Philipsen had to give it everything for special Vuelta win: “My legs were like concrete”

Philipsen opened this year’s Vuelta in style, winning stage 1 and earning a day in the red leader’s jersey. But in stage 4, a missed connection with his lead-out cost him a second win, as Ben Turner managed to hold him off. After a few punishing days in the mountains, the fast men got another opportunity in Zaragoza, and despite a chaotic final kilometer, Philipsen capitalized. In the final meters, he surged past Italian sprinter Elia Viviani.

“We won, so I can’t complain,” Philipsen said in his flash interview. “In the finale I lost my lead-out’s wheel. They delivered another great lead-out, but I wasn’t in the right spot,” he admitted. “I tried to communicate, but that’s hard in the final kilometer. I had to find my own way and that meant I caught more wind. I only came really late, with legs that seemed to be made out of concrete, but I still managed to win at the last second. I’m really happy I could reward the team’s work.”

This win in Zaragoza was a meaningful one for Philipsen: it marked his 15th Grand Tour stage victory, and his fifth in the Vuelta. “Every grand tour win is special. It’s never easy, you have to suffer for days in the mountains just to be in the position to fight for a stage. It’s going to be a very tough Vuelta from now on, but having two wins already makes it a bit easier,” he concluded.

After the stage, lead-out man Edward Planckaert gave his reaction to Eurosport: “The final 15 kilometers were very hectic. But we had confidence in each other. The sprint itself was chaotic too. I didn’t realize what was happening behind me. I just followed Jonas (Rickaert) and did my lead-out. Jasper came from further back. It wasn’t perfect, I saw he had to dive through a small gap, but it worked out in the end.”