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The man who always finished second in the Tour now wins the stages in the Vuelta

Barcelona“I’m not clear what has changed, but now I’m in high spirits, with confidence; it’s like a dream,” says Belgian cyclist Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Fenix). At the age of 23, the Belgian has won the second stage of the Vuelta. A magnificent booty, because we have just taken five stages of the Spanish classic. And in almost half he ended up with a mask that couldn’t hide a laugh from ear to ear on the podium. In the Tour de France a few weeks ago, Philipsen was already knocking on the door finishing third on stage two times. Now it’s his turn to be the first, although when he says he doesn’t know what has changed he cheats a bit. One of the things that has changed is that the British Mark Cavendish is not taking part in the Vuelta, who was always ahead of him in France in his attempt to become the cyclist with the most stage victories in the Tour.

Philipsen, however, is consolidating its candidacy to be one of the big dominators of sprinting in cycling in the coming years, which makes you a value in the market, because the teams want to make sure they have those runners enough legs to give you the stages where everything seemed equal. Stages such as this fifth of the Vuelta, between Tarancón and Albacete (184.4 km), one of those stages in which the wind blows inside the caper of all cyclists. Team leaders keep warning of the dangers of the wind, and yet the group is always cut short. There is always a fall; in this case, when less than 12 miles were missing. A fall of those in which a barricade rises in the middle of the road full of legs and wheels. Estonian Rein Taaramäe, who was the leader, ended up trapped in this human barrier, and lost enough time to also fall from the first position of the general. The jersey ended up on the shoulders of Frenchman Kenny Elissonde (Trek), almost without him expecting it. Elissonde, in fact, is a race climber, one of those who attacks when the road scares, as he has shown in the past in the Vuelta by winning the Angliru. Today, however, he has climbed to the top of the overall in a flat stage. And all under the dreaded gaze of the Slovenian Primoz Roglic, the big favorite. Elissonde takes just five seconds to Roglic, who always seems to control the situation while waiting for the moment to attack and head for his third consecutive victory in the Vuelta. Yes, there is still a long way to go, but Roglic is already ahead of his rivals. Only the Mallorcan from Movistar Enric Mas can hold his pulse, for the moment, 20 seconds from the lead.

The stage, despite a run that for many kilometers seemed to be able to succeed, ended in a sprint after crossing La Mancha with its wind, so dangerous. And Philipsen won the sprint over the Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck), who was unable to add a second consecutive victory, and the Italian Alberto Dainese (Ag2r Citroen). It is the third stage victory in the Vuelta del jove flamenco, because in 2020 it had already won once. The sixth stage, this Thursday, promises emotions between Requena and the Cullera mountain pass (158.3 km).

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