While protests shut down Madrid, the Vuelta’s champions still found a way to celebrate after all.

Late Sunday night, Visma – Lease a Bike and other squads threw together their own podium ceremony—reportedly in the parking lot of a team hotel. Photos on social media showed a banner taped to the side of a van and a makeshift stage built from boxes, as riders who were supposed to be honoured in Madrid instead celebrated in front of teammates and staff. The Danish national anthem even played for Jonas Vingegaard before bottles of Cava were popped. Riders doused each other (and their team staff) just as they would have on the streets of the capital.

Finishing circuits cancelled

Hours earlier, the final stage of the 2025 Vuelta a España had been neutralized. Normally, riders would finish on the traditional finishing circuits. Large pro-Palestinian protests had swept through the city centre, forcing organizers to cancel not just the racing but the planned podium ceremony as well.

🇪🇸 #LaVuelta25

Boys will be boys. An intimate celebration for the winners of this Vuelta a España! 🍾🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/s8PG1uUNWS

— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) September 14, 2025

Team boss Richard Plugge posted on X, saying,” So proud the cycling world showed unity and could give the winners the deserved celebration! A night to remember.”

Podium in a parking lot

Despite the upheaval, every jersey winner got their moment. Vingegaard received the maillot rojo as overall champion (we are calling him RoJonas now, apparently), with João Almeida and first-time Grand Tour podium finisher Tom Pidcock alongside him. Mads Pedersen collected the green points jersey, Jay Vine the polka-dot mountains jersey, and Israel – Premier Tech’s Matthew Riccitello donned the white as best young rider—the first major classification win for the team at a Grand Tour. UAE Team Emirates also stepped up as the winning squad in the team classification.

This year’s Vuelta had several stages that were neutralized or modified due to protests, but at least the winners still had their moment of glory.