Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2025, Stage 18: Valladolid - Valladolid (12.2k)

[Libertine Seguros]

Is doing a-b twice not the same as a-b-a? Which is what they did.

saunaking is meaning to do it as semitappes, so not the route being a-b a-b (which as you say would cover same distances as a-b-a) but instead doing the same ITT twice, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, so the distance covered is similar to the original time trial but the security only needs to be the same amount, similar to my suggestion of doing two laps in order to keep the distance but reduce the logistical demand on security.

UCI's rules don't allow for semitappes anymore, at least not at the WT level, and they were usually a road stage and an ITT for the most part anyway, but there were occasional exceptions. For example, the Peace Race back in 1971 had a 33km morning ITT from Bischofswerda to Dresden, then a short afternoon cobbled MTT on the Borsberg.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Forgot Ganna was in the race until yesterday

He will take that, somehow 3 stage wins for Ineos despite all their riders looking a bit underpowered and Turner doing no prep for the race

 

[AnotherArmChair]

I must have missed the part where Almeida lost big time in the TTT.

that was an 8 seconds gain...but how much has been thrown away with not having a team dedicated to him ? and if he was on Visma or Ineos he would have that

I am not going to sit around arguing this as its a waste of my time ..Almeida has not had a dedicated team. lobe any old contrary rubbish you like but those are the facts

 

[Red Rick]

I am not going to sit around arguing this as its a waste of my time .

You already are

 

[Cycling111]

And if Jonas finished the TT faster than Almeida, people would have said that Jonas was robbed.

In the preview, I already said that Almeida was detrimental. He's always been better in flat time trials. I looked at PCS, and in every flat ITT, Almeida finished ahead.

Also, if you could compare it to the one they did in 2023, it was the same one they would have done today. 28 seconds. If we calculate, we get that difference again.

 

[movingtarget]

Ganna does what he does. Had a feeling that Vingegaard wouldn't be great. Nice ride by Pidcock with Hindly around the same time. Vine's had a few close seconds in TT's this season. Along with the two stage wins he's had an impressive race. Very good ride by Almeida.

 

[Cycling111]

If you're on UAE, it seems to be a strange claim you could win a GT on a better team. They're the highest performing team across the board.

In GT, it's highly debatable.
Visma has managed to win GT with four riders, being the only one who has been able to do something similar to what Sky achieved in GT.

Simon Yates hadn't won a GT since 2018, and he did it at Visma in a few months after seven years.

In what other team would Kuss win a GT? In the same one where Ayuso, the most promising U23 stages-races rider of recent years, has been incapable?

 

[memyselfandI]

But Almeida has had no team behind him ...if he had then he could have won this race imo

This not funny because it's the truth imho.. If UAE put all to Almeida and maximize tactical moves with all this horsepower they've got, they'd run Visma and Jonas out 6-0.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Ganna did it, especially the last section was brutal. As for the GC battle, Pidcock is surprising me, he is riding much better that at Ineos. UAE again strong and consistent and it's amazing on how they leveled up through and through. Jonas with a strong TT still losing 10s to Almeida. The idea he will be putting 2 minutes into everybody on any resemblance of a climb is now over, he needs to hold on and suck himself to the overall victory, especially if by any chance UAE actually decides to support Alemida, on the penultimate stage. Note that there is a slim chance of that and so Jonas should be able to hang on.

 

[morbido]

I got the feeling that Vine lost a couple of seconds just before the finish line.

 

[Sciatic]

I got the feeling that Vine lost a couple of seconds just before the finish line.

He also gained a 2nd or two when he was directly behind the cars (because the race officials messed up getting the cars out of the way sooner).

 

[Danskebjerge]

A relief that UAE didn't win yet another stage today. The next relief is hopefully going to be UAE not winning the GC.

 

[KZD]

UAE set up is looking superb. Ivo Oliveira in the top5 is a big surprise and Vine was really close to Ganna.

Too bad that the stage was cut short to more than half, because Almeida was stronger than Vingegaard as I expected.

 

[Lequack]

Shame that Almeida was robbed of a possible Vuelta win [content deleted]

 

[tobydawq]

Shame that Almeida was robbed of a possible Vuelta win [content deleted]

And not true.

Like other greats of the sport, he lost the Vuelta on the Valdezcaray ski station climb.

 

[Red Rick]

And not true.

Like other greats of the sport, he lost the Vuelta on the Valdezcaray ski station climb.

Or by losing bonifications consistently. Or by getting dropped a 2km hill in Itzulia. Or by not dropping Vingegaard when he was weak yesterday.

If he doesn't win, the chances were there.

 

[Netserk]

Or by losing bonifications consistently. Or by getting dropped a 2km hill in Itzulia. Or by not dropping Vingegaard when he was weak yesterday.

If he doesn't win, the chances were there.

Flicking the elbow on Cerler was all he could muster.

 

[Brullnux]

Shame that Almeida was robbed of a possible Vuelta win [content deleted]

No way, the protests helped him to Bilbao and on the way to Mos. Evens out the protests hindering him here.

If he loses it's because he never dropped Vingegaard, and then the unknowable factor of would he have done so if Ayuso, Soler, and Vine actually pulled for him? Made it so hard it pushed Vingegaard to the limit? We will never know, unless it happens on Saturday.

 

[Escarabajo]

Yes, because Ayuso has totally shown the level to either close down the strongest attack of the entire race or climb with the current podium to help Almeida out that way at any point in the other 17 stages. There's plenty to criticise Ayuso for, but ultimately I think his antics have mattered very little to the current GC situation.

It is impossible to know that. I will combine his antics with UAE ineptitude as a whole.

 

[YavorD]

And if Jonas finished the TT faster than Almeida, people would have said that Jonas was robbed.

They wouldn't.
I might have missed something, but nobody said he was robbed when they shortened the 2 stages that suited him the most (compared to Almeida).
On one of them, preventing him to get bonuses for (presumably) second of the stage, which could prove crucial.

 

[Oldman]

Or by losing bonifications consistently. Or by getting dropped a 2km hill in Itzulia. Or by not dropping Vingegaard when he was weak yesterday.

If he doesn't win, the chances were there.

I think yesterday kinda shocked the remaining front group. The guys that attacked managed that with a brief tailwind and ran face-on into a headwind after Bora had their guy 20 seconds up the road. Almeida and Jonas were chatting behind the others as they came into the finish. I wouldn't be surprised if they both agreed it was challenging conditions that could hurt them both if they wasted energy to pull Peliazzari back and then get jumped. They looked maxed out when they hit the switchbacks.

 

[Cycling111]

UAE set up is looking superb. Ivo Oliveira in the top5 is a big surprise and Vine was really close to Ganna.

Too bad that the stage was cut short to more than half, because Almeida was stronger than Vingegaard as I expected.

I didn't find it surprising. Oliveira has always had very good results in prologues. Today's was practically a prologue. His results are worse in normal distance time trials.

 

[Cookster15]

Congrats to Ganna, forgot he was in this Vuelta!

Looks like Vingegaard has done enough to win this Vuelta but stranger things have happened. Almeida is riding a very strong race.

Also looks like Pidcock will certainly hold onto his podium position. Hindley’s chance to take time was stage 17 but I think that outcome was more due to Pidcock doing better than we have seen rather than Jai being below par. Also maybe Hindley better when multiple climbs rather than a unipuerto MTF.

 

[Laggard66]

Apparently Vine didn’t actually ride today as they didn’t show him once. Bob and Christian mostly forgot him too. His finish was to me the second most exciting event of the day.

 

[yaco]

Apparently Vine didn’t actually ride today as they didn’t show him once. Bob and Christian mostly forgot him too. His finish was to me the second most exciting event of the day.

Strange. Vine's ride featured prominently on my coverage and i reckon we saw at least half of his ride.