen. "We wanted to win the stage with Mads today," confirmed Lidl-Trek team-mate Ciccone afterwards. In the sprint on the short ramp, however, the Frenchman David Gaudu was the fastest ahead of Pedersen and Vingegaard. The trio produced one of the most astonishing sprint finals in Grand Tours in recent years.
Vingegaard obviously had so much confidence in his new explosiveness that he even tried his hand at intermediate sprints. On the 19th stage, compatriot Pedersen came to his aid. He refrained from going all out. "We're both Danes, we spoke to each other beforehand. He needed the seconds more than I needed the points," said the confident wearer of the green jersey.
With his new sprinting strength, Vingegaard has considerably expanded his repertoire - which can also be seen as a challenge to Tadej Pogačar, whose explosiveness has repeatedly put the slender Dane at a disadvantage, and not just in this year's Tour de France.
Great class on the small climb
The gala version of the new Jonas Vingegaard could be experienced on stage 9. Just eleven kilometres before the finish on Valdezcaray, he effortlessly broke away from the peloton. He rode with concentration to open up a 24-second lead and first kissed his ring before crossing the finish line, then beat his chest with both fists and finally spread his arms out in his traditional gesture of jubilation. "It wasn't actually planned that we would organise the race so aggressively. But when I realised that the legs were good, I asked the team to launch me and Matteo Jorgenson did a great job," he said later. At that point, he seemed like the clear patron of this Vuelta.
However, this impression was deceptive. The 24 seconds he gained in Valdezcaray was to remain the biggest lead he was able to pull out on a stage over the entire three weeks.
Great time of suffering
Jonas Vingegaard's period of suffering began after the triumph. "I already felt a bit ill after stage 9, and it got worse on the rest day," he explained. Vingegaard had severe breathing problems. "He coughed a lot and suffered every day. It wasn't until the third week that he was able to turn things around," observed his team-mate and helper Sepp Kuss. Vingegaard himself also admitted the drop in performance: "I was at my best before, but then I literally had to fight for every watt." However, he at least covered up his suffering so well that his rivals in Team UAE Emirates did not feel inspired to launch a general attack on the red jersey, but instead frittered away their collective energy in the hunt for stage wins. "For me, they're racing for second place," said Alexander Shefer of Team Astana, assessing the somewhat erratic strategy of the Almeida team. However, the team may also have fallen into some disarray, shaken by the internal conflict between team boss Mauro Gianetti and Juan Ayuso. In the middle of the tour, the Spaniard's early departure was announced and he was accused in a communiqué of not sharing the team's values.
Vingegaard certainly benefited from the conflicts among his rivals in the midst of his own suffering. However, the mental resilience with which he fought against his physical impairments was also impressive. He always radiated optimism to the outside world and was able to summarise happily at the end: "The overall victory means a lot to me. It's my first at the Vuelta and the first Grand Tour victory in two years."
His goals for the coming years are to win the Tour de France again and fight for the pink crown at the Giro d'Italia. At the Vuelta, he showed that he can finish - albeit in the absence of Pogačar - and that he is good at enduring periods of weakness. The labourer from the fish factory has matured into a champion who also leads his team.
Results Vuelta a España 2025
Stage 21: Alalpardo - Madrid
La Vuelta Ciclista a España 2025: Stage 21, Alalpardo - Madrid
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 991 | Movistar Team | +00:00:00 |
