UAE Team Emirates-XRG win La Vuelta Team Time Trial

UAE Team Emirates-XRG powered to victory in the team time trial on stage five of the Vuelta a España and saw Jonas Vingegaard reclaim the prestigious red jersey

Covering the 24.1-kilometer course at an astonishing average speed of 56.8 km/h, UAE Team Emirates-XRG delivered a flawless performance. Riders Juan Ayuso and João Almeida led the charge, crossing the finish line as the third-last team and knocking long-time leaders Lidl-Trek off the top spot. The team’s incredible effort edged out strong contenders like Visma-Lease a Bike, who managed to claw back time to finish just seven seconds behind.

The tightly contested stage left only 16 seconds separating the top five teams, with Ineos Grenadiers close behind in fourth and Lotto rounding out the top ten. On the overall general classification (GC), a razor-thin margin of nine seconds now divides the top five riders—three of whom proudly represent UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Egan Bernal, currently in tenth place, trails Vingegaard by just 22 seconds, setting the stage for an exhilarating race ahead.

João Almeida expressed his excitement after the stage, saying, “We knew we would be fighting for the win, but there are a lot of good teams here and we needed to be realistic. I think we did a really perfect job and we deserve this as well. For the team atmosphere to get even better, it’s good—it gives us confidence. The gaps are small, it’s not really anything, but it’s a good start.”

VIDEO: Stage 5 Team Time Trial Highlights

Stage 5 Top 10 Teams

GC after Stage 5