General Classification Vuelta a Espana 2025 Stage 18 | João Almeida closes gap to Jonas Vingegaard as Tom Pidcock strengthens grip on podium
Cycling
The stage 18 time trial didn't turn out to be quite as decisive as some had expected at the 2025 Vuelta a Espana, largely due to the route being shortened to just over 12km due to a lingering threat of protests. Nevertheless, as Filippo Ganna powered to the stage win, there were some differences among the general classification contenders.
Most notably, right at the top of the standings, João Almeida closed the gap to the Red Jersey of Jonas Vingegaard by 10 seconds. That means, heading into the final weekend of the 2025 La Vuelta, the Portuguese leader of UAE Team Emirates - XRG, is just 40 seconds behind in the rankings, his race-leading rival from Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
Behind, Tom Pidcock strengthened his grip on the third step of the podium, gaining a couple of seconds on Jai Hindley and a relatively sizeable 17 seconds on Giulio Pellizzari. In terms of the GC standings, the British multi-discipline star enters stage 19 with a buffer of 39 seconds on Hindley and 1:40 on Pellizzari in the race for the podium.
It was another strong day for Matthew Riccitello, who gained time on Felix Gall in the time trial, usurping the Austrian to move up to 6th overall at 5:17 off the Red Jersey. Closing out the top 10 then are Sepp Kuss (7:26), Torstein Traeen (7:42) and Matteo Jorgenson, making it a trio of Visma riders at the top of the standings, 10:19 down on his team leader Jonas Vingegaard.
Read also
General Classification Standings Vuelta a Espana 2025 after Stage 18
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- 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
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