Jasper Philipsen emerges victorious in Stage 1 of Vuelta a España, securing the race's red jersey following a thrilling sprint finish.
In an exciting start to the 2025 edition of La Vuelta a España, Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck clinched a thrilling victory in stage 1, held in the picturesque city of Turin.
The Belgian sprinter outpaced his rivals in a nail-biting final sprint, crossing the finish line ahead of Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) and Orluis Aular (Movistar). Alpecin-Deceuninck dominated the final kilometre of the race, setting the pace for Philipsen's triumphant finish.
The breakaway group, consisting of Alessandro Verre (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal-QuickStep), Nicolas Vinokurov (XDS-Astana), Joel Nicolau (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Koen Bouwman (Jayco-AlUla) and Hugo De La Calle (Burgos-Burpellet-BH), held a lead for much of the race. However, they were eventually reeled in by the peloton as the race approached the inevitable final sprint in Novara.
Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) showed strong intent with an impressive 9th place finish, while Madis Mihkels (EF Education-EasyPost) followed closely behind in 10th. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), who was expected to be a close challenger, finished outside the top-10.
The peloton will now take on the first uphill finish of the race at Limone Piemonte in stage two. Teams such as Visma-Lease a Bike, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and several others worked tirelessly to keep their GC favourites out of trouble through the road furniture in the final stages.
As Philipsen dons the red jersey heading into stage two, the race is wide open for further surprises and exciting battles. The team manager of Alpecin-Deceuinck at La Vuelta a España 2025 remains unidentified at this time.
In other notable finishes, Elia Viviani (Lotto) and Iván García Cortina (Movistar) finished in 5th and 6th place, respectively. Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Lidl-Trek) and Oscar Riesebeek (Alpecin-Deceuinck) rode hard for stage favourites Mads Pedersen and Jasper Philipsen. Hugo De La Calle was the last man remaining in the breakaway with 80km still to ride.
The race marked the first leaders' red jersey of the 2025 edition, and it promises to deliver more thrilling action as it progresses through the stunning landscapes of Spain.
