
Wednesday, September 3: Stage 11, Bilbao - Bilbao, 157.4 km
Stage 11 map & profile | Stage 11 photos

The moment: Tom Pidcock heads for a solo finish.
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Weather at the start/finish city of Bilbao at 2:10 PM, local time: 30C (86F), fair, with the wind from the northwest at 18 km/hr (11 mph). There is just a 3% chance of rain.
Rated ascents:
The stage: Winding terrain, common in the Basque Country. The first part of the stage will be more manageable, the final part being the toughest. The Balcony of Bizkaia and the double climb of the Vivero will determine the outcome before facing the short but tough climb to Pike Bidea, just a few kilometers before the finish-line in Bilbao.
The race: Alpecin-Deceuninck reported that Ramses Debruyne pulled out due to illness. As for Cofidis, they said Paul Ourselin is out after a crash yesterday.
An announcement was made by the race direction on Radio Vuelta: "Due to some incidents at the finish line, we have decided to take the time at 3 kilometres before the line. We won't have a stage winner. We will give the points for the mountain classification and the intermediate sprint, but not on the finish line."
Th organizer posted: The GC times were taken 3km before the finish line today. There is no stage winner.
Here's the race organizer's stage eleven report:
Stage 11 of La Vuelta 25 had no winner due to protests at the finish in Bilbao. The organisation of the race decided that the times would be taken 3 kilometres before the finish line. At that point, the overall leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) was at the front with Tom Pidcock (Q36.5), who had proven to be the punchiest on the final ascent of the day, the Alto de Pike. The Dane, whose teammates had controlled the stage from the start, retains La Roja ahead of stage 12, in Cantabria.

Stage eleven's start line.
The race:
Bilbao, a classic of La Vuelta since the first edition, is back on the map with a punchy course bound to bring exhilarating racing. The route constantly goes up and down, with seven categorised climbs and 3,185 metres of elevation ahead of the riders, dreaming of emulating Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), winner in 2022 when the Spanish Grand Tour last visited Bilbao.
Pedersen and Soler show their grit
The race begins with the ascent up Alto de Laukiz, just like stage 1 of the Tour de France 2023. Attackers such as Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Eddie Dunbar (Jayco AlUla) and Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal Quick-Step) make early moves, but Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike drive a strong chase.
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) manages to open a gap. Joel Nicolau (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) follows him, but he’s dropped at the bottom of the second climb of the day. The peloton also get back to Pedersen at km 22, but the Dane sets off again as the road flattens towards the summit. This time, he’s followed by Marc Soler and Orluis Aular (Movistar), also used to shine on these roads (3rd of the 2024 Circuito de Getxo, with Pike being the last ascent on the day).

60 km into the stage: Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) & Aular Orluis (Movistar) are 1min 5sec ahead of the pack. CX Cycling photo
Landa delights the crowds
Visma-Lease a Bike control the gap around a minute. Soler is the most active at the front. Into the last 80 kilometres, he goes solo at the bottom of the fourth ascent of the day, the Alto de Morga. He pushes his advantage to 1’25’’, but the gap drops again on the way to the first ascent up Alto de Vivero. Louis Vervaeke (Soudal Quick-Step) takes the opportunity to bridge the gap to Soler… But the duo are immediately caught by the bunch, with 59 km to go.
Basque icon Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) attacks up the Alto del Vivero and makes his way to the summit alone (km 104.4). He’s caught by Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) just ahead of the final 50 kilometres. Behind them, a group of chasers emerges with Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who goes third at the intermediate sprint when the race first travels through Bilbao (km 119.6).
A Pidcock show and no stage winner
Buitrago goes solo 33 km away from the line as Landa struggles with back pain. Onto the second ascent of the Alto del Vivero, UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe up the ante. Joao Almeida accelerates twice. The Colombian is caught with 25 km to go and a dozen of riders remain at the front.
Stragglers get back while the race direction makes an announcement on Radio Vuelta regarding the end of the stage: “Due to some incidents at the finish line, we have decided to take the time at 3 kilometres before the line. We won't have a stage winner. We will give the points for the mountain classification and the intermediate sprint, but not on the finish line.”
Onto the final ascent of the day, Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) puts the hammer down. Jonas Vingegaard tries to follow, but he can’t keep up. At the summit, he trails by 5’’. He bridges the gap on the downhill and the duo finish together a handful of seconds ahead of Joao Almeida, Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike).
Results: Stage neutralized
GC after stage 11:
1,753.6 kilometers raced so far at an average speed of 42.528 km/hr
| 1 | Jonas Vingegaard | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 41hr 14min 2sec |
| 2 | João Almeida | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | @ 50sec |
| 3 | Tom Pidcock | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 0:56 |
| 4 | Torstein Træen | Bahrain Victorious | 1:06 |
| 5 | Felix Gall | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | 2:17 |
| 6 | Matteo Jorgenson | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 2:26 |
| 7 | Jai Hindley | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 2:30 |
| 8 | Giulio Ciccone | Lidl-Trek | 2:33 |
| 9 | Giulio Pellizzari | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 2:44 |
| 10 | Matthew Riccitello | Israel-Premier Tech | 3:11 |
| 11 | Egan Bernal | INEOS Grenadiers | 3:23 |
| 12 | Junior Lecerf | Soudal Quick-Step | 4:34 |
| 13 | Sepp Kuss | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 4:50 |
| 14 | Martin López | XDS Astana Team | 7:46 |
| 15 | Bruno Armirail | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | 8:27 |
| 16 | Louis Meintjes | Intermarché-Wanty | 9:14 |
| 17 | Harold Tejada | XDS Astana Team | 10:57 |
| 18 | Ben O'Connor | Team Jayco-AlUla | 13:27 |
| 19 | Jaume Guardeño | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 15:56 |
| 20 | Santiago Buitrago | Bahrain Victorious | 17:42 |
| 21 | Abel Balderstone | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 18:13 |
| 22 | Rudy Molard | Groupama-FDJ | 20:47 |
| 23 | Lorenzo Fortunato | XDS Astana Team | 21:31 |
| 24 | Marc Soler | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 21:48 |
| 25 | Ben Tulett | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 22:38 |
| 26 | Jefferson Cepeda | Movistar Team | 24:00 |
| 27 | Marco Frigo | Israel-Premier Tech | 24:35 |
| 28 | Sergio Chumil | Burgos Burpellet BH | 27:58 |
| 29 | Wout Poels | XDS Astana Team | 29:57 |
| 30 | Brieuc Rolland | Groupama-FDJ | 30:14 |
| 31 | Mikel Landa | Soudal Quick-Step | 30:40 |
| 32 | Kevin Vermaerke | Team Picnic PostNL | 31:43 |
| 33 | Callum Scotson | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | 34:34 |
| 34 | Gianmarco Garofoli | Soudal Quick-Step | 37:00 |
| 35 | Javier Romo | Movistar Team | 39:29 |
| 36 | Damien Howson | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 39:46 |
| 37 | Sergio Samitier | Cofidis | 39:50 |
| 38 | Markel Beloki | EF Education-EasyPost | 42:24 |
| 39 | Victor Campenaerts | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 45:20 |
| 40 | Andrea Bagioli | Lidl-Trek | 46:22 |
| 41 | Clément Braz Afonso | Groupama-FDJ | 47:07 |
| 42 | Louis Vervaeke | Soudal Quick-Step | 47:10 |
| 43 | Antonio Tiberi | Bahrain Victorious | 47:13 |
| 44 | Jay Vine | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 47:25 |
| 45 | Brandon Rivera | INEOS Grenadiers | 48:05 |
| 46 | Edward Dunbar | Team Jayco-AlUla | 51:19 |
| 47 | Ben Zwiehoff | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 51:28 |
| 48 | Felix Grossschartner | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 51:55 |
| 49 | Victor Langellotti | INEOS Grenadiers | 52:06 |
| 50 | Sander De Pestel | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | 52:22 |
| 51 | Finlay Pickering | Bahrain Victorious | 52:31 |
| 52 | Julien Bernard | Lidl-Trek | 53:57 |
| 53 | Wilco Kelderman | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 54:37 |
| 54 | Johannes Staune-Mittet | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | 55:44 |
| 55 | Magnus Sheffield | INEOS Grenadiers | 55:48 |
| 56 | Fausto Masnada | XDS Astana Team | 56:11 |
| 57 | Nicola Conci | XDS Astana Team | 56:12 |
| 58 | Archie Ryan | EF Education-EasyPost | 56:58 |
| 59 | Thomas Silva | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 57:01 |
| 60 | Carlos Verona | Lidl-Trek | 57:09 |
| 61 | Carlos Canal | Movistar Team | 57:14 |
| 62 | Michal Kwiatkowski | INEOS Grenadiers | 58:04 |
| 63 | Max Schachmann | Soudal Quick-Step | 1:00:19 |
| 64 | Alex Molenaar | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 1:00:49 |
| 65 | Juan Ayuso | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 1:01:50 |
| 66 | Giovanni Aleotti | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 1:03:26 |
| 67 | Bob Jungels | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:03:36 |
| 68 | Chris Hamilton | Team Picnic PostNL | 1:05:21 |
| 69 | Mauri Vansevenant | Soudal Quick-Step | 1:05:31 |
| 70 | Sergio Higuita | XDS Astana Team | 1:05:36 |
| 71 | Jan Hirt | Israel-Premier Tech | 1:07:25 |
| 72 | James Shaw | EF Education-EasyPost | 1:07:34 |
| 73 | Juan Martinez | Team Picnic PostNL | 1:07:53 |
| 74 | Lars Craps | Lotto | 1:08:11 |
| 75 | David Gaudu | Groupama-FDJ | 1:08:14 |
| 76 | José Luis Faura | Burgos Burpellet BH | s.t. |
| 77 | Pierre Thierry | Arkea-B&B Hotels | 1:09:22 |
| 78 | Nans Peters | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | 1:10:06 |
| 79 | Roman Ermakov | Bahrain Victorious | 1:10:28 |
| 80 | Pablo Castrillo | Movistar Team | 1:11:50 |
| 81 | Stefan Küng | Groupama-FDJ | 1:13:12 |
| 82 | Bjoern Koerdt | Team Picnic PostNL | 1:14:03 |
| 83 | Eduardo Sepulveda | Lotto | 1:15:15 |
| 84 | Jesus Herrada | Cofidis | 1:15:51 |
| 85 | Michel Hessmann | Movistar Team | s.t. |
| 86 | Sean Quinn | EF Education-EasyPost | 1:16:42 |
| 87 | Léo Bisiaux | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | 1:16:52 |
| 88 | Finn Fisher-Black | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 1:17:42 |
| 89 | Jack Haig | Bahrain Victorious | 1:18:05 |
| 90 | Orluis Aular | Movistar Team | 1:19:25 |
| 91 | David de la Cruz | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 1:19:32 |
| 92 | Esteban Chaves | EF Education-EasyPost | 1:19:53 |
| 93 | Pier-André Côté | Israel-Premier Tech | 1:21:08 |
| 94 | Hugo de la Calle | Burgos Burpellet BH | 1:21:25 |
| 95 | Jordan Labrosse | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | 1:21:40 |
| 96 | Thibaud Gruel | Groupama-FDJ | 1:22:17 |
| 97 | Patrick Gamper | Team Jayco-AlUla | 1:22:23 |
| 98 | Gijs Leemreize | Team Picnic PostNL | 1:22:52 |
| 99 | David González | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 1:23:21 |
| 100 | Emanuel Buchmann | Cofidis | 1:24:00 |
| 101 | Joel Nicolau | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 1:25:14 |
| 102 | Jakub Otruba | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 1:25:43 |
| 103 | Simone Petilli | Intermarché-Wanty | 1:27:27 |
| 104 | Louis Rouland | Arkea-B&B Hotels | 1:28:39 |
| 105 | Lukas Nerurkar | EF Education-EasyPost | 1:29:10 |
| 106 | Kelland O'Brien | Team Jayco-AlUla | 1:29:19 |
| 107 | Alec Segaert | Lotto | 1:30:42 |
| 108 | Iván García Cortina | Movistar Team | 1:31:31 |
| 109 | Jonas Gregaard | Lotto | 1:32:31 |
| 110 | Gal Glivar | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 1:32:34 |
| 111 | Kamiel Bonneu | Intermarché-Wanty | 1:33:14 |
| 112 | Fernando Barceló | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 1:33:29 |
| 113 | Matteo Sobrero | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 1:34:08 |
| 114 | Jonas Rickaert | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 1:34:09 |
| 115 | Marcel Camprubí | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 1:35:14 |
| 116 | Remi Cavagna | Groupama-FDJ | 1:35:21 |
| 117 | Nicolò Buratti | Bahrain Victorious | 1:35:40 |
| 118 | Joan Bou | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | 1:36:12 |
| 119 | Nico Denz | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 1:36:13 |
| 120 | Mathijs Paasschens | Bahrain Victorious | 1:36:27 |
| 121 | Luca Van Boven | Intermarché-Wanty | 1:37:28 |
| 122 | Madis Mihkels | EF Education-EasyPost | 1:37:41 |
| 123 | Christopher Juul-Jensen | Team Jayco-AlUla | 1:38:20 |
| 124 | Nicolas Vinokurov | XDS Astana Team | 1:39:00 |
| 125 | Dylan van Baarle | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:39:02 |
| 126 | Jardi Van Der Lee | EF Education-EasyPost | 1:41:02 |
| 127 | Léandre Lozouet | Arkea-B&B Hotels | 1:41:06 |
| 128 | Tobias Bayer | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 1:41:53 |
| 129 | Ivo Oliveira | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 1:42:11 |
| 130 | Ben Turner | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:42:33 |
| 131 | Dries De Pooter | Intermarché-Wanty | 1:43:04 |
| 132 | Huub Artz | Intermarché-Wanty | 1:44:30 |
| 133 | Dion Smith | Intermarché-Wanty | 1:44:34 |
| 134 | Fabio Christen | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 1:44:37 |
| 135 | Filippo Ganna | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:45:06 |
| 136 | Nickolas Zukowsky | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 1:45:44 |
| 137 | Mads Pedersen | Lidl-Trek | 1:45:59 |
| 138 | Sinuhé Fernandez | Burgos Burpellet BH | 1:47:42 |
| 139 | Bryan Coquard | Cofidis | 1:48:16 |
| 140 | Jasper De Buyst | Lotto | 1:48:29 |
| 141 | Mikkel Bjerg | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 1:50:52 |
| 142 | Jake Stewart | Israel-Premier Tech | 1:55:31 |
| 143 | Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier | Lidl-Trek | 1:55:41 |
| 144 | Timo Roosen | Team Picnic PostNL | 1:57:47 |
| 145 | Alessandro Verre | Arkea-B&B Hotels | s.t. |
| 146 | Søren Kragh Andersen | Lidl-Trek | 1:57:51 |
| 147 | Ethan Vernon | Israel-Premier Tech | 1:58:06 |
| 148 | Edward Planckaert | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 1:58:22 |
| 149 | Victor Guernalec | Arkea-B&B Hotels | 1:59:30 |
| 150 | Mario Aparicio | Burgos Burpellet BH | 1:59:43 |
| 151 | Liam Slock | Lotto | 2:00:55 |
| 152 | Xabier Azparren | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 2:01:37 |
| 153 | Arne Marit | Intermarché-Wanty | 2:02:59 |
| 154 | Tim van Dijke | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe | 2:03:31 |
| 155 | Jenthe Biermans | Arkea-B&B Hotels | 2:04:52 |
| 156 | Nadav Raisberg | Israel-Premier Tech | 2:06:45 |
| 157 | Elia Viviani | Lotto | 2:07:22 |
| 158 | Daan Hoole | Lidl-Trek | 2:08:06 |
| 159 | Jasper Philipsen | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 2:08:46 |
| 160 | Anders Foldager | Team Jayco-AlUla | 2:09:09 |
| 161 | Domen Novak | UAE Team Emirates-XRG | 2:12:59 |
| 162 | Stanislaw Aniolkowski | Cofidis | 2:17:31 |
| 163 | Patrick Eddy | Team Picnic PostNL | 2:20:49 |
| 164 | Oscar Riesebeek | Alpecin-Deceuninck | 2:28:15 |
Stage 11 map & profile:

Stage 11 map

Stage 11 profile
Stage 11 photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:

GC leader Jonas Vingegaard before the stage start.

David Gaudu before the stage start.

Current King of the Mountains Jay Vine

Michal Kwiatkowski & Thomas Pidcock

At the start in Bilbao

No shortage of police at the finish

The neutralized stage finish.

Two EF Education-EasyPost riders roll in.

Eddie Dunbar finishes the stage.

Tom Pidcock was first across the line of the neutralized stage. Sirotti photo