Fillipo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) powered to an early lead at the stage 18’s time trial at Vuelta a España, in a time of 13 minutes not beaten in the following two hours, despite close attempts by UAE Team Emirates-XRG team-mates Jay Vine and João Almeida.
Vine came closest to pipping the Italian to first, the Australian separated from the top seat by just 0.9 seconds.
Today marks Ganna’s second win in Valladolid, after he took first two years ago at the Vuelta a España on a near-identical course.
“[In] the first part I didn’t find the correct rhythm and then in the final I tried to push without thinking of the numbers or anything.
“I’m really happy for today. This last week has started really well for us and it’s not over yet. I’ve suffered a lot with the elevation in the first two weeks of this Vuelta and with illness, but every day I’ve got better and better.”
‘In a short time trial like this you can’t make any mistakes,” Hoole said after crossing the finish.
‘I think that was my best ever time trial,’ Pidcock said at the finish, the day’s mounting pressure still hanging around his shoulders.
Results
Vuelta a España 2025, stage 18: Valladolid > Valladolid, 12.2km
1. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, 12.2km in 13:00
2. Jay Vine (Aus) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +0.9s
3. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +7s
4. Bruno Armirail (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +9s
5. Ivo Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +10s
6. Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ, +11s
7. Kelland O’Brien (Aus) Jayco-AlUla, +14s
8. Alec Segaert (Bel) Lotto, +15s
9. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +18s
10. Daan Hoole (Ned) Lidl-Trek, +18s
General classification after stage 18
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, in 65:07:13
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +40s
3. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +2:39
4. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +3:18
5. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +4:19
6. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, +5:17
7. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +5:20
8. Sepp Kuss (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +7:26
9. Torstein Træen (Nor) Bahrain Victorious, +7:42
10. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +10:19