"Alpecin did a perfect lead-out" - Mads Pedersen bows before rivals as his own Green jersey is virtually secured
Cycling
Mads Pedersen was again defeated by Jasper Philipsen in a sprint at the 2025 Vuelta a Espana, but a second place is enough to secure a 100-point lead over Jonas Vingegaard who is the only rider who can at least theoretically threaten Pedersen's victory in the competition. Thus the Lidl-Trek sprinter seems well on the way to complete a Giro-Vuelta double when it comes to points classifications.
Philipsen was simply too fast on the rolling finish to Guijuelo and Pedersen seems in peace with the outcome of the stage. "It's okay," he said in a flash interview after the nineteenth stage.
"Now I'm comfortably in the green jersey. I didn't really have the best day so that we can be quite satisfied with second place. Especially since Alpecin did a perfect lead-out, ultimately, it was a solid day, and I earned some more points. It would take something crazy to lose it before Madrid."
The work of Alpecin-Deceuninck's sprint train in final kilometer was simply phenomenal, Pedersen admits. Their sprinter Philipsen still had one man in front of him while Pedersen was already out in the wind, giving it his best. Then the outcome doesn't surprise the impressed Dane.
"I was getting closer and closer, but at one point I stalled. I opened up when he still had a lead-out man in front of him, so I had to do quite a long sprint. As I said, they did a perfect lead-out."
Mads Pedersen won stage 15 from breakaway
For Pedersen to win the green jersey, the only task left is to get through the final two stages safely. The Dane is normally a decent-enough climber to not get stopped by a climb such as Bola del Mundo, but he'll still take some special measures for the major last ascent of the race.
"We have a third bike with us, the lightest bike we have. I can go very, very slowly to the top," laughs Pedersen, who compares it to a gravel gear. "We only use that in the classics, but it's close."
Orluis Aular
On a day that was expected to be a bunch sprint, Movistar Team managed to carry Orluis Aular across the line in a third place on his shoulders, and the Venezuelan finished only behind Jasper Philipsen and Mads Pedersen, the two best sprinters in the race.
"It was a very hard sprint because the finish was uphill and there was a lot of headwind. I was able to be there after the team did a perfect job to place me. I tried, we have to be happy and keep fighting until the end," began Orluis Aular afterwards.
The Venezuelan has been punching above his weight in Spain these past three weeks
"Jasper Philipsen was the strongest. There was a lot of tension because of the wind, and some teams were trying to break the race. You had to be very well protected and in front. In the end nothing strange happened, and it was a sprint that I think was quite hard. For our part we can only say that we did a good job," added Aular.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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