Jasper Philipsen sprung to his third victory of this year's Vuelta a España on Friday, winning a sprint finish in Guijuelo on stage 19.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider, who claimed the red jersey on the opening day, and later won stage eight, was guided to the closing uphill drag by his team-mates, where he kicked clear of his rivals.
With a glance to the left across the line, Philipsen arrived a bike length ahead of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), and clenched his fists in victory.
The win marked the sixth of the season for the Belgian, who withdrew from this year's Tour de France early following a heavy crash.
"It was a really, really tough finish line. Definitely after 11 days not going this deep, it hurts," Philipsen said in Guijuelo. "I was struggling in the wheel, but I saw the finish line and I pushed through."
The victory, he added, was the fruit of a "team job", with a nod in particular to Edward Planckaert and Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who led him out.
"With this team we try to keep the winning flow going," Philipsen said. "The guys are really experienced and they’re the best in this job. We’ll try to repeat it on Sunday [in Madrid], the final day. I’m really looking forward [to it] because it’s been a tough three weeks."
In the battle for the red jersey, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) was able to restore four bonus seconds over João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), extending his lead to 44 seconds, thanks to an opportunistic grab at the day's intermediate sprint.
How it happened
With 16 teams still winless at this year’s Vuelta, it may have been surprising at the start of stage 19 to see so few gamble on the breakaway. Unaccompanied, Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) was left to plough his own way, ahead of the peloton, towards Guijuelo.
Inside 60km to go, a routine intermediate sprint in Salamanca turned into a GC coup. Catching UAE Team Emirates-XRG unawares, Vingegaard shot out of the pack to collect four bonus seconds, after Otruba picked up maximum points. The move helped patch some of the time the Dane lost in stage 18’s time trial, in a race likely to come down to a margin of seconds.
Crosswinds then threatened on the vast roads of Castile and Léon. Vingegaard, again, was quick to react to the race unfolding, placing himself in a tearaway group around 35km from the line. When the peloton regrouped shortly after, Otruba by now swallowed up, Vingegaard kept himself attentively near the front. The gusts soon lulled, however, and the bunch bedded in for a sprint finale.
Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) led a strung-out line of riders uphill beneath the 1km-to-go banner. Alpecin-Deceuninck then stole the baton, peeling away their train for Philipsen to unleash his kick.
The Belgian, dressed in dazzling silver shoes and riding into a slight incline, hugged the right side of the barriers as he sprinted towards the gantry. Pedersen pushed him close, but there was no photo-finish needed. Philipsen claimed his hat-trick with both fists in the air.
Results
Vuelta a España stage 19: Rueda > Guijuelo (161.9km)
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck, in 3:50:35
2. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek
3. Orluis Aular (Ven) Movistar
4. Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
5. Ben Turner (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
6. Arne Marit (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty
7. Fabio Christen (Sui) Q36.5 Pro Cycling
8. Ethan Vernon (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech
9. Thibaud Gruel (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
10. Jordan Labrosse (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, all at same time
General classification after stage 19
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, in 68:57:44
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +44s
3. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +2:43
4. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +3:22
5. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +4:23
6. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, +5:21
7. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +5:24
8. Sepp Kuss (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +7:30
9. Torstein Træen (Nor) Bahrain Victorious, +7:46
10. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +10:21
