Vuelta a España stage 10 preview - Will Vingegaard strike for red?

Key Information: 

• Date: Tuesday, 2 September
• Start: 12:55 (CET)
• Expected finish: 17:18 (CET)
• Stage type: Flat. Uphill arrival
• Stage length: 175.3km
• Elevation gain: 3,082m

Stage 10 is strikingly reminiscent of many stages that have come earlier in this Vuelta a España. The standout feature of the route is the category 1 summit finish, at the end of what the race organisers have described as a mainly flat stage. In this sense, it is very similar to stage 9, which the riders tackled on the other side of the rest day; the only difference is that stage 10 also features one extra categorised climb before the finale.

The stage begins at the Sendaviva Nature Park, located in Navarre, which will make its debut hosting the start of a Vuelta stage. It's a flat start, and the peloton will traverse their way towards Caparroseo and Olite before a series of uncategorised climbs around the middle portion of the stage.

There will be a warm-up for the peloton with the category 3 Alto de las Coronas, which stands at 8.3km with an average gradient of 4.4%. With the summit coming 47.6km from the finish line, it's likely that the mountain points will be hotly contested between the breakaway riders.

There’s something to keep the likes of Mads Pedersen on their toes with the intermediate sprint coming 22.3km from the finish line.

The category 1 summit finish Larra Belagua climb, on the Franco-Spanish border, is the venue for the climax of the tenth stage. It's a 9.4km ascent with an average gradient of 6.3% which means that there's a possibility that it's unlikely that the GC will be blown to pieces, similar to stages 6 and 7 or even the red jersey group that finished behind the front quartet on stage 9.

It will likely depend on the stage ambitions of Jonas Vingegaard, who has illustrated that he can create big time gaps if he chooses, but there is a tough week on the cards, and the Dane may look to reserve some power for tougher tests to come.

If things are to kick off, it's likely to come during the first half of the climb, which is consistently between 7-10%, higher than the climb's average gradient. The reason for the lower average gradient is that the climb eases in its steepness with 2km remaining, and there is a flat run-in to the finish.

Remco Evenepoel stormed to victory on the climb on stage 14 in the 2023 edition, just a day after falling out of the general classification. The Belgian would go on to win four stages in total in that edition.

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) has confirmed that he is the man to beat at this Vuelta, and if he wants to win a stage, he is a difficult rider to stop. Will Vingegaard strike while the iron is hot, or will he be content to see the breakaway take the stage honours with the L’Angliru edging closer? Matteo Jorgenson and Sepp Kuss have proven to be strong support so far for the Dane and could be used in a defensive or offensive manner, depending on what Vingegaard feels is best.

After successfully defending the red jersey for three stages, Torstein Træen (Bahrain-Victorious) has seen his advantage to Jonas Vingegaard slip to 37 seconds, leaving the distinct possibility that Tuesday could be his last day in red. The Norwegian has battled valiantly since becoming the race leader, and if things are conservative like stage 7, he could hold on, but it will ultimately depend on what Visma | Lease a Bike and Vingegaard plan.

João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has established himself as the biggest challenger to the Dane, as the Portuguese rider has battled his way valiantly through the opening week. Stage 9 saw a particularly impressive performance from Almeida, gaining 1:22 on a majority of his fellow GC contenders.

Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) was also a standout performer on stage 9, finishing 2nd just ahead of Almeida in the rain-soaked conditions. The 26-year-old had stated before the start of stage 8 that “I felt pretty good. I’m maybe waiting for the days when it will actually count,” and this seems true to form based on his performance. With stage 10 very similar to stage 9, there’s little reason to suggest why Pidcock doesn't make more positive strides in this Vuelta on Tuesday.

Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) was the only rider who tried to follow Jonas Vingegaard’s move to Valdezcaray, and perhaps the Italian paid for his efforts later on. However, Ciccone has demonstrated that he is in red-hot form, and expect the Italian to bounce back.

As it stands, Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) has a serious opportunity to reach the podium of this Vuelta, particularly considering the Austrian usually thrives in the high mountains in the latter part of a three-week race, as shown at the Tour de France. Stage 10 will be important in laying the foundations for a successful second week for Gall, who will certainly be eyeing stages 13 and 14 also.

Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Lorenzo Fortuanto (XDS Astana), Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech), Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla), Raúl García Pierna (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Junior Lecerf (Soudal-Quicktep) all remain within a minute of each other from 7th to 15th in the GC and could see changes on the climb to Larra Belugua.

With a very attritional week 2 on the cards, there’s a strong possibility that the GC teams will be willing to see a breakaway take the day. 

Juan Ayuso and Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) are both stage winners already, and depending on what support remains for Almeida in the finale, they could feature in a breakaway once more, and both would be difficult to beat in that scenario. Marc Soler could be another option, and he has looked solid so far. 

Marco Frigo (Israel Premier Tech) came 2nd on stage 7 behind Ayuso, and the combative Italian will surely be on the move again throughout this race.

Antonio Tiberi and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious) have both fallen out of the GC and could shine on a stage like this if given the freedom. However, they may be required to support Træen in his attempt to defend the red jersey.

Stage 2 winner David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) has fallen out of the general classification, but the 28-year-old will have more freedom now for the rest of the race and could go hunting for a fourth career Vuelta stage.

Movistar have a trio of riders who could shine in a breakaway; Jefferson Cepeda, Javier Romo, and Pablo Castrillo. We haven’t seen the best of each yet at this Vuelta, but all have had moments so far in 2025 to suggest they are capable of a stage win on a good day. 

Another team that will be fancying their chances are XDS Astana. Wout Poels knows what it takes to win a Vuelta stage, Harold Tejada has been active in this edition, and Harold Martin López is an exciting prospect. 

Other riders to watch for include; Eddie Dunbar and Chris Harper (Jayco AlUla), Kevin Vermaerke (Picnic PostNL), Bruno Armirail and Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Victor Langellotti and Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers), Carlos Verona (Lidl-Trek), Sergio Geovani Chumil (Burgos Burpellet BH), Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-wanty), Markel Beloki and Archie Ryan (EF Education-EasyPost).

Vuelta a España stage 10 favourites

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Jonas Vingegaard
⭐️⭐️ Tom Pidcock, João Almeida, Giulio Ciccone, Juan Ayuso
⭐️ Jay Vine, Marco Frigo, Marc Soler, David Gaudu, Michał Kwiatkowski

Here is a guide on how to watch the 2025 Vuelta a España live. Below you can find the broadcasters for the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia.