While protests shut down Madrid, the Vuelta\u2019s champions still found a way to celebrate after all.<\/p>\n
Late Sunday night, Visma \u2013 Lease a Bike and other squads threw together their own podium ceremony\u2014reportedly 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.<\/p>\n
Finishing circuits cancelled<\/p>\n
Hours earlier, the final stage of the 2025 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a 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.<\/p>\n
\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8 #LaVuelta25<\/a><\/p>\n Boys will be boys. An intimate celebration for the winners of this Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a! \ud83c\udf7e\ud83d\ude4c\ud83c\udffc pic.twitter.com\/s8PG1uUNWS<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) September 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Team boss Richard Plugge posted on X, saying,\u201d So proud the cycling world showed unity and could give the winners the deserved celebration! A night to remember.\u201d<\/p>\n Podium in a parking lot<\/p>\n Despite the upheaval, every jersey winner got their moment. Vingegaard received the maillot rojo as overall champion (we are calling him RoJonas<\/a> now, apparently), with Jo\u00e3o 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 \u2013 Premier Tech\u2019s Matthew Riccitello donned the white as best young rider\u2014the 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.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s Vuelta had several stages that were neutralized or modified due to protests<\/a>, but at least the winners still had their moment of glory.<\/p>\n