Puebla de Sanabria (Spain) (AFP)

The UAE Emirates team waited for the 15th stage to win in the Vuelta with the young Belgian sprinter Jasper Philipsen, winner on Thursday in Puebla de Sanabria after 230 kilometers.

Without impact on the general classification still led by the Slovenian Primoz Roglic, the longest stage of the Vuelta since ... 2005 ended with a sprint on an uphill false-flat.

To the advantage of Philipsen who beat the Germans Pascal Ackermann and Jannik Steimle.

"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time", rejoiced the young Belgian (22 years old), who had finished second in the first massive sprint of the Vuelta in the 4th stage behind the Irishman Sam Bennett, left behind. times in the last ascent.

Philipsen, who will leave the formation of the winner of the Tour, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, to join the Alpecin team at the end of the year, took the fifth success of his career, the first in a grand tour.

The strong headwind, which led the organizers to bring the start time forward, hampered the progress of the race (36 km / h finally) in wet and cold weather conditions.

The stage was opened for a long time by a breakaway of a dozen riders, among whom the French Guillaume Martin now almost assured of the best climber's jersey for the conclusion Sunday in Madrid.

- "Do not take any risk" -

In the fifth and last ascent of the day, the Italian Mattia Cattaneo left behind his eleven companions (Aranburu, LL Sanchez, Costa, Donovan, Power, Rojas, Schultz, Stannard, G. Martin, Simon, Lastra) 32 kilometers from the 'arrival.

But Cattaneo, who was aiming for the 100th success in a grand tour for Patrick Lefevere's team (Deceuninck Quick-Step), stumbled on the headwind and was joined as the last three kilometers approached by the peloton often led by the Bora team working for Ackermann.

The times being taken at 3 kilometers, the riders in the general classification got up as a precaution before the sprint in the small town of Puebla de Sanabria, near the Portuguese border.

Roglic, who kept his lead of 39 seconds over Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz and 47 seconds over Briton Hugh Carthy intact, welcomed the jury's decision.

“From what I heard, there was a little oil on the road. It was good not to take any chances.”

Friday, the 16th stage, 162 kilometers long between Salamanca and Ciudad Rodrigo, displays a hilly profile with a first category pass 35 kilometers from the finish.

"It will probably be a small group of 30-40 riders who will regroup at the head", predicts Fernando Escartin, the technical director of the Tour of Spain, about the arrival in Ciudad Rodrigo (west) where the Vuelta has arrived at twice (victories of Ullrich in 1999, of Vinokourov in 2000).

© 2020 AFP