Jasper Philipsen scorches into red on Vuelta a España stage 1
Already winner of the opening stage of the Tour de France, Jasper Philipsen has added the maillot rojo to the maillot jaune after he delivered a perfect sprint on stage 1 in Novara.
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is the first leader of the 2025 Vuelta a España after he scorched to victory in the bunch sprint in Novara on stage 1. The Belgian was a decisive winner ahead of Ethan Vernon (Israel Premier Tech) and Orluis Aular (Movistar).
Philipsen already won the opening stage of the Tour de France this year and wore the yellow jersey, though his race was ended in a horrific crash on stage 3. His victory in Novara capped a rapid comeback from the broken collarbone he sustained in that crash.
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) had been expected to challenge Philipsen for the first maillot rojo but the Dane surprisingly failed to make an impact in the sprint.
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is the first leader of the 2025 Vuelta a España after he scorched to victory in the bunch sprint in Novara on stage 1. The Belgian was a decisive winner ahead of Ethan Vernon (Israel Premier Tech) and Oruis Aular (Movistar).
Philipsen already won the opening stage of the Tour de France this year and wore the yellow jersey, though his race was ended in a horrific crash on stage 3. His victory in Novara capped a strikingly quick comeback from the broken collarbone he sustained in that crash.
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) had been expected to challenge Philipsen for the first maillot rojo but the Dane surprisingly failed to make an impact in the sprint.
The finale was peppered with roundabouts and Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma | Lease a Bike squad were very prominent in keeping the race favourite out of trouble. Victory Campenaerts – free of nasal hair for the occasion – was Visma’s MVP, driving on the front until deep into the 3km safety zone.
In the final 2km, Philipsen’s Alpecin-Deceuninck squad came to the fore, and although Israel Premier Tech briefly took the reins on behalf of Vernon, Jonas Rickaert and Edward Planckaert hit the front to tee up their sprinter for the win.
Philipsen struck for home inside the last 200m and his win was never in doubt. It was the 31st Grand Tour victory for his Alpecin-Deceuninck team, a sequence that began with Tim Merlier’s win on the very same finishing straight in Novara on the 2021 Giro d’Italia.
In the overall standings, Philipsen has a lead of four seconds over Vernon and Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal-QuickStep), but the fast man knows he is set to lose the jersey on the summit finish at Limone Piemonte on stage 2.
The Vuelta's first Italian start saw the race flagged away from Venaria Reale on the outskirts of the Turin, and the flat terrain was always likely to give rise to a bunch sprint for the first red jersey.
The early phase of the stage was animated by a six-man move composed of Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal-QuickStep), Nicolas Vinokurov (XDS-Astana), Joel Nicolau (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA), Koen Bouwman (Jayco-Alula), Alessandro Verre (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) and Hugo de la Calle (Burgos Burpellet BH).
The sextet gained a maximum lead of just over two minutes on the peloton, but with Alpecin-Deceuninck and Lidl-Trek eager to ensure a bunch sprint, there was never any prospect of the break going the distance.
Verre led over the day’s only climb of La Serra to take the king of the mountains jersey, and the momentum ebbed from the break soon afterwards. With 84km to go, De la Calle pressed on alone in a bid to ensure the combativity prize and the sprinters’ teams were content to grant the Spaniard his afternoon in the sun before he was swept up with 37km remaining. From there, a bunch finish was inevitable.
