"I’ve never done 55kph average on a time trial before" - Jonas Vingegaard impresses himself despite time loss to Almeida on La Vuelta stage 18

It’s not often you hear Jonas Vingegaard sound genuinely impressed with himself — but even after losing ten seconds to João Almeida in Thursday’s shortened Stage 18 time trial at the 2025 Vuelta a Espana, the Dane was full of quiet satisfaction.

The 12.2km course in Valladolid, reduced from its original 27.2km length due to logistical concerns, heavily favoured the power-focused specialists. While Filippo Ganna delivered a predictably dominant ride to take the stage for INEOS Grenadiers, Vingegaard held his own in unfamiliar terrain — and hit a personal milestone in the process.

“I’ve never done 55kph average on a time trial before, so I think I can be happy with my performance today,” the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider said in his post-stage interview afterwards. “On a flat time trial like this, it suited a bit more the bigger guys, so to do this well in such a TT is good for me.”

Vingegaard stopped the clock at 13:18, just 18 seconds down on Ganna and ten behind Almeida, who is now his closest GC challenger. With only two mountain stages remaining, the gap between the pair now sits at 40 seconds — still a buffer, but less than the former Tour de France champion would have preferred. “I think I have to be satisfied with the time gaps, because I did a good time trial. I’m still in the lead with two stages left, so now we have to focus on tomorrow and the day after.”

Although Vingegaard didn't challenge for the stage win, his performance was among the best of the general classification contenders. He limited losses to punchier rivals in a format that traditionally favours heavier, more explosive riders — a fact he acknowledged. “It was a decent day for me,” he said. “These kinds of short, flat TTs aren’t usually my favourite. So all in all, I’m pretty confident.”

The Danish star’s confidence hasn’t wavered in the face of a resurgent Almeida, who delivered a strong 13:08 ride to close the gap. And while the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider is known for late-race consistency, Vingegaard's Tour-proven resilience in the high mountains remains his trump card.

With the final weekend to come and no more time trials left to shape the GC, it will come down to tactics, recovery, and execution on the final climbs. “We need to keep the focus,” Vingegaard said. “They’ll be two hard days, but I’m ready.”