Vingegaard\u2019s leads his main GC rival, Jo\u00e3o Almeida (UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG), by 50 seconds, with Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) sitting in third, at 56 seconds. The race is nicely poised as the riders take on the two most difficult stages in the race on Friday and Saturday, with the fearsome Angliru (12.4km @ 8.8%, with\u00a0 gradients of up to 23.5%!), arguably the most difficult ascent in the sport, waiting at the end of Friday\u2019s stage 13.<\/p>\n
Ayuso! Ayuso! Ayuso!<\/p>\n
In addition to branding his team a dictatorship, Ayuso also said that he would devote the rest of the race to helping team leader, Jo\u00e3o Almeida, win the GC. And he did, leading the peloton for five minutes on Wednesday\u2019s stage 11 before dropping back at the foot of the final climb. The next day, on Thursday\u2019s stage 12, he burst out of the peloton on the first of the stage\u2019s two categorized climbs, 109km from the finish, joined a massive 50+ rider breakaway, broke away from what remained of it and then beat Javier Romo (Movistar) to the finish line to prove what everyone already knew, that he is a terrific cyclist and will always put his own interests before those of the team.<\/p>\n
Though, apparently, if he is to be believed, he carried out his latest solo yo (only me) with the team\u2019s blessings. Not only did he get valuable help from his indefatigable teammate Marc Soler, but he was advised in the finale by a sports director in his team car, who told him to let Romo do most of the work in the run to the line. Then he sat in back of the Movistar rider in the final kilometer and easily beat him to the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt 5 kilometers to the finish, I sat up a bit and Javi was getting nervous because he was looking at his first stage win in the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a,\u201d said Ayuso, and confirmed that the advice from the team car was to hold back from pulling. \u201cI was told from the car to play like this. This is not something that I really enjoy \u2013 to play a bit and not cooperate fully, but sometimes you have to play smart, and that\u2019s what I did in the finale.\u201d<\/p>\n
Romo was left banging his handlebars in frustration. I was annoyed,\u201d he told Spanish media<\/a> at the finish. \u201cJuan wasn\u2019t just the strongest, he was the most intelligent. He almost didn\u2019t want to work in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if he felt vindicated by his victory, Ayuso said, \u201cI don\u2019t know. I had to face unpleasant things in these last few days and talking on the bike with my legs is always the best answer. It wasn\u2019t a message, but to be able to do it was important.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s clear that one of UAE\u2019s goals this year \u2013 and perhaps its primary goal in the Vuelta \u2013 is to break the record for team victories in a calendar year. That record, set by HTC-Colombia in 2009, stands at 85 wins. UAE\u2019s count after this latest win is now 78 victories. I have to wonder what the team would do in the Vuelta if the choice came down to breaking the record or having Almeida win the race without winning a single stage.<\/p>\n Protests disrupt stage 11<\/p>\n The conflict in Gaza has been a visible presence in the Vuelta from the first stage, with Palestinian flags waved on the roadsides and placards condemning Israel held high on virtually every stage. But the protests reached a climax on Wednesday\u2019s stage 11, when organizers were forced to annul the final 3km of the stage and neutralize the finish by not declaring a winner because hundreds of protestors were roaming the road near the finish line.<\/p>\n The situation grew explosive after Escape Collective<\/a> published WhatsApp messages in which several riders called on Israel\u2013Premier Tech to drop out of the race, a demand apparently seconded<\/a> by the race\u2019s technical director, Kiko Garc\u00eda. The team refused, declaring in a statement, \u201cIsrael\u2013Premier Tech is a professional cycling team. As such, the team remains committed to racing on at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a. Any other course of action sets a dangerous precedent in the sport of cycling not only for Israel\u2013Premier Tech, but for all teams.\u201d Fortunately for all concerned, stage 12 was raced without any problems.<\/p>\n And speaking of racing, though the stage was truncated and no official winner was declared, there was still time to gain on rivals. And that is exactly what Vingegaard and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) did, with the Brit bursting out of the peloton on the killer final climb of the stage, the Alto de Pike (2.1km @ 8.8km, with ramps up to 16%). Only Vingegaard could follow him, and the two rode the descent together, with the Dane winning the sprint to the new finish line. Both riders gained time on the rest of the GC, with Vingegaard\u2019s lead over Almeida ballooning to 50 seconds and Pidcock climbing onto the podium, at 56 seconds.<\/p>\n Vinegaard back in Red<\/p>\n A race that had not been frantic turned super fast on Tuesday\u2019s stage 10, with riders desperate to join a breakaway. It took 70km before a 30-rider breakaway managed to form, as the average for the first 80km of the 175.3km course from Parque de la Naturaleza Sendaviva to El Ferial Larra Belagua was a stunning 50kph. That large group eventually splintered. The fight for the stage victory was played out on the slopes of the final climb, to the Puerto de Belagua (9.4km @ 6.2%), where Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG) distanced Movistar\u2019s Pablo Castrillo and won his second stage of this Vuelta and his team\u2019s fourth. Romo finished third.<\/p>\n More significantly, the surprise race leader Torstein Tr\u00e6en (Bahrain-Victorious), who had taken the red jersey after stage 6, faltered halfway up that final climb and finished 23rd, 2:08 behind the winner and 1:03 behind Vingegaard, which put the jersey back on the Dane, who said he was determined to wear it for the rest of the race.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m always happy to be in the leader\u2019s jersey; I won\u2019t complain at all,\u201d he said after the stage. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the most beautiful in cycling, and I want to keep it now all the way to Madrid.\u201d<\/p>\n Vingegaard went on to say that the fact that Ayuso was no longer a GC threat made his task a little easier, but that didn\u2019t mean there weren\u2019t other riders to worry about. \u201cJust having to watch Almeida is good,\u201d he said. \u201cFor sure, it makes it easier only having to follow one guy. But Pidcock doesn\u2019t surprise me, either. He\u2019s a super good rider, and the way he\u2019s been racing here shows just how good he is. I think he is one of the big rivals for the GC.\u201d<\/p>\n Results of Stage 12 of the 2025 Vuelta Ciclista a Espa\u00f1a<\/p>\n 1. Juan Ayuso, UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG 3:16:21 General Classification after Stage 12 of the Vuelta Ciclista a Espa\u00f1a <\/p>\n 1. Jonas Vingegaard, Visma\u2013Lease a Bike \u00a044:36:45
2. Javier Romo, Movistar \u201c
3. Brieuc Rolland, Groupama-FDJ\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0+ 0:13
4. Victor Campanaerts,\u00a0 Visma\u2013Lease a Bike\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 + 0:17
5. Mads Pedersen, Lidl-Trek\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c
6. Nico Denz, Red Bull\u2013BORA\u2013hansgrohe\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201c
7. Damian Howson, Q36.5 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0+ 0:18
8. Santiago Buitrago, Bahrain Victorious\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c
9. Markel Beloki, EF Education\u2013EasyPost \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201c
10. Pablo Castrillo, Movistar \u201c<\/p>\n
2. Jo\u00e3o Almeida, UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0+ 0:50
3. Tom Pidcock, Q36.5 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0+ 0:56
4. Torstein Tr\u00e6en, Bahrain-Victorious\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0+ 1:06
5. Felix Gall, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0+ 2:17
6. Bruno Amirail, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0+ 2:23
7. Matteo Jorgenson, Visma\u2013Lease a Bike\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0+ 2:26
8. Jai Hindley, Red Bull\u2013BORA\u2013hansgrohe\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0+ 2:30
9. Giulio Ciccone, Lidl-Trek\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0+ 2:33
10. Giulio Pellizzari, Red Bull\u2013BORA\u2013hansgrohe\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 + 2:44<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Vingegaard\u2019s leads his main GC rival, Jo\u00e3o Almeida (UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG), by 50 seconds, with Tom Pidcock (Q36.5)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":["post-120509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}