#vuelta-a-espana

#vuelta-a-espana

It's an evening finale, as per usual, with the sun setting on Madrid as the riders complete their laps of the Castellana and Gran Via. The start is coming up shortly before 5pm local time, with the finish expected around 7:15pm.

Belgium's Jasper Philipsen sprinted clear at the end of stage 19 to seal his third win at this year's Vuelta a Espana on Friday while Jonas Vingegaard added four seconds to his overall advantage over Jono Almeida. After 160km of relatively flat riding in west central Spain, Alpecin-Deceuninck's Philipsen burst to the front near the finish and never looked like being caught.

Movistar rider Javier Romo was able to complete stage 15 of the Vuelta a Espana despite suffering a heavy fall caused indirectly by a pro-Palestine protestor running towards the road, but as teammate Carlos Canal told reporters after the finish, "hopefully it's not too bad because we need him a lot." After completing the stage, some 14 minutes down, Romo did not talk to the press at the finish, heading straight inside the Movitar team bus to have medics look over his injuries.

The Professional Cyclists' Association (CPA) has demanded better security at the Vuelta a Espana after protesters disrupted stages in recent days, with one rider crashing when demonstrators ran on to the road. The CPA expressed concern about rider safety after incidents on Tuesday's stage 10 and Wednesday's stage 11, as well as last week's team time trial when protesters holding Palestinian flags stopped the Israel-Premier Tech team.

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) was happy to cede the red jersey to the breakaway on stage 6 of the Vuelta a España, allowing a 10-man group to build a large gap on the road to Pal, with Torstein Træen (Bahrain-Victorious) taking over the lead by 2:33.

It was a crazy week, super crazy. I wanted to come to the Vuelta, and I still had some issues with my leg since the Giro, but the team believed in me and I went to Renewi [Tour], and then they said they needed me, so of course you say 'yeah'. I'd do anything to race these races.

On Friday at 1 PM, less than 24 hours before the 2025 Vuelta a España was due to get underway, Finlay Pickering received the phone call that would indelibly change the Bahrain Victorious' racer's second half of the 2025 season - and perhaps even more. Teammate Damiano Caruso fractured his hand which left the Italian veteran out of action for the Vuelta on Friday morning.

With the third Grand Tour kicking off this Saturday, August 23, in Turin, Italy, the Vuelta a España looks set to be another UAE vs Visma battle and decider for Grand Tour supremacy in 2025. The men in yellow and black will have the overall favourite - Vingegaard - who is looking to better his runner-up finish at the Tour, while the Emirati outfit brings two of their top GC stars to try and capture the red jersey - João Almeida and Juan Ayuso.

"The finish takes place at a hiking area at 2,247 metres in altitude where the crowds, traffic, and infrastructure could damage the fragile high-mountain ecosystem."

Nairo was one of the doubts, but we've ruled him out for the Vuelta. After his crash at the Vuelta a Burgos, the rider needs time to recover.

Ethan Hayter aims to regain top form for the Vuelta a España despite feeling off his game. He experienced stomach issues during the Giro but still performed well in time trials.

UAE Team Emirates has top Grand Tour prospects with João Almeida recovering from injuries, while Tadej Pogačar dominates the Tour de France in pursuit of his fourth yellow jersey.