Few differences in a team time trial won by UAE and in which Vingegaard has regained the lead

La Vuelta maintains its stage script that does not generate excessive differences so that the race remains as open as possible during its three weeks. A stage, under normal conditions, as decisive as a team time trial, barely left differences among the favorites in a general classification whose highest position is once again occupied by Jonas Vingegaard

The battle between UAE and Visma for La Vuelta is already served after the team time trial

The 5th stage of La Vuelta 2025 proposed a team time trial, already in Spanish lands, with an unprecedented venue such as the city of Figueras. A completely flat and winding route that, along with its just over 24 kilometers, seemed designed as a mere formality to deal with the transfer of the race from France, causing the least differences in the general classification as it turned out at the end of it.

A stage in which the first to start, Lotto, managed to maintain the privileged position for a good while, until the Lidl-Trek entered the competition, which, with a tremendous performance, stopped the clock at 25 minutes and 35 seconds, which were very close to securing the victory. An performance that, in addition to bringing them closer to the coveted stage victory, allowed their leader Giulio Ciccone to have a good positioning in the general classification before the first mountain stage.

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Many teams performed well such as Movistar, Q36.5 or INEOS Grenadier, who were only 7-8 seconds behind the American team, with only a Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe threatening the victory but finally conceding 3 seconds, probably due to the fall of Matteo Sobrero, one of their key riders, halfway through the stage.

But, as often happens, UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Visma-Lease a Bike are always teams to be reckoned with. The Emiratis fulfilled their role in the first split, although in the second they lost a few seconds, allowing the Lidl-Trek cyclists to dream of victory. However, a tremendous last third of the time trial allowed them to recover what was lost and also gain another 9 seconds, preventing Giulio Ciccone from taking the possible lead.

With Groupama-FDJ's David Gaudu ruled out for both the stage and the general classification, it remained to be seen if UAE Team Emirates-XRG would achieve enough advantage over a Visma-Lease a Bike that lost 18 seconds in the second split for Juan Ayuso, their best classified rider, to take the red jersey.

However, the Dutch team managed to overcome in the last stretch to even reach the second position of the stage, with just 8 seconds of loss that allow Jonas Vingegaard to once again be the leader of the general classification.

Stage 5 Classification

1. UAE Team Emirates XRG 25'26''
2. Visma Lease a Bike +08''
3. Lidl-Trek +09''
4. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe +12''
5. INEOS Grenadiers +16''
6. Movistar +17''
7. Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale +17''
8. Q36.5 +22''
9. Groupama-FDJ +24''
10. Lotto +27''

General Classification

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) 10h55'36''
2. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +08''
3. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +08''
4. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +08''
5. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) +09''
6. David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) +16''
7. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) +16''
8. Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +20''
9. Giulio Pellizzri (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +20''
10. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) +22''