Vuelta a España stage 19: Jasper Philipsen claims third stage win

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) showed he is the best sprinter in the 2025 Vuelta a España yet again with a long and sustained sprint to the line. The Belgian has now won three stages, with a final chance in Madrid on Sunday.

Alpecin-Deceuninck let other teams control the sprint to Guijuelo and then hit the front in the final kilometre. Philipsen only opened his sprint inside the final 200 metres after a late rise in the road.

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Alpecin-Deceuninck for Philipsen and Lotto for Elia Viviani picked up the chase when the gap reached 2:00, but there was little desire to race. Indeed, Guernalec sat up with 140km to go, leaving Otruba out front.

Otruba’s lead grew to four minutes but then gradually fell as the stage entered the final 100km. He ploughed a lonely, solo furrow as he rode through the exposed fields of central Spain on often straight, exposed roads. Only the sniff of a crosswind awoke the peloton and helped the kilometres tick down a little faster.

The intermediate sprint in Salamanca, with 59km to race, finally sparked some racing in the peloton and a surprise GC rider sprint. Otruba took maximum points and the ten-bonus seconds.

Behind Pedersen and the sprinters were expected to fight for second place and other points. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, Visma-Lease a Bike were on the front protecting Vingegaard, and then suddenly he jumped away to win the bunch sprint to take four bonus seconds. UAE apparently took the wrong side of a roundabout and lost position before the sprint.

Suddenly, Almeida was at 44 seconds in the general classification after gifting four precious seconds. Almeida’s shake of the head indicated he was not happy.

The peloton surged when the crosswinds blew outside Salamanca, but then eased again, allowing Mario Aparicio and Sergio Geovani Chumil of Burgos-BH to jump away to form a cheeky two-up attack. They gained a gap, but were caught when the peloton accelerated again.

After UAE’s Salamanca debacle, Visma attacked and provoked Almeida again with 35km to go, with Vingegaard jumping in an echelon attack. The move did not last long, but Jay Vine was forced to make a huge effort to close the gap.

Fortunately, the wind was not strong enough to spark other attacks, and the rolling roads made for fast but controlled racing. Riders were packed into the left half of the road as the wind came from their right. But they stayed together for a fast ride into Guijuelo, northwest of Madrid. Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty) crashed alone with 25km to go, a sign for everyone to stay vigilant.

The riders reached Guijuelo from the north and then covered a loop around the town, before the rising sprint returning to the centre from the south.

The change in direction raised the speed as riders and lead-out trains fought for position near the front of the peloton. Ineos Grenadiers were up front early and then gathered on the front in force once again. Michał Kwiatkowski dragged the Ineos out front with two kilometres to go and then Filippo Ganna did even more for Ben Turner.

As Ganna suffered, Alepcin-Deceuninck moved up to the front. It was a late but well-timed effort that delivered Philipsen to his third victory.

Place

Rider (Country) Team

Result

Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck

03:50:35

Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek

Row 1 – Cell 2

Orluis Aular (Ven) Movistar

Row 2 – Cell 2

Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Arkea-B&B Hotels

Row 3 – Cell 2

Ben Turner (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers

Row 4 – Cell 2

Arne Marit (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty

Row 5 – Cell 2

Fabio Christen (Swi) Q36.5 Pro Cycling

Row 6 – Cell 2

Ethan Vernon (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech

Row 7 – Cell 2

Thibaud Gruel (Fra) Groupama-FDJ

Row 8 – Cell 2

Jordan Labrosse (Fra) Decathlon AG2R la Mondiale

Row 9 – Cell 2

Swipe to scroll horizontallyGeneral classification after stage 19

Place

Rider (Country) Team

Result

Jonas Vingegaard Hansen (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike