As it happened: Bunch sprint decides the opening stage of the Vuelta a España

Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 1 of the Vuelta a España 2025.

Here's a look at the profile for today's opening stage. A relatively flat stage with only one categorised climb on the 186.1km-long route from Turin to Novara, where a sprint finish is expected to take place. Bonus seconds are on offer at the intermediate sprint, as well as the finish, but the GC contenders will likely be saving their legs for tomorrow's uphill finish.

There's around half an hour to go until the neutralised start, which is set to take place at 12:55 local time, with a fairly long roll out as the riders make their way out of Turin before the flag drops for the official start.

The riders are on the neutralised start. These are the moments the local tourist board paied for, as the riders begin against the backdrop of Reggia di Venaria, outside of Torino.

Here was the scene from the start earlier.

The sun is shining today, allowing for pictures like this at the start.

The riders will be racing for real before long.

And they're off!

OFFICIAL START

An EF rider attacks right from the flag. This feels like a statement of intent from them - without a GC leader or top sprinter, stage wins are their priority, and they look set to attack to try and get them.

The EF rider has not gone clear, and the bunch is flying along in one long line. There looks set to be a battle to get into this break, despite the likelihood of the stage ending in a bunch sprint.

A group of five have a gap of about 10 seconds.

The peloton is easing up, this could be the break.

Not yet - more attacks ignite the peloton back into life.

Another rider has joined the leaders to form a group of 6 leaders. They are: Reinderink, Bouwman, Vinokurov, Verre, Hugo de la Calle and Nicolau.

The peloton has eased up again, and this 6-man group's lead is growing.

180KM TO GO

The gap's grown to over 25 seconds. The peloton can't see them on these winding roads

With the gap grown to over a minute, Alpecin have already taken control at the front of the peloton. They have the hot favourite for the stage win in Jasper Philipsen, and will do everything they can to deliver him.

The work from Alpecin has kept the break pegged at under a minute. They aren’t giving them an inch.

1:00 is the gap. Alpecin's Tobias Bayer is leading the peloton, and behind him is a line of IPT riders, who have two potential sprinters in Jake Stewart and Ethan Vernon.

170KM TO GO

The peloton has calmed down a little now, easing off on the chase. The gap’s grown up to 1:30 - under a minute did feel rather stingy so far from the finish!

Lidl-Trek have a rider leading the peloton. They have the overwhelming favourite for the points classification, Mads Pedersen, who must also fancy his chances today - but may not quite have the edge in what looks set to be a pure sprinters finish.

Pedersen is returning to the country he enjoyed such great success earlier in the year, when he won four stages at the Giro d’Italia. His form at the Tour of Denmark, where he won three stages and the overall, suggests he might be set for something similar here at the Vuelta - a frightening prospect for the other sprinters and stage-hunters.

A first glimpse of the peloton out on the road today.

There's more stability to the race. Neither the break nor the peloton are racing too hard, and the gap is hovering at about 1:15.

160KM TO GO

The 6 riders up the road.

It’s interesting to see Soudal-QuickStep represented in the break in Pepijn Reinderink. Their leader Mikel Landa has said he’s not feeling in good enough form to chase the GC, and they do not have a sprinter on their line-up, so we could see an aggressive Vuelta from the team.

Free Landa - 2025 Vuelta a España 'a trial-run' for life without Remco Evenepoel at Soudal-QuickStep

The gap's grown to the highest it's been all day - 1:45. The peloton have relaxed a little and are giving them at least a little leeway.

150KM TO GO

Iván García Cortina is receiving some kind of treatment at the car. He didn't crash, but looks sore - he might have been stung by something.

You might not have thought this would be the terrain for former Giro King of the Mountains Koen Bouwman, but he’s got himself in the break. That indicates his team Jayco-AlUla will be targeting breaks at this year’s Vuelta, despite having last year’s runner-up Ben O’Connor on their roster.

Vinokurov is a familiar name in the breakaway - Nicolas’ father Alexander won the GC here 19 years ago in 2006. He’s representing the same Astana team, too.

Not much happening on the road, as the gap remains at about 1:35. The organisers have not defined the most enthralling Gran Partida for the 2025 edition.

140KM TO GO

As for the rest of the break, Hugo de la Calle and Joel Nicolau ensure that the two Spanish wildcard teams (Burgos Burpellet BH and Caja Rural - Seguros RGA respectively) are represented, while familiar breakaway-enthusiasts Arkéa - B&B Hotels have Alessandro Verre present.

The gap between the break and the peloton has grown to 2:05, the first time it's been over 2 minutes all day.

130KM TO GO

Alpecin-Decuencik are working at the front of the peloton with the intention of delivering a stage win to Jasper Philipsen, and by extension the red jersey.

A mixture of injuries, crashes and the emergence of Jonathan Milan and Tim Merlier has seen Philipsen lose his status as the fastest sprinter in the world, and he’s been limited to a relatively low three wins in 2025, so he’ll be itching to remind everyone what he’s capable of at this Vuelta. He has a great record here, having won three stages across his two previous appearances here, and on paper is the quickest sprinter on the start list.

We haven’t talked yet about the GC race. For the overall contenders, today is simply about survival and avoiding any crashes - which, given the calmness of the day so far, has not threatened to be a problem. Things will become riskier when the race livens up later, however, in anticipation of the bunch sprint finish.

Philippa York - who knows a thing or two about competing for GC at the Vuelta - gave her expert analysis ahead of the race of how she thought this year’s race might play out.

The fascination of the three amigos GC battle - Philippa York Vuelta a España analysis

There is one climb to be taken on during this otherwise flat parcours, and the break has just started ascending it. It's a category three, and will determine the first wearer of the mountains jersey at this year's race.

Given the unlikelyhood of the break succeeding, this could be the biggest prize on offer for them, so expect a battle for it.

It’s perhaps a little harder than its category three status suggests, lasting 6.5km at a not insignificant gradient of 5.2%.

The gap’s remained much the same on this climb, with it standing at 2:15 for now.

120KM TO GO

The break are halfway up the climb. There are 3, 2 and 1 KOM points available for the first three riders to the top.

Vinokourov has attacked 1.5m from the top, in pursuit of the points.

Nicolau and Reinderink have joined him.

Reinderink has attacked and gone solo, just under 1km from the top.

Reinderink is tiring, and Nicolau is coming up to him.

Verre comes flying through from the group behind and joins Nicolau.

Both Nicolau and Verre sprint for the points, but it's unclear for now who won it.

KOM - LA SERRA

The overwhelming favourite for the overall victory is Jonas Vingegaard. He’s reliably exceptional at Gran Tours, finishing either first or second in his last six, in that time only being defeated by Tadej Pogačar, and his own teammate Sepp Kuss.

This Vuelta he’ll have the luxury of not having to race against his eternal rival Pogačar, so provided he’s feeling fresh enough post-Tour, will take some beating.

In the aftermath of the climb, the gap has come down a bit, to just under two minutes. All six riders in the break came back together, despite the small gaps appearing in the KOM sprint.

110KM TO GO

While Vingegaard might not have Tadej Pogačar to worry about for once, UAE Team Emirates are still likely to be his main rivals for the GC with their twin threat of João Almeida and Juan Ayuso.

The big question is: can they work together to defeat Vingegaard? As successful as UAE have been, they’re yet to win a Grand Tour with someone other than Pogačar, and do have a tendency to get their tactics wrong and let internal strife get in the way of cohesion when the Slovenian superstar isn’t present. This Vuelta looks set to be a big test of their steam spirit and internal harmony.

It’s at last been confirmed that Verre beat Nicolau, meaning the Arkea rider will be the first King of the Mountains of this year’s Vuelta.

Going into the race, Almeida and Ayuso talked of themselves as co-leaders, with neither designated above the other, and with the plan of working together to try to win the red jersey. If they can maximise the twin threat they pose, they could put both Vingegaard and Visma under pressure and into some tricky situations.

'Jonas is the favourite' - UAE Team Emirates GC duo João Almeida and Juan Ayuso point to Vingegaard as top name for Vuelta a España victory

We're nearing the halfway point of this opening stage. The next landmark is an intermediate sprint, where we'll see who from the peloton is interested in the points classification - Pedersen for sure, but who else?

100KM TO GO

The gap has plummeted in recent kilometres, down to under a minute. The break never looked likely to succeed, but at this rate the catch could potentially be made very early.

There’s been a change in the break - Vinokorov and Reinderink have gone clear from the rest.

Reinderink comes through to take the maximum points at the sprint ahead of Vinokourov.

INTERMEDIATE SPRINT

There are actually only points available for five riders at this sprint, meaning they will all be swallowed up by the riders in the break, leaving nothing for the riders in the peloton - so we won’t see a sprint between the points classification wannabees.

Reinderink and Vinokorov only made that move for the intermediate sprint, and are back with the rest of the break now. The peloton are still about 45 seconds behind.

90KM TO GO

The pace is up in the peloton again, and the catch looks about to be made. This is very early for them to be bringing them back already.

La Calle has attacked out of the break, but the rest have all sat up and are being caught by the peloton.

La Calle is still riding hard and looks committed, but he’s now all alone, with 83km still to ride.

Lidl-Trek and Alpecin are the two teams leading the peloton, responsible for this upping of the pace.

The peloton can see La Calle on the long straight road they are currently riding, but he still has a decent lead of about 20 seconds.

80KM TO GO

Here's Hugo de la Calle, with the peloton close behind him. The pace has slowed, however, and he's been allowed to stay clear for now.

The gap’s grown back out to one minute. It seems La Calle will be out in front for some time yet - how he must be wishing at least one of his farmer breakaway companions had stayed with him.

The Vuelta isn’t the only World Tour race taking place today - stage four of the Renewi Tour has just finished. While we wait for the action to get going again in Spain, you can read about how that stage unfolded here.

Just under a minute for La Calle. If nothing else, he's nailed on for the combativity award.

70KM TO GO

Still Hugo de la Calle remains dangling out there, with his lead down to about 30 seconds. The peloton don't want to make the catch too soon.

60KM TO GO

While Philipsen and Pedersen are the headline names for the sprint, there are plenty of other riders who will try to get in the mix and chase the stage win in the likely bunch finish at the end of the stage.

As a rider with a Grand Tour stage win already to his name on Italian roads this year from the Giro d’Italia, Casper Van Uden is a name that stands out in the field, and Picnic PostNL are banking on him doing something similar at the Vuelta, without a GC leader on their roster.

Surprise recent performances have catapulted Ben Turner to a candidate for the sprint today. Though revised as more of a puncheur, the Brit has been getting involved in bunch finishes this year, winning a stage at the Tour of Poland that way.

He was rushed into the Ineos line-up just before the race start, as a replacement for the sick Chris Hamilton.

Ben Turner dashes from Renewi Tour to ride Vuelta a España as Finlay Pickering replaces Damiano Caruso on Friday afternoon

The race remains in the same holding pattern, with lone leader Hugo de la Calle holding an advantage of 40 seconds.

50KM TO GO

In terms of experience, Bryan Coquard’s name jumps out. This will be his fourth Vuelta, and twelfth Grand Tour of his career - but despite coming close on multiple occasions, he’s still yet to win a stage at this level. In a relatively weak field, he stands an outside chance today.

Even more experienced is Elia Viviani, who is hoping to sprint for Team Lotto. He’s won nine stages in 13 Grand Tours throughout his career, although hasn’t appeared in one since 2021. Can he roll back the years and get in the mix today?

The peloton have Hugo de la Calle back within their sights now. He’s just 10 seconds up the road as we near the endgame of this stage.

40KM TO GO

The third stage of the Deutschland Tour has finished, and it was a controversial one. Catch up on all the drama here.

Another rider to look out for in the sprint, and probably the best hope of a Spanish team taking the first stage and red jersey of the race, is Orluis Aular. The Venezuelan has impressed all year since moving to Movistar, and made the top four on four occasions at the Giro, and will hope to find that little big extra required to take what would be the biggest win of his career.

Hugo de la Calle has been caught, and the race is all back together.

The catch has been made, but there are over 30km still to ride. Will anyone in the peloton be tempted to have a go and try and defy the sprinters?

It's still Lidl and Alpecin doing the majority of the work controlling the peloton in anticipation of this sprint. They won't want any sneaky attacks to complicate the run-in.

30KM TO GO

The pace is suddenly up in the peloton, with teams fighting for the front positions ahead of a corner. We can expect more bursts of acceleration like this the closer we get to the finish, and the tenser the atmosphere gets.

It's settled down a little after that burst, but the GC teams are still right towards the front, navigating the twisty roads and keeping their leaders as close to the front as possible.

20KM TO GO

This was the peloton a little earlier, being led by the sprinters teams; now it’s the GC juggernauts UAE and Visma who are most prominent at the front.

Riders are strewn horizontally across the road, with no team having taken control of the peloton.

Mechanical for Dylan van Baarle. That puts Visma-Lease a Bike down a man in the fight for positions.

Here were Visma and UAE fighting to be at the front of the peloton.

Still the fight for positioning goes on. Without wanting to jinx it, it's been a safe run-in so far without a single crash.

10KM TO GO

Visma lead the peloton around a sharp 90 degree turn, 8km from the finish. This is quite a technical run-in.

Visma continue to lead, as they navigate a series of roundabouts.

Now Alpecin form a train on the other side of the road.

Alpecin are challenging, but Visma still lead.

5KM TO GO

Visma do have Axel Zingle, but you imagine that all this is to project Vingegaard rather than set him up for a sprint.

Visma lead the peloton around yet another roundabout 90 degree turn, with just 4km left to ride.

Victor Campanaerts is the man doing the work for Visma, picking up where he left off from the Tour de France.

We're within 3km from the finish, meaning we're in the safety zone, but still Visma lead. Maybe they are trying to set up Zingle.

Now Visma drop off and allow other teams to come through, 2km from the finish.

Alpecin have taken over from Visma. This is looking good for Philipsen.

IPT lead into the final km.

1KM TO GO

Now Lotto lead, Viviani 2nd in line.

But here comes Alpecin again...

Philipsen sprints...and Philipsen wins!

PHILIPSEN WINS

Ethan Vernon takes second, and Orluis Aular third.

Alpecin gave Philipsen a perfect lead-out, and though Vernon tried to challenge, neither he nor anyone else got anywhere near him.

That’s Philpsen’s first win since his triumph on the first day of the Tour de France in July, and he’ll now add the red jersey to the yellow he wore after that day.

One man totally lost in the finale was Mads Pedersen. He was caught further back on the finishing straight, and only managed 14th place. That’s an early blow in his quest to win the points classification, and maybe, at long last after a relentless season, a sign of tiredness?

Philipsen was a league ahead of everyone else, but that was one of the best sprints of Ethan Vernon’s career. This is only the second Grand Tour of the 24-year-old’s career, and whereas he never really got into the mix on debut at the Giro last year, this was the same kind of speed he showed to win stages at World Tour races like Volta a Catalunya.

In fourth place was Elia Viviani, who proved that, at the age of 36, he can still contend for sprint wins at Grand Tour level. His Lotto team showed some commitment to him, and actually led in the final 500m before Alpecin came through, and a first win since May - and first at Grand Tour level in 6 years - now feels like a possibility.

Jasper Philipsen thanking one of his teammates, Ramses Debruyne, at the finish. He was set up beutifully by his team today, and the win never really looked in doubt for the final 500m.

Thanks for joining us today, for the start of what promises to be an exciting edition of the Vuelta. Today was a rare flat stage, and if we’re being honest, not much happened.That won’t be the case tomorrow, when the climbing already begins with an uphill finish.

Jasper Philipsen’s time in red is therefore likely to be limited to just that one day - and the GC guys will show their face for the first time. Be sure to follow along with us again for all the updates!