Jasper Philipsen wins stage 2 of the Vuelta a España
Jasper Philipsen wins stage 2 of the Vuelta a España
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) sprinted to stage 2 victory on another very hot day at the Vuelta a España.
The Vuelta’s first road stage took place over a fairly straightforward but energy-sapping 166.7 km on mostly flat roads from Calaruega to Burgos. With each change of direction there was a bit of tension in the crosswind-wary peloton, but the wind wasn’t stiff enough to whip up any drama.
Diego Rubio (Burgos-BH) was the last man standing from the three-man breakaway, but it was all back together in time for the bonus sprint. Astana-Premier Tech led the charge in the sprint dress rehearsal, but Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) had the edge over green jersey-wearer Alex Aranburu who picked up enough points to claim the jersey outright, albeit only for 16 km.
On the straight, fast run-in, a crash took down a number of riders outside 4 km to go, Bora-Hansgrohe worst affected, while Alpecin-Fenix and Deceuninck-QuickStep controlled the blistering pace at the front. A furious bunch gallop followed and Philipsen timed his sprint to perfection, beating Jakobsen and Michael Matthews (BikeExchange) in second and third place.
The GC top 10 stays the same for now, but the late crash held up a few key riders including Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) and Hugh Carthy (EF Education-Nippo) who shipped 31 and 38 seconds each, while Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) came off worst losing 2:35.
La Vuelta ciclista a España (2.UWT) Caleruega → Burgos
ROGLIČ Primož
PHILIPSEN Jasper
KUSS Sepp
BAGIOLI Andrea
Team Jumbo-Visma