Jonas Vingegaard loses time to Joao Almeida on Stage 18 time trial as Filippo Ganna storms to impressive victory

Race leader Jonas Vingegaard lost 10 precious seconds to Joao Almeida in the battle for red on the Stage 18 time trial at La Vuelta as Filippo Ganna stormed to an impressive victory in Valladolid. Ganna completed the 12.2km course in a time of 13'00" - less than one second quicker than Australia's Jay Vine. The final three stages of the race will be live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

'Top Ganna jetting along again!' - Italian stars to win ITT

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Italy’s Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) powered to victory in the shortened time trial in Valladolid as Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) took 10 seconds back in his GC battle with the red jersey holder Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).

Ganna, the double world time trial champion, put in a monster final third to complete the 12.2km course in a time of 13’00" – putting him in the hot seat for a whole three hours before his victory was confirmed.

Before the GC favourites went head to head, Almeida’s UAE team-mate Jay Vine, the polka dot jersey, gave Ganna a huge run for his money with an impressive display, the Australian TT champion coming home just nine tenths of a second slower than Ganna’s winning time.

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Almeida then soared to the third-best time, crossing the line eight seconds down on Ganna but 10 seconds quicker than his Danish rival Vingegaard.

Vingegaard now leads the tenacious Portuguese all-rounder by 40 seconds with just one mountain stage remaining before Sunday’s finish in Madrid.

A solid ride from Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) saw the Briton strengthen his grip on the final spot on the podium by finishing a few seconds quicker than fourth place Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe). Pidcock now trails Vingegaard by 2’39" but holds a 39-second lead on the Australian Hindley in the battle for third.

The only change in the top 10 saw the American Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) move above Austria’s Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) into sixth place, although the two are still only separated by three seconds.

Stage 18 TT as it happened: Ganna holds on to deny Vine

One of the early runners, Ganna put in an irresistible performance on the pan-flat 12.2km course to dethrone early leader Daan Hoole (Lidl-Trek) of the Netherlands.

Despite trailing the green jersey Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) in the first two intermediate checks after 4km and 8km, Ganna ate up the final 4.2km in an average speed of almost 63 km/h to roar into the lead and secure a lengthy, and ultimately unstoppable, reign in the hot seat.

Portugal’s Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates) and Switzerland’s Stefan Kung (Groupama-FDJ) came within 10 and 11 seconds respectively, but neither caused the Italian as much of a scare as Australian Vine.

Benefitting from some expert drafting from a race motorbike and the Bahrain Victorious support car of his minute-man Finlay Pickering, Vine also showed his pure strength and solid form as he came within nine tenths of a second of causing a huge upset in Valladolid.

Ganna, whose previous stage win on La Vuelta in 2023 also came in a time trial in Valladolid, then had to endure watching the GC favourites as they played out their own battles one by one.

Almeida matched the Italian powerhouse at both early checkpoints but could not replicate his colleague’s fast final leg, crossing the line eight seconds down.

Ganna’s victory was confirmed when Vingegaard came home a further 10 seconds back, the Dane limiting his losses to Almeida ahead of Saturday’s decisive final summit finish on the Bola del Mundo climb west of Madrid.

Pidcock: That was my best-ever time trial

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"I think I suffered more in the last three hours in the hot seat than on the bike," Ganna joked after his win was confirmed.

"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."

The 29-year-old’s victory was his Ineos Grenadiers team’s third on La Vuelta, following earlier successes from Ben Turner and Egan Bernal.

"This last week has started really well for us and it’s not over yet," Ganna added. "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."

'I'm still in the lead,' says 'relieved' Vingegaard

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For his part, Almeida was happy with his result but understandably disappointed with the race organisers’ decision to shorten Thursday’s time trial owing to the potential threat by protests that have marred the 80th edition of La Vuelta for the past fortnight.

"I think I did the best I could," Almeida said. "It’s not an effort that suits me a lot. It was a pity it wasn’t the original 27km but it is what it is. We’ll never know so you can’t really think much about it.

"I think we can still be pretty satisfied with the outcome. I felt quite strong and it was the same for everyone. It’s good. I’m still in the race."

La Vuelta continues on Friday with the 162km Stage 19 from Rueda to Guijuelo. While there are no classified climbs on the route, the potential for crosswinds and a ramped finish will provide flashpoints in this intriguing battle for red ahead of Saturday’s summit showdown on the Bola del Mundo.

Watch and stream the remainder of the cycling season, including the climax of La Vuelta, on TNT Sports and discovery+

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