“They're simply done” – Vingegaard and Almeida on the ropes according to Zonneveld

With just four stages left in the 2025 Vuelta a España, Jonas Vingegaard holds a narrow advantage of 50 seconds over João Almeida after stage 17. He added only two seconds to his lead, a gain that did little to hide the fact that both riders looked vulnerable. According to Thijs Zonneveld, their fatigue was evident when they were beaten to the line by Giulio Pellizzari, Tom Pidcock, and Jai Hindley. The Dutch analyst says the race leaders are showing clear signs that they are running on empty.

“The two strongest riders in the race, Vingegaard and Almeida, are both completely exhausted,” Zonneveld said on his podcast “In de Waaier.” “They're simply done.”

On the first climbs of stage 17, Team Visma | Lease a Bike still appeared in control. But when Vingegaard was left to do the work himself, he did not launch an attack, even when Joao Almeida was struggling to hold the wheel. Zonneveld dismissed the idea that this was deliberate, and believes that Vingegaard was struggling himself. “If he could have done better, this would have been the day to decide the Vuelta.”

Almeida, meanwhile, was left without support from UAE Team Emirates - XRG, a factor Zonneveld said could cost him in the coming days. Notably, Juan Ayuso was one of the first to drop, as he has been on several occasions when Almeida needed him.

“No one from UAE was anywhere to be seen; they're all riding their own race. Almeida got dropped and then had to close the gap on his own. He's closing that gap against the wind. That's the maximum, he's right at his limit. That was very clear for Vingegaard. The fact that he didn't use that to decide this Vuelta says a lot about the state of his legs.”

The final climb saw Pidcock and Hindley ride away, gaining time and momentum. “Today it was pretty clear that Pidcock and Hindley were better; they rode away and picked up a few bonus seconds.”

Vingegaard’s struggles became even clearer in the closing sprint. “He hasn't lost a single sprint to Hindley in this Vuelta, and here he loses both the sprint and the one he's simply dropped. And I haven't even mentioned Pidcock yet. He outsprints him by a distance, 5 seconds or so. He couldn't even sprint for the time bonuses.”

For Zonneveld, the race dynamic has made this edition of the Vuelta less compelling compared to the Giro earlier this year. “Back then, it was more about everyone attacking and then coming back together, but here it is: no one attacks. It's not a very entertaining spectacle, but it is interesting.”