Is Jonas Vingegaard The Man To Beat At The Vuelta a España 2025?
Is Jonas Vingegaard The Man To Beat At The Vuelta a España 2025?
Dane Jonas Vingegaard is the man to beat at cycling's final Grand Tour of the season when the Vuelta a España 2025 rolls out of Turin on Saturday.
Dane Jonas Vingegaard is the man to beat at cycling's final Grand Tour of the season when the Vuelta a España 2025 rolls out of Turin on Saturday for a 21-day run packed with mountains.
The Spanish race starts with three days in the Piedmont region of Italy before sweeping into France. It also spends two days in Andorra as the home action gets underway, culminating in Madrid on Sept. 14.
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There are a massive 10 summit finishes, as the general trend away from bunch-sprint stages is pushed to an extreme, with only two sprints seemingly guaranteed, and a potential two more, depending how the peloton approaches them.
Another Dane, the 2019 world champion and winner of the 2025 Giro d'Italia points competition, Mads Pedersen, is the favorite for the sprint expected in Stage 1.
On Day 2, the climbing begins.
There are 10 stages with at least 3,000 meters of vertical gain, making for relentless pressure, rather than one single make-or-break blockbuster climbing day.
No Dane has won the Vuelta, which is the junior Grand Tour. It first was raced in 1935.
The Tour de France was first run in 1903, and the Giro in 1909.
The Vuelta is embarking on it's 80th edition, which also will be the 300th Grand Tour raced in cycling history.
Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard is red-hot favorite.
Jonas Vingegaard Is All-In: Vuelta a España 2025
Vingegaard said Thursday that he will concentrate on his Vuelta a España tilt and skip September's world championships in Rwanda.
The 28-year-old said another 21-stage Grand Tour would leave him too tired for Rwanda.
"I don't know how I'll get on at the the Vuelta a España, and with so little time to prepare, I decided not to go (to Rwanda)," Vingegaard said in Turin.
The Vuelta runs until Sept. 14. The world championship road race is Sept. 28.
The grueling 265-kilometer race around Kigali will by contested by defending champion Tadej Pogacar, who won a fourth Tour de France title in July.
Overall Victory Is The Plan For Jonas Vingegaard And Team Visma | Lease a Bike
Vingegaard's team Visma won the Giro d'Italia with Simon Yates in May. Vingegaard came second at the Tour de France. Success in Madrid would complete a a good season.
"I'm here for the overall win, and with this team supporting me, that seems like a realistic goal," said Vingegaard, starting his third Vuelta.
Visma Head of Racing Grischa Niermann was in bullish mood in Turin.
"Jonas is our leader and our biggest chance for the overall victory," he said. "But with Sepp Kuss, we have a former winner at the start."
Visma is sending a deep and powerful team that appears the strongest - on paper, at least.
"We have a team that can support Jonas in every situation," Niermann said.
The race should be spared much of the traditional heat and the boredom of dual carriageways as it sticks to the cooler northern regions of Galicia, the Basque Country and Asturias. It goes no further south than Madrid.
There are plenty of rivals for the overall leader's red jersey, but neither the superstar Pogacar, nor the 2024 champion Primoz Roglic, will line up.
In the absence of Pogacar, who will defend the world title in Rwanda in September, Team UAE have two hopes in João Almeida and Juan Ayuso.
Colombia's Egan Bernal plays dark horse and can complete the treble of all Grand Tours after his 2019 Tour de France and 2021 Giro d'Italia win.
But American rider Kuss is the only former Vuelta champion in the pack.
How To Watch The Vuelta A España 2025
For Canadian viewers, the Vuelta A España 2025 will be streaming on FloBikes and the FloSports app.
To see the start and estimated finish times for each stage, click here.
Highlights, race replays and breaking news will be available on both platforms.
Stage highlights, replays and more breaking news, including recaps and rider interviews, will be on both platforms.
In the United States, the Vuelta a España is scheduled to be broadcast on the NBC Networks and streaming on the NBC Peacock app.
When Does The Vuelta A España 2025 Start?
The Vuelta A España 2025 starts Aug. 23 and will conclude Sept. 14.
The schedule includes 21 stages and two rest days (Sept. 1 and Sept. 8).
Every day, the cyclists start together. Every stage varies in distance and physical demand, and the characteristics of each stage determine what type of rider should excel or how the race should finish.
For example, some stages feature flat finishes, and that means the sprinters likely will be battling for those stage wins.
How Long Is The Vuelta A España 2025?
The course for the Vuelta A España 2025 will be 3,151 kilometers or approximately 1,958 miles.
How Many Teams/Riders Compete In The Vuelta A España?
Traditionally, there are 22 teams and up to 176 competitors in the Vuelta A España.
The 2025 race will feature 23 teams and more than 180 riders.
Who Won The Vuelta A España In 2024?
Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic won the Vuelta a España in 2024 for a record-equaling fourth career victory at the storied race.
The former ski jumper has been plagued by crashes and injuries, including two significant ones in 2024, but he continues to persevere and managed to land himself among the year’s most memorable moments with wins at the 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné and La Vuelta.
Roglic, who won the Vuelta a España in 2019, 2020 and 2021, joined Spain’s Roberto Heras as the event’s only four-time champions (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005) and made it a clean sweep for Slovenia in the Grand Tours in 2024, with Pogacar winning the Giro and TDF.
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