![\"Vuelta\"](\"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2233542386.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWeek 3 drama: Vingegaard\u2019s lead is slim, Almeida\u2019s growing, Pidcock fights for the podium, Kuss is back and Madrid isn\u2019t a guarantee.<\/p>\n
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Increasing protests have cast a pall of uncertainty over the Vuelta going into the final week. (Photo: MIGUEL RIOPA\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Updated September 8, 2025 07:14AM<\/p>\n
The 2025 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a<\/a> enters its final week with both the final podium and the atmosphere around the Spanish grand tour hanging in the balance.<\/p>\n On the bike, things are stacking up like any wild Vuelta entering the final week with everything still up for grabs.<\/p>\n Jonas Vingegaard<\/a> holds red by just 48 seconds, but Jo\u00e3o Almeida<\/a> is making things complicated.<\/p>\n At the top of the table, there are big questions whether UAE Emirates-XRG\u2019s stage-hunting tactical tilt can deliver red and if Visma-Lease a Bike can finish off the job.<\/p>\n Deeper in the top 10, Tom Pidcock<\/a> is surprising everyone in a fight for the final podium, and Sepp Kuss<\/a> is proving he\u2019s back at his best.<\/p>\n With one week to go, all outcomes are still on the table.<\/p>\n All of that is part of the narrative of any normal Vuelta entering the third week.<\/p>\n What\u2019s different in this Vuelta is what\u2019s happening off the bike.<\/p>\n Protests against Israel-Premier Tech<\/a> continue to boil and are spilling out onto the road with intensity.<\/p>\n Riders are on edge after protesters are disrupting stages<\/a>, and now many are raising questions about whether the race will even make it to Madrid on Sunday.<\/p>\n A lot can happen with six stages left to go. Let\u2019s dive in:<\/p>\n 1. Vingegaard leads but is it enough? Jonas Vingegaard<\/a> carries the red jersey into the final week, but at just 48 seconds, things are tighter than anyone could have expected<\/a>.<\/p>\n For a rider who typically dominates the high mountains, it\u2019s striking that most of his GC advantages came in the transitional stages in Bilbao and Valdezcaray.<\/p>\n Visma-Lease a Bike has deployed a more calculated and measured race at the opening of the Vuelta in part to save the team for the final half.<\/p>\n The Dane has avoided crashes and other setbacks, but Almeida is staying close. Could that backfire in the final week?<\/p>\n There are a few traps, especially in Galicia, but \u201cVingo\u201d is sounding confident with two more decisive summit finales and a relatively long individual time trial still on the books.<\/p>\n The advantage of carrying red into week 3 is obvious; it\u2019s always better to defend than to chase. But anyone who\u2019s watched the Vuelta knows things can flip in its final days.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have 48 seconds, that\u2019s something I earned and I am happy with it, we just have to see if we can keep the jersey until Madrid,\u201d Vingegaard said Sunday. \u201cI\u2019m super satisfied with how the Vuelta has gone so far, two stage wins, and I can\u2019t even remember how many days in the red jersey anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n 2. Almeida can still win, but it won\u2019t be easy Almeida appears to be getting stronger as the race unfolds<\/a>. The Portuguese star is scrolling the race book in the final week, looking for where he can chip into Vingegaard\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n If you look at the profiles, three key days should decide this Vuelta.<\/p>\n Almeida\u2019s big chance may come on Wednesday\u2019s summit finish to El Morredero, a climb long enough and steep enough to drive the wedge. Almeida needs to try to gap Vingegaard, gain the winner\u2019s 10-second time bonus, and suddenly that lead could be cut into half.<\/p>\n The 27.3km individual time trial on Thursday is a typical week-three race against the clock, and it favors whoever has the strongest legs. Almeida is certainly no hack against the clock and he could take time on Vingegaard if he\u2019s on a great day.<\/p>\n The GC could all come down to Bola del Mundo, another one of the Vuelta\u2019s \u201cimpossible\u201d climbs.<\/p>\n It\u2019s so steep at the top that it\u2019s hard to carry too much speed. It\u2019s really more of a race off the back in the sense that if someone is buckling on a bad day, things can unravel relatively quickly.<\/p>\n The jury is still out on if UAE\u2019s stage-hunting frenzy can deliver the win for Almeida.<\/p>\n \u201cJoao is getting stronger as this Vuelta progresses, and we believe he can win. Of course, we need to attack and Visma is very strong, but we see a very determined Joao right now. A strong time trial will put him even closer. It\u2019s not over yet,\u201d UAE teammate Ivo Oliveira said Sunday.<\/p>\n 3. Pidcock is impressive, but can he hold the podium? Tom Pidcock is the big revelation of this Vuelta<\/a>, and the fact that he\u2019s hanging in third place going into the final week.<\/p>\n Quite a few were skeptical of Pidcock\u2019s GC credentials, but he\u2019s been holding his own against some pretty big names who are all now in a scrapping fight for the final spot on the podium. The most direct threat is Jay Hindley and Felix Gall.<\/p>\n Pidcock suffered at Angliru and again at Farrapona on Saturday, but the psychological boost after defending third place to carry the virtual podium into week 3 will do him wonders.<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s time trial could be his undoing. At this point, a top five would be validation of \u201cProject Pidcock,\u201d but a podium would be absolutely huge.<\/p>\n \u201cI lost a bit more time, but I think I\u2019m getting better and better at these longer efforts,\u201d Pidcock said Saturday. \u201cThis is definitely the thing that I struggle with the most \u2026 but the thing I can improve the most in, and this year I have improved massively, but obviously there\u2019s still a lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n 4. \u2018GC Kuss\u2019 is back, will there be a stage win? The Americans are shining during this Vuelta<\/a>, with Matthew Riccitello battling for a top 5, Matteo Jorgenson hanging around the top 10 while doing huge pulls for Vingegaard. Sean Quinn, Kevin Vermaerke, and Magnus Sheffield have been attacking relentlessly to chase a stage win.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s the smiling face of the Durango Kid that\u2019s lighting up this Vuelta.<\/p>\n Kuss struggled with health problems as well as with the pressure that came with being a grand tour winner, and last year he missed the Tour de France with illness and was off his best in the title defense at the 2024 Vuelta.<\/p>\n He\u2019s back at his climbing best in this Vuelta, slowly ticking up the GC without really even targeting it. He\u2019s following the proven Kuss blueprint of pulling for Vingegaard and then following in the wheels, and he naturally is moving up on GC.<\/p>\n A stage win could still be in the cards, but with Almeida and the unpredictability of UAE, his first responsibility will be chaperoning Vingegaard to Madrid in red.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to play the numbers on the team and be ready for any situation,\u201d Kuss told Velo. \u201cI feel good. It took a while to get to the real steep Vuelta climbs. There\u2019s still a long way to go, and hopefully the good feelings stay.\u201d<\/p>\n 5. Will the Vuelta even make it to Madrid? The biggest unknown of this Vuelta isn\u2019t the GC, but whether the race itself will make it to Madrid<\/a>.<\/p>\n After being relatively quiet on Wednesday and Thursday, demonstrations reared their head back up again Sunday, with protesters trying to disrupt the race on a few occasions.<\/p>\n Javier Romo and a rider from Soudal-Quick Step crashed Sunday after a police officer moved to stop a protester trying to charge into the road, provoking a reaction in the fast-moving bunch.<\/p>\n
\n![\"Vingegaard\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2234146193-720x480.jpg\")
Vingegaard carries red into the Vuelta\u2019s final week. (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\n![\"L'ANGLIRU,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2233867075-720x478.jpg\")
Almeida is closer than ever to a grand tour win . (Photo by Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\n![\"Pidcock\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2234022603-720x546.jpg\")
Pidcock and Hindley are in a dogfight for the podium. (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\n![\"Sepp](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2233864160-720x480.jpg\")
Kuss is back at his best and climbed into the top 10 after pacing Vingegaard across Asturias. (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\n![\"protests](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2234145246-720x480.jpg\")
Police attempt to hold back protesters during Sunday\u2019s stage. (Photo: Carlos Castro\/Europa Press via Getty Images)<\/p>\n