La Vuelta 2025 Stage 11 recap - Tom Pidcock closes in on podium as protests force race to be neutralised in Bilbao

On the savage gradients of the Alto de Pike outside Bilbao, Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) managed to do something that no one else except Tadej Pogacar has done this season: drop Jonas Vingegaard.

Two searing attacks in the closing moments of the final climb of a controversial stage in the Basque Country saw Pidcock crest the summit ahead of the red jersey of Vingegaard and the other GC favourites.

But massive pro-Palestine protests at the finish in Bilbao meant Pidcock was denied the chance of adding a Vuelta stage win to his palmares, with race organisers forced to making the decision to neutralise the stage and redirect the riders away from the demonstrations on the home straight.

As a result, GC times were taken on the outskirts of Bilbao with 3km remaining, with no one declared the stage winner.

In the event, Denmark’s Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) fought back on the descent to join Pidcock on the front of the race as the duo rode past the 3km-to-go banner ahead of their rivals to steal a march on Portugal’s Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).

With former red jersey Torstein Traeen (Bahrain Victorious) distanced earlier on the penultimate climb of a tough day, Pidcock moved up into third place – 56 seconds behind race leader Vingegaard and just four seconds behind Almeida.

"It’s hard to describe the disappointment, to be honest. I felt like today was my day. I feel like there should always be a finish line – I mean, we’re not riding a f***ing sportive, are we? So, er, yeah…

"I knew the finish line was at 3km but I didn’t know where 3km was. I was too busy trying to rotate with Jonas. When we passed through there and realised there wasn’t going to be a winner, yeah, well, anyway…

"It’s not easy. I think the Vuelta and the organisers did what they could to keep us safe. I don’t want to say anything political because I’ll get in trouble.

"I think people have held back from speaking out but it can be scary sometimes in the peloton. But as long as our safety comes first and we can continue racing – that’s what we’re here to do. Bike racing has nothing to do with what’s happening on the other [side of the world].

"I think a lot of people talk about what’s on paper, you know. And now I don’t have [anything to show for it]. Well, I’m not saying I would have won – but I had a good chance to win. So I’m disappointed, but we’re not going to waste any energy on it because we have a long way to go.

"Putting us in danger isn’t going to help their cause. Everyone has the right to protest. But putting us in danger is not the way forward. From what I was told, today was going to be the biggest days of protest, so hopefully it’s going to get better."

"When I heard the news I was a bit disappointed and didn’t want to do anything. But Tom (Pidcock) went for it, and he went really fast on the climb.

"I had to let him go there. But then I came back over the top. Then we had a good cooperation to take the most time.

"I’m not actually sure if Tom knew that there would be no stage winner because he wanted to keep going afterwards. But I knew, so I just went as fast as possible to the 3km.

"The team did super well today. We just controlled the whole day and they did super well."

There were also 6-4-2 bonus seconds up for grabs over the summit of the final climb, which will benefit Pidcock further. This is how the new-look GC appears to be:

1 Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)
2. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +52
3. Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) +56
4. Torstein Traeen (Bahrain Victorious) +1:16
5. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +2:19

We await the official results but those two attacks from Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) on the Alto de Pike showed what stellar form the British rider is in currently. He managed to shake off Jonas Vingegaard, and although the Dane battled back to retain the red jersey, Pidcock will move into the podium positions and both riders will put time into Joao Almeida today.

Vingegaard and Pidcock pass through the 3km to go banner but carry on racing just in case. They surely get the info through from race radio because they have eased up now, having taken around 10 seconds on their pursuers. It will take a bit of time for the dust to settle on this one. I’ve certainly never experienced anything like this in my 20-odd years reporting on cycling races for Eurosport and TNT.

The whole home straight is out of bounds owing to the protests going on. The times will be taken at 3km and then the riders will be redirected to their respective team buses. Sad scenes in Bilbao as politics knocks the stuffing out of sporting endeavour.

The Dane joins Pidcock on the descent and they ride together in a bid to take time off Almeida, who is in a group around 10 seconds down.

We haven’t seen anyone drop Vingegaard like this apart from Tadej Pogacar! The Briton goes clear of the red jersey near the summit and takes a gap while pocketing the KOM points. It looks like Almeida was third a bit further back.

The Briton accelerates on the front and forces a reaction from Vingegaard. In fact, Pidcock has dropped the red jersey! Well, momentarily – the Dane rides back on, but they have a gap. With Torstein Traeen already off the back, Pidcock will be on the virtual podium tonight.

There may be no stage up for grabs, but UAE are trying to salvage something from the day. Felix Grossschartner comes to the front and ups the tempo on the climb, with three Visma riders quick to latch onto his wheel.

The riders are onto the Cat.3 Alto de Pike, which is 2.3km at 8.8%. Visma still set the tempo but it all seems a bit flat now following the decision to effectively annul the stage.

It remains to be seen what now happens between now and the finish after that announcement came through. Will the riders race until 3km to go, or will they just sit up and take it easy? Such a shame – the scene was set for fireworks. But those protesters are too much of a security risk.

We’re hearing that, owing to the protests at the finish, there will be no stage winner today. There will be KOM points awarded at the top of the Alto de Pike, then the GC times will be taken 3km from the finish, where no one will be awarded the win. How strange. We can only assume that things have got out of hand in Bilbao. We’ll keep you updated…

The pace has eased up and more riders have returned to the fold ahead of the final climb of the day, the Alto de Pike. The pack has grown to around 40 riders again, with Jay Vine, the polka dot jersey, back in business.

This is because of the protests currently playing out on the home straight in Bilbao, which we saw moments ago during the intermediate sprint in Bilbao.

The lead group has been whittled down to Almeida, Vingegaard, Campenaerts, Jorgenson, Tulett, Ciccone, Hindley, Pellizzari, Bernal, Buitrago, Pidcock, Rolland and Riccitello ahead of the descent. I didn’t see who took the KOM points, so I’ll have to update you on that once I have the info.

The GC cream has come to the top after Buitrago is caught ahead of the summit. Ben Tulett then takes it up – he’s been in sprightly form for Visma today. They clearly fancy a win for Vingegaard. But Tom Pidcock also looks dangerous, while Jai Hindley and his team-mate Pellizzari are also in the mix, ditto Ciccone and Riccitello.

Joao Almeida makes his move inside the final kilometre of the climb – just as Visma had started to reassert their authority on the pack. Vingegaard has his measure and it comes back together with Matteo Jorgenson back on the front.

Giulio Pellizzari then attacks in the white jersey for Red Bull, but Ben Tulett is quick to react for Visma. The pack has been blown apart from those accelerations, though, while Buitrago’s lead is now very precarious. He’ll surely be caught before the summit.

The front of the peloton is forced to ease up after two men holding a banner step out and block the road. Thankfully no one comes off and the race can continue. Buitrago’s lead down to 20 seconds now.