Favorites stage 19 Vuelta a España 2025 | Rare opportunity for sprint, but breakaway riders will test under-the-weather Pedersen

The stage starts Friday in Rueda, a tiny village with barely 1,500 inhabitants located southwest of Valladolid. There are no proper climbs on the menu as we head to the finish town of Guijuelo, although it’s definitely not pancake-flat either.

The opening section is relatively flat as the riders head west toward Fuentasaúco. From there, the route leads to Salamanca, where the intermediate sprint is located. In Spain’s most iconic student city, the sprinters could get a first warm-up, depending on which kind of group has managed to break away by then.

The race then continues directly south toward the finish, with the road undulating slightly. Nothing too steep, just gentle rollers at low gradients. Once in Guijuelo, the riders will complete a small finishing loop.

If breakaway riders are still ahead, they could benefit from the slightly uphill final kilometers. From the 3-kilometer mark, the road rises gradually all the way to the finish, which is a straight shot. The final sharp turn is 3.3 km from the line, which could set up a beautiful uphill sprint.

Times
Start: 1:50 PM local time (7:50 AM EDT)
Finish: around 5:21 PM local time (11:21 AM EDT)

Another day of ideal racing conditions in Spain. In Salamanca, where the race passes mid-stage, temperatures will rise to around 26°C. The wind will be light and crosswind in nature, including in the final kilometers.

Stage 19 looks like one for the sprinters, but in the third week of a Grand Tour, nothing is guaranteed. Strong rouleurs may have the engine to stay out front for a long time, with riders like Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) and Tim van Dijke (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) likely to be threats if they make the break.

In that same mold, time trialists such as Daan Hoole (Lidl-Trek), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Rémi Cavagna, Stefan Küng (both Groupama-FDJ), and Alec Segaert (Lotto) might also give it a go. The real question: how much energy will everyone have left in the tank after Thursday’s shortened time trial?

But make no mistake, the sprinters have marked this date on their calendars. Aside from the final stage in Madrid, Friday is one of the big reasons many sprinters are still in this Vuelta. In earlier sprints, the names to watch were Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), the two fastest men in this Tour of Spain. But Pedersen hasn’t been feeling 100%…

So which other sprinters could possibly take advantage of Pedersen's physicality? Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) has already finished second twice, Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers) won stage four to Voiron, Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) has been riding around somewhat anonymously so far and Orluis Aular (Movistar) was still beaten by Pedersen on Sunday.

Furthermore, Arne Marit (Intermarché-Wanty), Elia Viviani (Lotto), Jenthe Biermans (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Thibaud Gruel (Groupama-FDJ), Madis Mihkels (EF Education-EasyPost), Anders Foldager (Jayco AlUla) and, in the event of Vernon not sprinting, Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech) could also be looking to spring a surprise.

Top favorites: Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Outsiders: Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers), Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech), Orluis Aular (Movistar) and Madis Mihkels (EF Education-EasyPost)
Long shots:Tim van Dijke (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), Arne Marit(Intermarché-Wanty), Elia Viviani (Lotto), Jenthe Biermans (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Thibaud Gruel (Groupama-FDJ) and Anders Foldager (Jayco AlUla)