Vingegaard Regains Vuelta Lead After UAE Team Emirates Wins Team Time Trial

In the fifth stage of the Vuelta a España, UAE Team Emirates-XRG won the team time trial, finishing the 24.1 km course in 25 minutes and 26 seconds, narrowly beating Visma-Lease a Bike by eight seconds. Despite UAE's victory, Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike reclaimed the red leader's jersey due to his overall time advantage, moving ahead of UAE's Juan Ayuso and João Almeida in the general classification. David Gaudu, who had led the race prior to the time trial, fell to sixth place after his Groupama-FDJ team finished ninth. The stage was briefly disrupted by Palestinian flag-waving protesters blocking Israel-Premier Tech, who lost significant time and finished 19th; the team condemned the protest for compromising their performance. The race now moves into the mountains with challenging stages ahead, including a summit finish at Pal Andorra. The event showcased the tactical impact of team time trials in Grand Tours and highlighted ongoing political demonstrations affecting cycling races.