The 2025 Vuelta a Espana concluded Sunday in Madrid. After starting in the town of Alalpardo, stage 21 would mainly be contested on a circuit in the streets of Madrid, and the remaining riders in the Vuelta a Espana peloton would have to complete 108 kilometers before a stage winner would be found and the race would conclude after 21 hard stages on Italian, French and Spanish soil.

The sprinters in the Vuelta peloton were expected to battle for the stage victory in 21 and the stage profile favored a mass sprint finish, where riders such as Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Movistar Team’s Orluis Aular could compete for the stage win.

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard was leading the general classification before today’s final stage of the Vuelta, and the Madrid circuit was not expected to cause any noteworthy changes to the GC. Joao Almeida had failed to take advantage of yesterday’s final opportunity to dethrone Vingegaard and see himself crowned Vuelta a Espana champion in Madrid. Almeida’s UAE Team Emirates colleagues had done everything they could to assist the Portuguese rider in the stage, but Almeida had been unable to keep up with Vingegaard on the final climb. Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team’s Tom Pidcock was in third place on the GC before stage 21, with a decent margin to Jai Hindley in fourth for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.

Stage 21 started in Alalpardo and the pace was slow. The spirits were high in the peloton under the sunny skies, and the riders were taking time to celebrate the conclusion of the final Grand Tour of the season, the stage victories, the general classification results, and the results in the points, KOM and youth classifications. Various teams were invited to the front of the peloton and the riders toasted in cava, which is the popular Spanish sparkling wine.

Despite stage 21 not being concluded yet, Jonas Vingegaard was celebrated for his Vuelta victory. Mads Pedersen was celebrated for his points classification win, while Jay Vine was applauded for his KOM classification victory. Matthew Riccitello was commended for his youth classification success, while UAE Team Emirates moved to the front as winners of the teams classification – the team had even won seven stages in this year’s Vuelta.

The fine mood and good spirits continued until 57.2 kilometers from the finish, when the road got blocked by protesters that were still protesting against the continued presence of the PremierTech team in the race.

The race would not have been so seriously influenced during the three weeks if the PremierTech team had been ordered to leave the race by UCI or the Spanish police. For example, it remains unknown how much additional time Almeida would have taken on Vingegaard if the individual time trial had not been shortened from 27 to 10 kilometers due to protesters.

The stage was later neutralized and cancelled, and no stage winner was found in stage 21 in Madrid due to the continued lack of action from the UCI, police authorities, and not least the other professional cycling teams, which caused protesters to flock the streets again.

“I’m supper proud of this win, which is my first in the Vuelta and the third Grand Tour of my career as a pro cyclist,” Vuelta winner Jonas Vingegaard explained to Roadcycling.com after having reached the team zone.

“I felt very strong in the first week of racing and I managed to win two stages then. Afterwards I experienced a more difficult phase, and it has been three tough weeks. Luckily, I returned to top form in the final weekend of the race. My stage victory on Bola del Mundo gave me great satisfaction and hope for the future. It was also a beautiful way for me to crown my Vuelta victory,” Vingegaard added.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for continuous coverage from the 2025 professional cycling season.