Vuelta a España Stage 16 was made shorter due to more protests along race route

Stage 16 of the 2025 Vuelta a España was made shorter than its original route due to more pro-Palestine protests that forced the finish line to be moved. 

With 16km left in the race, an organiser said that there was a big protest 3km before the initial finish line, so they decided to get record times and name the winner at 8km. 

This is the second time in this season’s Vuelta that a stage was cut short because of protesters. Stage 11 also ended 3km before the original finish line, and no winner was declared. The protesters have been asking the Israel-Premier Tech cycling team to exit the race. 

Although the team does not have any official ties to the government, its owner, Sylvan Adams, supports Israel’s actions in Gaza, which caused the disruptions and tensions at this year’s race. 

With this, the Israel-Premier Tech team said that they will continue to race at the Vuelta despite all the pressure to leave. The squad announced that they will race the last stages without the word ‘Israel’ on their jerseys for safety reasons. But the team name remains the same. Furthermore, the race organisers also added extra security.

Stage 16 winner 

For Stage 16, Egan Bernal from Ineos Grenadiers won his first Grand Tour stage since his near career-ending crash in 2022. 

On social media, Bernal posted: “Thank you!!! Thank you to those who have always been there. This stage is not one more, it means a lot!! And it’s not mine, it’s y’all who always knew. (translated)” 

 

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A post shared by Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (@eganbernal)

Netizens expressed their support for the athlete. One remarked: “All my life I believed, thanks are for you for never stopping believing in you. ❤️😍(translated)” 

Another stated that even though the athlete could not see them, they were applauding his victory at the finish line. 

One more fan shared: “What an inspiration you are, Egan 🙌 The embodiment of self-belief and dedication. Enjoy.” 

Here is the final ranking after the Stage 16 race:

1. Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) in 03:35:10
2. Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) at same time
3. Brieuc Rolland (Groupama-FDJ) +7s
4. Nico Denz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +1:02
5. Clement Braz Afonso (Groupama-FD) +2s
6. Bob Jungels (Ineos Grenadiers) +1:10
7. Kevin Vermaerke (Picnic PostNL) +1:12
8. Finlay Pickering (Bahrain-Victorious) +1:12
9. Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost) +2:28
10. Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) +2:48

Here is the final general classification ranking after the Stage 16 race:

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) in 61:16:35
2. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +48s
3. Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) +2:38
4. Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) +3:10
5. Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +4:21
6. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +4:24
7. Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) +4:53
8. Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) +5:46
9. Torstein Træen (Bahrain Victorious) +6:33
10. Junior Lecerf (Soudal Quick-Step) +8:04