Favorites youth classification Vuelta a Espana 2025 | White jersey as the main prize or consolation prize?
CyclingWednesday, 20 August 2025 at 16:45
The battle for the youth classification was only reintroduced by the Vuelta in 2019, but the list of winners since then speaks for itself. Who will join Tadej Pogacar, Enric Mas, the late Gino Mäder, Remco Evenepoel, Juan Ayuso, and Mattias Skjelmose in this tough edition of the Vuelta a España?
Also check out the other favorites by IDLProCycling.com:
- Preview La Vuelta a España 2025
- Favorites general classification
- Favorites points classification
- Favorites mountain classification
- Fantasy league for La Vuelta a España 2025
- Preview La Vuelta a España 2025
- Favorites general classification
- Favorites points classification
- Favorites mountain classification
- Fantasy league for La Vuelta a España 2025
Latest winners of youth classification Vuelta a España
2024 Mattias Skjelmose
2023 Juan Ayuso
2022 Remco Evenepoel
2022 Gino Mäder
2021 Enric Mas
2019 Tadej Pogacar
2023 Juan Ayuso
2022 Remco Evenepoel
2022 Gino Mäder
2021 Enric Mas
2019 Tadej Pogacar
Favorites youth classification Vuelta a España 2025
Riders born after Jan. 1, 2000, are eligible for the white jersey in the Vuelta.
Pablo Castrillo - Movistar
Pablo Castrillo was one of the big revelations of last year's Vuelta a España in the jersey of Equipo Kern Pharma. The youngster won two stages as an attacker, which earned him a significant domestic transfer to Movistar. That team will start this year's home race without Enric Mas, so they will have to look to other riders.
One of those riders is Castrillo, who already has the Tour de France in his legs. He did not immediately impress there, although he did achieve good classifications earlier this year in the UAE Tour, Paris-Nice, and the Tour de Suisse. In the upcoming Vuelta, he will generally be aiming for stage wins, but who knows how far that could take him in the overall classification.
Finn Fisher-Black - Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
Finn Fisher-Black has been considered a great talent for years: it is no coincidence that he joined UAE-Team Emirates via the Jumbo-Visma development team and now Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. However, he has not quite lived up to the expectations that are generally held of the New Zealander, although one Vuelta could easily change that.
The puncher and climber has known all year that he would be ready for the Vuelta, and he made a strong showing in his final preparatory race in Poland. He was consistently in top form for the first five days, but then illness struck him and his teammate Maxim Van Gils, forcing him to abandon the race. So it's still a bit of a guessing game as to where he stands.
Johannes Staune-Mittet - Decathlon AG2R
Decathlon AG2R bought Johannes Staune-Mittet from Visma | Lease a Bike last winter. The reason for his departure from the Dutch team? The slim chance of getting into the strong Grand Tour teams, which is precisely where the always-friendly Norwegian wants to excel. So, at the age of 23, he is now starting his first three-week race in the French service.
The former Tour de l'Avenir winner is part of a strong group at Decathlon AG2R, which also includes Felix Gall and Leo Bisiaux, mentioned below. Staune-Mittet recently proved in Poland, where he finished fourth in the queen stage, that we can expect him to do well in Spain.
Leo Bisiaux - Decathlon AG2R
Another rider from Decathlon AG2R: Leo Bisiaux. The Frenchman recently put himself in the spotlight with a fine stage win in the Tour of Burgos and is now preparing for his first Grand Tour at the age of just 20. That is quite possible, as he has not had many race days this year.
Last year, Bisiaux finished sixth in the Giro Next Gen and fourth in the Tour de l'Avenir, further demonstrating his talent. He is also the reigning French junior cyclo-cross champion, which is proof of his talent and explosiveness.
Junior Lecerf - Soudal Quick-Step
At Soudal Quick-Step, they are approaching the Vuelta a España with an open mind. Of course, they are counting on Mikel Landa, but don't overlook the young Belgian Junior Lecerf. The 22-year-old lightweight won the Tour of the Czech Republic last week ahead of Cian Uijtdebroeks and is therefore starting the Tour of Spain in good form.
Lecerf, who finished eighth in the UAE Tour and the Tour de Romandie earlier this season, will normally be looking for a stage win. However, we are including him in this list based on the quality he has already shown in his fledgling career.
Ben Tulett - Visma | Lease a Bike
Visma | Lease a Bike will field a stellar lineup at the start of the Vuelta a España, with former winner Sepp Kuss and two-time Paris-Nice winner Matteo Jorgenson providing support for Jonas Vingegaard. Also joining the team is Ben Tulett, the young Brit who had to miss last year's race after a serious crash in Burgos.
After his unlucky year in 2024, Tulett has been very consistent this season. He finished second in Milan-Turin, won the Coppi and Bartali Week, and was on form in both the Critérium du Dauphiné (twelfth) and the recent Tour de l'Ain (third). It is now up to him to continue this form in a Grand Tour.
Matthew Riccitello - Israel-Premier Tech
Matthew Riccitello is a rider who American cycling fans have eagerly awaited for some time. Lance Armstrong himself described the pocket climber as a great talent years ago. We have already seen glimpses of this, although the real breakthrough is yet to come.
Last year, Riccitello seemed to be on his way in the Vuelta, where he finished sixth on the first mountain finish. In the end, he was unable to build on that, but perhaps this season is the moment. In the Sibiu Tour (overall winner) and the Tour of Poland (thirteenth on a course that was not ideal for him), his legs were already in good shape.
Giulio Pellizzari - Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
The 21-year-old Italian Giulio Pellizzari was one of the revelations of the Giro d'Italia in May. The climber committed himself fully to team leader Primoz Roglic, but was given free rein after Roglic's withdrawal. Pellizzari took full advantage of this opportunity, rising from 18th to 6th in the final week and proving himself one of the better climbers.
Now his first Vuelta awaits him, which will also be the first time he has ridden two Grand Tours in one season. His preparation in Burgos went well with a fourth place, although Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe is not putting too much pressure on him for this Vuelta. ‘Discovering’ is the motto for the Germans.
Antonio Tiberi - Bahrain Victorious
Antonio Tiberi may only be 24, but on behalf of Bahrain Victorious, he is already starting his fourth Vuelta a España. The first two times were mainly to gain experience, while in last year's edition, he dropped out of the race due to illness as a contender for the podium.
After this season's Giro, in which Tiberi crashed, the focus quickly shifted back to Spain. In Poland, the Italian showed with a second place and an attacking style of racing that he is ready for the challenge, but now it is essential to deliver in three weeks. Right-hand man Damiano Caruso will also be there as his guardian angel.
Juan Ayuso - UAE Emirates-XRG
At just 19 years of age, Juan Ayuso finished third in the 2022 Vuelta a España, but the overall victory – and white jersey – went to Remco Evenepoel. One year later, the Spaniard did win the youth classification, finishing as the best of the rest behind the Jumbo-Visma trio of Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard, and Primoz Roglic.
In 2025, Ayuso returns to his home race after Tadej Pogacar dropped out, where he will be looking for revenge after withdrawing from this year's Giro and last year's Tour. The 22-year-old Spaniard will start alongside Joao Almeida as team leader and will be looking to win the overall title and the white jersey for UAE Emirates-XRG.
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Latest Comments
- In 5yrs, Pogi will be a top Twitch streamer living on baked goods while Urska is still racing.Veganpotter11-08-2025
- All they learned is that at the end of a 3 week race, Wout can beat him on a slightly bumpy stage. Obviously, this is very much thanks to Wout not racing for GC every day. This doesn't teach them a thing for Jonas beating Pogi. Not saying Jonas will never beat him again. But this absolutely won't have anything to do with it if he does beat him.Veganpotter28-07-2025
- Well, he eventually Pogacar pays the price for his insane spring campaign which was really crazyRosenkohl196125-07-2025
- Maybe I was a bit disrespectful to Heiden. What he did was unique and exceptional but he wasn't the only one who combined those distances, nowadays it is just not possible and nobody competes in both distances. The same is true for cycling with for example the combination of Roubaix and de Tour de France. In Merckx era there were more riders who managed a top10 in both races than currently.Joostmehrtens19-06-2025
- Two old men shouting at pigeons in the park…JonS16-06-2025
- Out of touch old men hankering after their youth through rose tinted spectacles, their arrogance almost outshines their irrelevance. Turn the volume down, this modern stuff just isn't music like we used to sing...johnny20whales16-06-2025
- In talking speed skating, the days when Heiden did that, nobody else did that. And Eddy couldn't do the equivalent of the bike. His 200 on the velodrome was good, but not world competitive for gold. Heiden was in his own world on the ice, moreso than Eddy if we pretend Eric didn't have a very short career on the ice.Veganpotter16-06-2025
- They wouldn't have dropped HIM so easily.... the GOAT. They would have dropped the rest from that era easily thoughVeganpotter16-06-2025
- Merckx was able to win in a break away on a flat (sprinters) stage, what do you mean they did not drop that easily in his time. Vlaeminck won in the mountains and the classics, but now you need to specialise. The days that a Eric Heiden could win the sprint and the 10k and everything in between are long gone and cycljng is no differentJoostmehrtens16-06-2025
- Carsapaz and Del torro were not capable of chasing Yates. They paused and looked at each other because they didn't have it in them. Yates had kept his powder dry waiting for this stage and demolished both of them. They lost Yates won. Your second guessing is utter nonsense., if either felt they could close Yates down they would have , just like they did countless times for other riders. They blew up , Yates excelled.Uphillbilly05-06-2025