"It bothers me because otherwise I'm in good shape" - Giulio Ciccone drops out of GC due to an infection

The stage 14 of Vuelta a Espana 2025 didn't bring much of the promised GC battle, but we still saw major shifts in the top-10 of the race. Most importantly, one of the pre-race podium candidates Giulio Ciccone, who entered the day in 8th place overall, lost over 20 minutes to his opponents. The Lidl-Trek rider subsequently explained what had gone wrong in an interview for Eurosport.

"I'm in good condition, but it's no secret that I've suffered a lot over the last three or four days. Unfortunately, I have a new problem with my glutes. It bothers me a lot when I'm cycling. We're working with the team to resolve this problem as quickly as possible, because I'm in good shape. The problems started in the last few days, partly because of the rain during the 9th stage," Ciccone concluded.

The 30-year-old started the race strongly with two top-5 finishes before the race left Italy. First weakness of what would eventually turn out to be CIccone's weakness became apparent in stage 9 when the Italian tried to follow Jonas Vingegaard on Valdezcaray, but eventually crumbled under the Dane's brutal pace and lost 1:46.

The second week didn't offer as many opportunities to move up and down the standings in it's first half, but already the punchy stage in Bilbao where Ciccone would normally be one of those to gain time, indicated that the Lidl-Trek rider isn't on top of his game. Stage 13 already saw Ciccone unable to challenge to best, but the final blow to his GC ambitions came on Saturday.

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe can be very happy with how the race is developing for the German formation. Both Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari were once again in the mix with the best and the Australian leader gained some time on third place Tom Pidcock who needs to be very cautious about the former Giro winner.

Unhappy with the pace set by UAE Team Emirates - XRG, we saw the white jersey of Pellizzari at the front in the finale, pushing every GC rider to their limit. "Today we did our best with Jai," recounted Pellizzari. "We felt really good, and we know we have to beat Pidcock to get on the podium. So we tried, and Jai gained 10 seconds, but we'll keep fighting."

"There's only one more day until the rest day, and then we'll see what we can do in the third week. The white jersey is a goal for me and the team, but first we want to get on the podium with Jai, and we know we can. So first we're focusing on the podium, and then we'll see," said Pelllizzari.

"Today everyone was pushing hard, but in the end some people were even pushing the limits. Tomorrow's start will be tough. I hope the leading group can take it easy in the peloton," he said in conclusion about stage 15.

These days have also gone well for fifth overall Felix Gall who extended his advantage over Pellizzari by further five seconds today. "It was a double test, with the Angliru on Friday and now this stage. The final was very tough. UAE Team Emirates - XRG and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe were riding very hard in the valley, but on the final climb, the headwind made it easier. Otherwise, the gaps would have been bigger."

The Austrian rider from Decathlon AG2R seems to be on track for a good final result in this Vuelta. "I'm very happy. I did my best and finished well. We couldn't really force anything on the final climb, but the guys did really well from the breakaway. It's good to always have someone with me."