Belgian cyclist Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) donned the first red leader’s jersey of La Vuelta 2025 after winning the sprint this Saturday in the first stage of the Spanish race, covering 186.1 kilometers between the Italian towns of Turin and Novara.
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The Belgian sprinter, who was only able to race three stages of the 2025 Tour de France and briefly wore the yellow jersey after also winning the first stage before a crash ended his adventure, signed up last minute for La Vuelta and showed his strength in the finish at Novara.
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Thanks to a great launch from his team, Philipsen crossed the finish line first ahead of British rider Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) and Venezuelan rider Orluis Aular (Movistar). Now, after adding the bonuses, the Belgian leads the general classification with a four-second advantage over Vernon and Dutch rider Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal-Quick Step), who dominated the intermediate sprint.
The Spanish round will face its second stage this Sunday, still in Italian lands, covering 159.6 kilometers between the town of Alba and the ski resort of Limone Piemonte. It will be the first high-altitude finish of the race, all after a predominantly flat route, with final ramps at 5%.
Who is the favorite for La Vuelta 2025?
Without Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), by far the best rider in the world and recent winner of the Tour, nor other standout riders like Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), the top favorite for La Vuelta is Jonas Vingegaard (Visma - Lease a Bike), who just finished second once again in “La Grande Boucle” behind “Pogi”.
Possible threats for the Dane could be Juan Ayuso and Joao Almeida from UAE Team Emirates; Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), and even Matteo Jorgenson, who is also part of the Visma team.