Wout van Aert won stage 15 of the Vuelta a España in Córdoba after launching an aggressive late move from the peloton. The Visma-Lease a Bike rider attacked at the intermediate sprint with about 30km remaining and helped form the decisive five-rider group.
Van Aert tried to go clear over the final uncategorised climb, then covered repeated attacks in the closing kilometres. He stayed composed in the front group before powering past Thibau Nys in the final sprint.
Wout van Aert seizes late opportunity
The Belgian finished the shortened 110km stage from Palma del Río to Córdoba in 2:35:00. Alessandro Romele of XDS Astana took second, with Nys third for Lidl-Trek. Ramses Debruyne and Andreas Leknessund completed the lead group at the same time.
Van Aert now has two stage victories in three days at this Vuelta. He also strengthened his hold on the points classification, where teammate Matthew Brennan remains his nearest challenger. With six stages left, the green jersey looks firmly under Visma-Lease a Bike control.
After the finish, Van Aert said Visma tried to “surprise the bunch” after controlling much of the day. He added that he sensed the chance at the intermediate sprint, calling it “how I like to race.”
Visma-Lease a Bike have now taken five stages through Van Aert and Brennan. Van Aert praised his teammates for controlling a difficult day and creating another winning opportunity.
Heat forces organisers to shorten stage 15
Race organisers cut the stage from 190km to 110km because temperatures in Andalusia reached highs of 40°C. The heat affected the bunch throughout the day, with riders even seeking bottles from rival teams during the stage.
An 11-rider breakaway formed early, including Ethan Hayter of Soudal Quick-Step and Uno-X Mobility’s Andreas Leknessund. The peloton kept the move close, rarely allowing the gap above one minute.
Georg Steinhauser bridged across with about 70km remaining, increasing the lead group to 12 riders. Visma-Lease a Bike and Cofidis continued to manage the gap, suggesting a sprint remained likely before the race reached the Puerto Artafi.
Leknessund attacked on the 5.9km climb, which averaged 5.5%, and took maximum mountains points. Debruyne joined him on the descent before Van Aert and Romele bridged across through the intermediate sprint.
Nys then made contact, creating the decisive five-rider front group. Chasers tried to organise behind, but poor cooperation prevented them from closing. The leaders held almost a minute over the chase entering Córdoba and nearly two minutes over the peloton.
Nys attacked just over 3km from the line, with Debruyne following immediately. Leknessund also tried twice, including inside the final few hundred metres. His last move placed him in the wind before Nys opened the sprint around 300 metres out.
Van Aert used Nys as a leadout and came past to win convincingly. Alessandro Covi won the sprint from the next group for sixth, 58 seconds behind. The general classification contenders finished safely in the peloton nearly three minutes down.
Enric Mas retained the overall lead for Movistar before the second rest day. He leads Felix Gall of Decathlon CMA CGM by 2:06 and Primož Roglič of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe by 2:10. The final week still includes an individual time trial and two summit finishes.
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