Mob of demonstors force final climb to be scapped, Bernal scores biggest win since horror crash, Vingegaard retains red in another disrupted final.
Updated September 9, 2025 11:28AM
Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) outsprinted Mikel Landa (T-Rex Quick-Step) in a bizarre no-celebration finale at the Vuelta a España.
Tuesday’s 16th stage was hastily cut short just kilometers from what became a makeshift finish line.
A mob of protestors blocking the road near the summit finish forced Vuelta HQ to scramble to shift the final forward by 8km.
The news of the course-change crackled over race radio when Bernal and breakaway rival Landa were at the front of the race and only minutes from the new finish.
It’s unclear whether they knew exactly where the revised finish line was.
“After dropping out of the general classification, I really wanted to win,” Bernal said Tuesday after the stage. “I wanted to win in my national champion’s jersey, which means a lot to me.”
Unlike the Bilbao stage earlier in the race, a stage-winner was awarded, leaving Bernal with a huge comeback win. Tuesday marks the 28-year-old’s first major victory since he was hospitalized for months after his horror crash in winter 2022.
“Aside from the final climb not happening, it was a great ride,” Bernal said. “It was incredibly tough. It was full throttle all day.”
The result is also a significant one for Landa, who suffered horrific injuries when he crashed out of the Giro d’Italia this May.
Confusion reigns in Spain
Demonstrators on the final climb caused more chaos Tuesday.
Classification leaders Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), João Almeida (UAE Emirates-XRG), and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) crossed the line together, six minutes back on Bernal and Landa.
Felix Gall (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale) dropped a spot in the GC battle after he was gapped in a late flurry of attacks down the final descent of Tuesday’s multi-mountain stage.
Bernal’s breakaway raid vaults him up to 12th on GC.
The peloton stood around at the new final looking bemused after a weird and wild finish to the stage. UAE Emirates sport director Matxin Joxean Fernandez told Marca teams were equally confused.
“This is a copy of the Bilbao stage. Just as the final descent had begun, they told us what was happening,” he said. “We understood the final was just before the start of the climb. Confusion.
“We don’t know how it was caused,” Matxin said. “Organizers told us that the course was blocked at 3K. We don’t know why the finish was moved to 8K, and not at 5 or 7.”
The future of the 2025 Vuelta very much hangs in the balance.
Vuelta a España stage 16: Quick results
Bernal, Landa headline blockbuster breakaway
Bernal, Landa, Denz attacked into the five-rider split. (Photo: Tim de Waele/Getty Images )
The third and final week of La Vuelta kicked off in brutal fashion on Tuesday.
Stage 16 across Galicia loaded 3,500 meters of climbing across four categorized climbs and a collection of miscellaneous lumps and bumps. The planned summit finish on Castro de Herville served a final sting in the tail.
Like every day for the past week, the race rolled out under the threat of ongoing protests from pro-Palestinian groups.
A blockbuster break of 17 came together after around 50km of the 168km course. Mikel Landa (Quick-Step), Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), Nico Denz (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe), U.S. duo Kevin Vermearke (Picnic-PostNL) and Sean Quinn (EF Education EasyPost) stood out alongside Almeida’s teammate Marc Soler.
Landa attacked out of the break at 60km to go and all but ensured the stage win would come from the escape.
Landa was joined by Bernal, Denz and two from Groupama-FDJ, and the “fuga de la fuga” increased the gap to more than seven minutes.
Soler launched a wild chase across but was forced to sit up in a rare off-day for UAE’s stage-hunting mercenaries.
Bernal and Landa emerged as last two men standing from the break as they plummeted over the penultimate climb of the day, and the decision to neutralize the final climb came soon after.
Bernal surged first and Landa couldn’t close the gap, leaving Bernalito to claim a strange, yet significant, win.
Bahrain-Victorious make GC assault, Vingegaard forced to switch bikes
The peloton kept quiet Tuesday until the penultimate planned climb at around 25km to go.
Bahrain-Victorious piled on en masse on the steep, narrow slope to protect Torstein Træen’s position from the resurgent Bernal.
The accelerations put top-10 contender Junior Lecerf (Quick Step) out the back and piled pressure on Giulio Pelizzari (red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) and Felix Gall (Decathlon-Ag2r).
Meanwhile, Vingegaard got lucky with a hasty bike change with teammate Ben Tulett after he punctured.
Pidcock accelerated down the final descent and Gall dropped the wheel, losing him time in the red jersey battle.
What’s coming in cruel final week:
Vingegaard will have to defend red against both Almeida and a climbing onslaught through the final week. Photo: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images
The GC could change multiple times before the peloton reaches Madrid on Sunday … if it makes it to Madrid, that is.
Both stage 17 and 20 finish atop crushingly difficult climbs. The Alto de Morredero on Wednesday’s 17th stage and the Bola del Mundo at the weekend could blow the top-10 contenders apart.
And if Vingegaard and Almeida remain as closely matched on the climbs as they have so far, the flat 27km time trial Thursday will certainly split the two red jersey bigs.
Vuelta a España stage 16: Full results and standings