La Vuelta 2025 Stage 18 TT recap– Filippo Ganna beats Jay Vine by one second as Joao Almeida slashes Jonas Vingegaard's lead

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 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.

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 separates by three seconds.

"I think I did the best I could. It’s not an effort that suits me a lot. It was a pity it wasn’t the 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. It was the same for everyone. It’s good. I’m still in the race."

Just the one change with Riccitello and Gall trading places, but Almeida takes 10 seconds back on Vingegaard to set up Cava finale for La Vuelta.

1 Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)
2. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +0:40
3. Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) +2:39
4. Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +3:18
5. Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +4:19
6. Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) +5:17
7. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +5:20
8. Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) +7:26
9. Torstein Traeen (Bahrain-Victorious) +7:42
10. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) +10:19

1. Filippo Ganna 13:00
2. Jay Vine +01
3. Joao Almeida +08
4. Bruno Armirail +10
5. Ivo Oliveira +10
6. Stefan Kung +11
7. Kelland O’Brien +15
8. Alec Segaert +16
9. Jonas Vingegaard +18
10. Daan Hoole +19

"I think I suffered more in the last three hours in the hot seat than on the bike," today’s winner 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. 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."

Here's how the Italian powerhouse won...

We thought victory today would equate to his head being shaved, but apparently it means that he can choose who goes under the clippers tonight. Surely it has to be Bob Jungels or Egan Bernal, both of whom have luxuriant heads of hair…

The Italian from Ineos Grenadiers remains unstoppable at the top, winning by one second on Jay Vine with his time of 13:00 in Valladolid. The two-time world champion was too strong for anyone and that’s a third stage win for his team.

But the Dane concedes 10 seconds to his rival Joao Almeida after coming home 18 seconds down on the Italian, Filippo Ganna.

Just eight seconds down for the Portuguese, who won’t topple the Italian, but could take some time back on his red jersey rival Vingegaard, who is the only rider left out on the course.

The Q36.5 Pro Cycling rider comes home 29 seconds down for provisional 20th and that’s a solid time from Pidcock, who will gain a few seconds on Hindley and retain his third place on GC.

At the second check, Vingegaard is three seconds behind Almeida so the differences are going to be minimal today.

The Australian is 36 seconds down on Ganna and he will stay in fourth place today. His team-mate Pellizzari was 46 seconds down.

He was six seconds down at the first check and 18 seconds down at the second. Both quicker than Jai Hindley, which is what matters.

The Portuguese is just one second down at the first check, which puts him up on Ganna, who relied on that crazily strong finish. More importantly, it’s two seconds quicker than Vingegaard for now.

Riccitello is 36 seconds down on Ganna at the finish, which is amazing given the vast gulf between their two body shapes. How does it compare to Gall? Well, the Austrian is 41 seconds down, so that five-second swing will put the American up to sixth place by three seconds.

It’s time for the red jersey to let the legs do the talking. Down the ramp he goes in that ridiculous Visma aero helmet, which has been painted in the Danish colours which sit well with his red skin suit.

The shortened course will limit his chances today but the UAE man has a chance to keep the pressure up on the race leader. It’s 4-3 in previous head-to-heads between Almeida and Vingegaard, but the Portuguese has always won on flat courses. Take some time back today and it will give him the confidence to finish it off between now and Madrid.

The British rider faces the biggest 15 minutes of his career as a GC rider. He benefits from this shortened parcours but can he now follow through and protect his third place on the podium?

Yesterday’s winner Giulio Pellizzari and the 2022 Giro champion Jai Hindley have rolled down the ramp. Can they keep up the pressure on Tom Pidcock, who is currently third in the standings?

Meanwhile, Matteo Jorgenson comes home 21 seconds down for 10th place. Respectable.

Despite that little blip early on, the American is going well. He’s just two seconds down at the first check, which is two seconds faster than Ganna.

Felix Gall of Decathlon is the latest to start… now we’re down to the top five.