The 2025 Vuelta a España was a three-week cycling race that took place in Italy, France, Andorra and Spain. It started on 23 August in Turin, and finished on 14 September in Madrid. It was the 80th edition of the Vuelta a España and the third and final grand tour of the 2025 men's road cycling season. The race was organised by Unipublic, a subsidiary of Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).
The race was won by Jonas Vingegaard of , taking the first Vuelta in his career. Vingegaard won stages two and nine to initially build his advantage over his rivals. However, he got sick during the second week and he had to defend his lead before sealing the race on the penultimate stage to Bola del Mundo, where he won his third stage. Second place went to João Almeida of , finishing more than a minute behind Vingegaard. He consistently challenged Vingegaard in the mountains, winning the stage to Alto de L’Angliru in the process, but he was only able to take time through time bonuses and the time trials. The last step on the podium went to Tom Pidcock of , taking his first podium finish on a Grand Tour. He performed consistently in the mountains and held off the challenge from Jai Hindley in the final two weeks.
The points classification was won by Mads Pedersen of . He had several high placings during the sprint stages and the intermediate sprints while also winning a breakaway stage in the second week. Jay Vine of won the mountains classification. He took the jersey after winning the first mountain stage on stage six and he held on to the jersey until the end of the race. The young rider classification went to Matthew Riccitello of . He was in a battle for the jersey with Giulio Pellizzari for most of the race before the American took the jersey on the penultimate stage. took the team classification while Joel Nicolau of was named the race’s most combative rider.
Several stages of the race were affected by pro-Palestinian protests regarding the Gaza war, and the inclusion of Israel–Premier Tech team, with multiple stages finishing prematurely, two without a stage winner. The final stage to Madrid, in particular, was cancelled upon reaching the circuit after several protesters invaded the road and knocked down the barriers. The final podium ceremony was also cancelled as a result. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his "deep admiration" for pro-Palestinian protestors, with Mayor of Madrid José Luis Martínez-Almeida blaming Sánchez for the abandonment of the final stage. Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Sa'ar, blamed the Spanish Government for "inciting" the protests.
Teams
Twenty-three teams participated in the race. All 18 UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited. They were joined by five UCI ProTeams: the two highest ranked UCI ProTeams in 2024 (Lotto and ), along with three teams selected by Unipublic, the organisers of the Tour.
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) rules allow 22 teams to enter a Grand Tour – 18 UCI WorldTeams, the two highest-ranked UCI ProTeams from the previous season and two teams invited by the organisers. Grand Tour race organisers ASO and RCS Sport asked the UCI to allow an additional wildcard team to be invited to Grand Tour events, after lobbying from smaller teams competing for the wildcard slots. Larger teams were reported to not support the request. In March 2025, the UCI announced that 23 teams would be permitted in 2025, allowing an additional team to be invited.
Civil society and human rights organizations such as the Plataforma para el Boicot Deportivo a Israel (PBD), the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the Red Solidaria contra la Ocupación de Palestina (RESCOP), Yala Nafarroa, and Villena por la Paz called for the exclusion of from the 2025 Vuelta under the slogan "Sport without genocide" and called for demonstrations. Political organizations also called for the exclusion of the team. On 25 August, the Spanish Izquierda Unida political party reiterated calls for the Spanish Government to exclude the team due to the International Court of Justice provisional measures based on the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) and called for an investigation into agreements and the use of public funds in relation with as a "sports washing tool for Genocide". In Navarre, the Contigo-Zurekin regional political coalition requested at the Navarre Parliament that be excluded from participating in Stage 10 of the Vuelta, which passed through Navarre. During the race, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares and Minister of Sport Pilar Alegría both called for to withdraw from the race.
La Vuelta director Javier Guillén responded on 20 August stating that the organizers "were aware of the controversy surrounding the Israeli team [...], but we can't expel it from La Vuelta. It's impossible, and it's in the race by its own right. It has every right to participate, and we have every right to host it. [...] We're not unaware of what's happening, but we have nothing to say to any peaceful demonstration; protesting is a constitutional right." Cycling News reported that race organisers Unipublic tried to convince to withdraw from the race, however team owner Sylvan Adams declined. UCI rules obligated to be invited to the race, and organisers could not unilaterally exclude the team from the event.
From stage fourteen onwards, riders wore modified jerseys without the name of the team, with the team noting that their "name remains ".
UCI WorldTeams
UCI ProTeams
Pre-race favourites
Jonas Vingegaard of was considered the clear favourite, having finished second in the 2025 Tour de France. The Visma team was widely believed to be the strongest in the race and promised to offer the best support for Vingegaard, both in the mountain stages and on flat terrain. The team included 2024 and 2025 Paris-Nice champion Matteo Jorgenson, 2023 Vuelta champion Sepp Kuss, 2023 Tour of Norway champion Ben Tulett, and the experienced veteran Wilco Kelderman for climbing support. Support on the flat stages (including the team time trial) was to be provided primarily by 2022 Paris–Roubaix champion Dylan van Baarle and double European time trial champion and Tour de France stage winner Victor Campenaerts.
also had two strong contenders with Juan Ayuso and João Almeida. Alongside the two leaders, UAE fielded several accomplished support riders. Marc Soler, a multiple Vuelta stage winner, and Jay Vine, the 2023 Tour Down Under champion, were expected to play key roles in the high mountains. Domen Novak and Felix Großschartner added further depth to the climbing squad. Mikkel Bjerg and Ivo Oliveira, both strong time trial specialists, were selected to reinforce the team in the team time trial and on flat terrain.
Felix Gall of , who finished fifth at the 2025 Tour de France, was also one of the favourites for a podium finish. Ben O'Connor, who finished second in the 2024 Vuelta following a breakway performance on stage 6, was also competing at the race for .
In the other classifications, the favourite for the green jersey for most points was Mads Pedersen of Team Lidl–Trek. His main competitor on flat sprint stages was multiple Tour de France stage winner Jasper Philipsen. Ben Turner of Ineos Grenadiers also posed a threat following a stage win and points classification victory a few weeks before the Vuelta at the Tour of Poland. Other notable sprinters included Casper van Uden, Jake Stewart, Ethan Vernon, Orluis Aular, and Bryan Coquard. For the young riders' classification, Giulio Pellizzari represented a strong challenger after a 6th place finish at the 2025 Giro.
Route and stages In December 2024, it was announced that the race would start in Turin, Italy – becoming the second city (after Utrecht in the Netherlands) to host the start of all three Grand Tours. The race visited four countries (Italy, France, Andorra and Spain), with 10 summit finishes (including the L'Angliru) and just of individual and team time trials. + Stage characteristics and winners Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner 1 23 August Turin (Reggia di Venaria) (Italy) to Novara (Italy) Flat stage 2 24 August Alba (Italy) to Limone Piemonte (Italy) Flat stage 3 25 August San Maurizio Canavese (Italy) to Ceres (Italy) Medium-mountain stage 4 26 August Susa (Italy) to Voiron (France) Medium-mountain stage 5 27 August Figueres to Figueres Team time trial 6 28 August Olot to Pal (Andorra) Mountain stage 7 29 August Andorra la Vella (Andorra) to Cerler (Huesca La Magia) Mountain stage 8 30 August Monzón (Templario) to Zaragoza Flat stage 9 31 August Alfaro to Valdezcaray Hilly stage 1 September Pamplona Rest day 10 2 September Arguedas to El Ferial Larra Belagua Flat stage 11 3 September Bilbao to Bilbao Medium-mountain stage No winner declared 12 4 September Laredo to Los Corrales de Buelna Medium-mountain stage 13 5 September Cabezón de la Sal to L'Angliru Mountain stage 14 6 September Avilés to Alto de La Farrapona Mountain stage 15 7 September Vegadeo to Monforte de Lemos Medium-mountain stage 8 September Pontevedra Rest day 16 9 September Poio to Mos () Medium-mountain stage 17 10 September O Barco de Valdeorras to Ponferrada (Alto de El Morredero) Medium-mountain stage 18 11 September Valladolid to Valladolid Individual time trial 19 12 September Rueda to Guijuelo Flat stage 20 13 September Robledo de Chavela to Bola del Mundo Mountain stage 21 14 September Valdeolmos-Alalpardo to Madrid Flat stage No winner declared Total
Race overview
Week one
The first three stages of the race took place in Italy. The first stage of the race featured a flat stage that offered the sprinters an opportunity to take the first red leader's jersey. After the six-man break was caught, the race headed to the inevitable bunch sprint where Jasper Philipsen () won ahead of Ethan Vernon () and Orluis Aular (), taking the first red jersey in the process. Stage two finished atop the second-category climb to Limone Piemonte (9.8 km at 5.1%). Before the final climb, there was a crash that involved several riders, including Jonas Vingegaard (). All riders involved safely finished the stage. The win was decided by a reduced bunch sprint, where Vingegaard emerged victorious in a photo finish against Giulio Ciccone (). The Dane subsequently took the red jersey.
The third stage finished on a small uphill finish in Ceres, with the last averaging 4.2%. Inside the final kilometre, Ciccone led out Mads Pedersen () before the Dane led into the final corner. However, David Gaudu () divebombed the corner to take the lead out of the exit, outsprinting Pedersen to win the stage. Vingegaard took third to take four bonus seconds, which allowed him to keep the red jersey over Gaudu, who had the same time as the race leader. The race went from Italy to France on the fourth stage. The first half of the stage contained three categorized climbs before a long descent led to mostly flat parcours in the second half of the stage. Despite the amount of climbing, the stage was decided by a bunch sprint with Ben Turner () edging out Philipsen to win his first Grand Tour stage. By finishing 25th on the stage compared to Vingegaard's 42nd place, Gaudu took the red jersey by having the least sum of stage finish positions from the first four stages.