The 2025 Vuelta a España may have come to an unceremonious halt with a little under 60km of the stage to go on Sunday, while the official podium ceremony also fell victim to the chaos around the race finish in Madrid, but there was no missing out on the hard-earned celebrations at the end of a gruelling three weeks of racing.
To make sure the evening kicked off in the right way – with colourful jerseys awarded atop podium steps and ample quantities of sparkling wine to spray – what appeared to be a parking lot was quickly transformed. A makeshift backdrop hung haphazardly as race winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) stood in his red jersey with the trophy proudly on display on top of a drink cooler with a number one scrawled on it in black marker. Runner-up Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and third-placed Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) took their places on the slightly smaller cool boxes alongside, with the British rider even squeezing a couple of curious pooches onto the makeshift step with him.
