Vuelta a España: Jasper Philipsen wins stage 15 as Primoz Roglic stays in lead
The Belgian rider Jasper Philipsen won a long, wet and windy stage 15 at the Vuelta a España on Thursday, and Primoz Roglic safely held his overall lead with two more competitive days of racing left.
It was UAE Team Emirates rider Philipsen’s first stage win in a grand tour. He powered ahead of the pack near the end of the race’s longest stage of 230km (142 miles) through winding, wooded terrain in north-west Spain.
The 22-year-old rider crossed the finish line in six hours and 22 minutes, just ahead of Pascal Ackermann (BoraHansgrohe) and Jannik Steimle (Deceuninck-Quick-Step).
“I have been waiting all the Vuelta for the right moment and today was more than I expected,” Philipsen said.
“The headwind all day made it really hard on the front group … I can enjoy this moment and try to finish my first grand tour. I am super proud now.”
Jumbo-Visma’s Roglic, the defending champion, maintained his 39second lead over Richard Carapaz as the race closes in on Sunday’s ceremonial arrival in Madrid. Britain’s Hugh Carthy is third for EF Pro Cycling, 47 seconds off the lead.
On Friday the race moves to central Spain as it starts its final approach to the capital. Stage 16 takes riders over 162km of hills from Salamanca to Ciudad Rodrigo. That will set up Saturday’s decisive mountain stage.
The former British champion Ian Stannard has been forced to retire from the professional cycling after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. The 33-year-old spent the last decade at Team Sky (now Ineos Grenadiers), having been a founding member of the team in 2010.
The Wilmslow-based rider ends his career with seven wins, including back-to-back victories at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in 2014 and 2015 and stages of the Tour of Britain in 2016 and 2018. The 2012 British road race champion also took a notable third place at ParisRoubaix in 2016 and was part of three Tour de France-winning teams.
He said: “It’s disappointing to have to stop like this but it is clearly the right decision for my health and my family. We have explored all of the options this year to deal with my condition, and the team has been there with me every step of the way.
“I started to hope that I could manage the problem during lockdown, but as soon as I returned to racing I knew that my body wouldn’t be able to perform at any level any more.”