The 2025 Vuelta a Espana continued Wednesday with stage 11 – a 157.4-kilometer ride in hilly and somewhat mountainous terrain on a route from Bilbao and back. The stage route would feature seven categorized climbs, of which five would be Category 3 climbs and two would be Category 2 climbs.

The stage 11 profile invited breakaway hopefuls to a battle, and the stage would possibly be won from a breakaway and perhaps by a fast and powerful rider like as Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who is able to perform relatively well on less aggressive climbs or secure an advantage early in a stage. General classification favorites such as Joao Almeida and Jonas Vingegaard could also play a part in the attacking fireworks.

Jonas Vingegaard was leading the general classification in La Vuelta before stage 11. Norway’s Torstein Traen had dropped to second place, 26 seconds behind the Dane. Joao Almeida was in third place, 38 seconds behind Vingegaard. Tom Pidcock was fourth, Felix Gall was fifth, while Giulio Ciccone was now sixth.

Stage 11 got off to a fast start after leaving the streets of Bilbao and it did not take long before the first breakaway attempts were launched. As predicted, Mads Pedersen attacked and was joined by Joel Nicolau (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA), who had shown great initiative in this year’s Vuelta. While other riders tried to jump from the main peloton to the front duo, Pedersen and Nicolau were still in front after twenty kilometers of racing.

While pure sprinters such as Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) got dropped from the rear end of the main peloton, Pedersen had left Nicolau behind on Alto de Sollube (Category 3). Pedersen himself got reeled in with 135 kilometers left of the stage. A very proud and courageous attempt by the powerful Dane on the roads of the Basque Country.

With Pedersen and Nicolau swallowed by the main peloton, the riders pressed on. Teams were still trying to launch riders into new breakaways, while Team Visma-Lease a Bike riders were trying to keep things under control for their team captain Jonas Vingegaard in the red jersey.

Mads Pedersen tried his luck again and he was joined by fellow sprinter Orluis Aular (Movistar Team) and Marc Soler of UAE Team Emirates. Soler, however, would likely not be allowed to gain a significant time advantage in a breakaway, as he was just 03:30 minutes behind Vingegaard in the GC. 

131 kilometers remained and the trio reached the summit of the Category 3 climb with a fifteen second lead over the main peloton. The front trio continued to expand its advantage in the following kilometers. Other riders were still trying to bridge the gap to the front trio.

Pedersen, Aular and Soler fought hard and delivered much power to the pedals. The front trio had increased its time advantage to almost a minute with 112 kilometers to the finish line. Team Visma-Lease a bike was leading the chase effort in the main peloton with Bahrain-Victorious riders on their rear wheels.

The front trio conquered Balcon de Bizkaia with Soler leading the trio on most of the climbing stretch. Soler also claimed the most points for the KOM classification at the summit. A fast descent followed, and the riders were now 01:15 minutes ahead of the peloton.

Eighty kilometers remained and the riders were now entering the Alto de Morga climb. Spaniard Marc Soler left Aular and Pedersen behind on the Category 3 climb and pressed on solo. Having done much to animate the race, Pedersen and Aular got reeled in by the chasing peloton with 78 kilometers to the finish line.

Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious), Victor Campenaerts (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) and Joel Nicolau attacked from the main peloton on near the summit of the climb. Some riders to claim points for the KOM classification, others to initiate a counterattack while hoping to make the leap to solo frontman Soler.

While Nicolau and Campenaerts got reeled in, Vervaeke continued to chase Soler. Both Soler and Vervaeke got reeled in and Vervaeke’s Soudal-QuikStep teammate and captain Mikel Landa attacked solo on home tarmac. A brave effort following his recovery from a serious downhill crash in stage 1 of this year’s Giro d’Italia. Landa was still suffering from serious back pain issues, which inhibited his cycling abilities.

Landa was the first rider to reach the summit of Alto del Vivero (Category 2), which would have to be climbed twice in today’s stage. Landa was now being chased by Buitrago and a five-rider chase group further back.

Buitrago caught Landa on the downhill section and the duo fought on with a chase group 41 seconds behind them. The chase group featured Victor Campenaerts (Team Visma-Lease a Bike), Mads Pedersen (lidl-Trek), Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-Alula), Louis Rouland (Arkea B & B Hotels), Kamiel Bonneu (Intermarche-Wanty), and Juan Martinez of Team Picnic-PostNL.

The riders passed the Guggenheim Museum and crossed the bridge across the river. Landa and Buitrago were still in front while being chased by the six-man chase group, which was now 43 seconds behind.

Serious back pain forced Landa to abandon his attack and wait for the peloton with 32 kilometers remaining. What a pity for the very talented and motivated rider, who fractured his back earlier this season. Meanwhile, the chase group had been reeled in by the main peloton, which was now spearheaded by riders from Team Visma-Lease a Bike. Buitrago remained in front, but now with a lead of just 47 seconds.

Buitrago was the first rider to enter Alto del Vivero, which was a Category 2 climb with steep sections. 28 kilometers remained and riders from UAE Team Emirates moved to the front of the main peloton and increased the pace. Vingegaard and his Visma men were monitoring the situation immediately behind the UAE riders. Finn Fisher-Black moved ahead of UAE for his Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe team and delivered a strong pull.

Joao Almeida attacked from the main peloton with two kilometers of the climb remaining. Jonas Vingegaard and other GC favorites responded immediately, and the Portuguese rider did not open a gap. Ben Tulett moved to the front and delivered a hard pull effort for team captain Vingegaard. Almeida, Vingegaard, Tom Pidcock, Egan Bernal (Ineos-Grenadiers-TotalEnergies), Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) and other GC riders were immediately behind him. The riders were approaching the summit and Buitrago had been reeled in.

A fast downhill effort was now initiated while the riders passed by scenic pine forests.

Fourteen kilometers of stage 11 remained to the finish line and Visma-Lease a Bike riders were setting a fast pace at the front of the reduced main peloton group, which would soon be contesting the stage finale. Some riders in the group were hoping to claim a memorable stage victory, while other riders were hoping to advance in the general classification after crossing the finish line in Bilbao.

Race organizers Unipublic and A.S.O. then announced no winner would be found in today’s stage. The finishing time would be taken three kilometers from the finish line, because the race organizers could not guarantee the safety of the riders in the very crowded final kilometers, where protesters had conquered the streets while protesting the alleged genocide of the Gaza war.

Tom Pidcock attacked on the final categorized climb and Jai Hindley and Vingegaard tried to follow the strong rider from Great Britain and the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team. 

Hindley got dropped and Vingegaard was unable to follow Pidcock on the climb. The strong GC leader was unable to follow Pidcock in the steepest sections of the climb. Almeida was now chasing further behind.

Vingegaard caught Pidcock on the downhill stretch with seven kilometers to the finish line in Bilbao. No stage winner would be found today, and the times would be clocked three kilometers from the original finish line. Vingegaard and Pidcock reached the timing point together, while Almeida and other GC favorites reached the point 12 seconds later.

Jonas Vingegaard remains general classification leader after stage 11.

“We wanted to win today. It’s my son’s birthday today and I wanted to win for him. It is a shame I did not get the opportunity to win the stage for my son after all our hard work during the stage. The police did a good job today and we saw the protesters at the finish line when we entered the finishing circuit,” Vingegaard explained to Roadcycling.com after the stage.

“When I heard the stage would be neutralized, I was disappointed at first, but then Tom Pidcock attacked and looked strong, so I just went with him to the 3K point and then I stopped. I passed the new finish line ahead of Tom, so I must have won,” Vingegaard said jokingly.

Thursday’s stage 12 of Vuelta a Espana 2025 will be a short 144.9-kilometer race in additional mountainous terrain on a route from Laredo to Los Corrales de Buelna. The stage will finish with a fast and dangerous downhill effort after the riders have conquered one Category 2 climb and a Category 1 climb. The Category 1 climb of Collada de Brenes features sections of up to ten percent.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for complete coverage from the 2025 Vuelta a Espana.