The 2025 Tour de France is now history. This past Sunday, the race drew to a close with the always-spectacular final stage into Paris. It marked the end of a Tour that, in truth, was somewhat underwhelming in terms of the battle for the general classification. At no point did it feel as though Jonas Vingegaard was clearly superior to Tadej Pogacar. Ever since the individual time trial in Caen on Stage 5, where the Dane fell over a minute behind, he was never able to claw back time from his great rival — even in the most gruelling mountain stages, including the decisive ascent to Hautacam.
The defeat is stark. The outcome of this year's Grande Boucle was effectively sealed as early as Stage 12, right at the midpoint of the race. Those two minutes Vingegaard conceded to UAE Team Emirates XRG’s leading man ultimately paved the way for Pogačar to claim a fourth Tour de France title. For Vingegaard, meanwhile, his tally remains at the two Tours he won back-to-back in 2022 and 2023.
Yet not all is bleak for Jonas Vingegaard. It’s no secret that the Tour de France is both his and Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s primary objective each season. But that does not mean 2025 is destined to be a write-off — especially with the Vuelta a España looming large on the horizon.
With Pogačar opting to sit out the Vuelta after an intensely demanding first half of the season (UAE Tour, a punishing spring classics campaign featuring all four Monuments—including his debut at Paris–Roubaix—followed by the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour de France), Vingegaard suddenly finds himself the clear favourite to take victory in Spain’s grand tour.
A First Vuelta Within Reach
To date, Vingegaard has never won the Vuelta a España. He’s raced it twice:
2020 Vuelta a España – 46th overall, as a young talent in only his second WorldTour season.
2023 Vuelta a España – 2nd overall, after ‘gifting’ the title to teammate Sepp Kuss, finishing just 17 seconds back as a gesture of gratitude for Kuss’s tireless support during his two Tour de France wins.
2020 Vuelta a España – 46th overall, as a young talent in only his second WorldTour season.
2023 Vuelta a España – 2nd overall, after ‘gifting’ the title to teammate Sepp Kuss, finishing just 17 seconds back as a gesture of gratitude for Kuss’s tireless support during his two Tour de France wins.
Had Vingegaard truly wanted it, he could already have the Vuelta on his palmarès. But that wasn’t the case—and now, he finds himself with a golden opportunity to finally open his account in the third of cycling’s Grand Tours.
Visma Knows the Stakes
Inside Team Visma–Lease a Bike, there’s a clear understanding that the 2025 season needn’t be written off as a failure simply because of what transpired at the Tour. Let’s not forget that Visma is a Grand Tour team through and through. Their entire season revolves around the sport’s three marquee stage races. And they’ve already ticked off one of them.
With Simon Yates’s surprise triumph at the Giro d’Italia—sealed with a breathtaking solo ride on the Colle delle Finestre—Visma took the Corsa Rosa from under the noses of UAE Team Emirates XRG (with rising star Isaac del Toro) and EF Education–EasyPost (led by Richard Carapaz). Should Vingegaard live up to his billing and win the Vuelta, Visma will have claimed two of the three Grand Tours in 2025. That alone would mark the season a resounding success—worthy of, at the very least, an 8 out of 10.
Vingegaard has now finished 2nd at the Tour de France the last two seasons
Make-or-Break Moment for Vingegaard
All things considered, a Vuelta victory in 2025 feels almost essential for Vingegaard. While he may also have his eye on the World Championships in Rwanda—where he could capture his first rainbow jersey—the reality is that his 2025 campaign thus far has been rather subdued.
To be fair, the Dane was sidelined from racing for three months—following his withdrawal from Paris–Nice—due to a controversial decision by Visma. Since returning at the Critérium du Dauphiné, he’s yet to win a single stage there or at the Tour de France. His only victories this season?
The final individual time trial of the 2025 Volta ao Algarve
Overall classification win at the Volta ao Algarve 2025
Team time trial victory at Paris–Nice 2025
Overall classification win at the Volta ao Algarve 2025
Team time trial victory at Paris–Nice 2025
A strong showing at the Vuelta, especially given the mountain-heavy route right from the opening week, could see Vingegaard not only take the red jersey but also secure a handful of stage wins—five or six wouldn’t be out of the question in the right conditions.
And if he were to pair that with a triumph at the World Championships in Rwanda—where he’s set to make his debut—then any talk of 2025 being a failure would be silenced. In fact, it could go down as a season for the history books.
Will he do it? Time will tell.
Jorge BorregueroWriter
Jorge Borreguero is a journalist with a degree from the Complutense University of Madrid and has been a writer for Cyclinguptodate and Ciclismoaldia since early 2023. In this role, he has played a key part in the evolution of the website, particularly as a specialist covering Movistar Team. He regularly writes race reports, analytical pieces, and in-depth features about the team, and has conducted exclusive interviews and attended multiple team presentations, providing readers with firsthand insights into one of the leading professional cycling squads.
Throughout his career, Jorge has maintained a strong focus on sports journalism, gaining experience across a variety of disciplines, including basketball and football. However, his current work is almost entirely dedicated to cycling, contributing extensively to Ciclismoaldia and its sister website Cyclinguptodate. For these platforms, he combines thorough research with detailed reporting to deliver high-quality content, ranging from race previews and results to expert analysis of teams and riders.
Jorge’s reporting is marked by accuracy, depth, and a commitment to providing readers with reliable and authoritative information. His direct engagement with teams, athletes, and events ensures that his coverage reflects firsthand knowledge and professional insight. Through his work, he has established himself as a trusted voice in professional cycling journalism, bridging the gap between the sport and its global audience while maintaining rigorous editorial standards.
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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