La Vuelta Ciclista a España 2025 Stage 18

September 11, 2025 With the GC still reasonably tight, the 12KM ITT today in Vallodolid will be important to get right. The route was originally planned as 27KM but with continued protests, the organization shortened the course for safety considerations. For the lighter riders, the task will be to limit loses because the course is entirely flat as it follows the Pisuerga River South before a U-turn back North for the finish in front of the Parque Campo Grande near the center of town. There are two intermediate time checks equally spaced so the riders will be getting plenty of feedback on their performance in relation to their competitors. Daan Hoole of Lidl-Trek was one of the first riders off the ramp and he set a quick time of 13 minutes 18 seconds. Unfortunately for Hoole, Filippo Ganna of Ineos was motivated and in good form. The Italian stormed off the ramp and sailed through the streets of Vallodolid setting off speed signs as he went. Ganna hit the finish line with a time of 13 minutes flat for a blistering average speed of 56.2KM/HR. A number of riders beat Ganna through the second time check but they all fell away in the final third. Jay Vine of UAE-XRG was the closest to Ganna but came up just 1 second short on the finish line. Ganna weathered the ITT specialists but had to wait a bit longer to know if his time would hold up against the GC favorites. After Jonas Vingegaard crossed the line as the final rider, Ganna was able to finally breath a sigh of relief and celebrate his stage win. João Almeida of UAE-XRG was best of the GC riders, finishing third at 8 seconds, chopping 10 seconds off of Vingegaard's lead which now stands at 40 seconds. With the ITT being shorter than originally planned, there were few changes in GC. Matthew Riccitello of Israel-Premier Tech moved up to sixth overall, 3 seconds ahead of Felix Gall of Decathlon AG2R, after beating the Austrian climber by 4 seconds. There were no other movements in the top 10 and with an expected sprint tomorrow, GC riders will have just one more opportunity in this Vuelta to make moves.