MADRID, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The 2025 Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain) cycle race will largely be decided in Saturday's mountain stage, which ends with the 2,250-meter-high climb to the 'Bola del Mundo' after Friday's stage 19 ended in a sprint finish.
The relatively flat 161-kilometer ride from Rueda to Guijuelo (regions famed for their wine and cured ham) offered one of the few remaining chances for sprinters. For much of the day, the peloton rolled at under 40 kilometers an hour as both Visma and UAE conserved energy for Saturday's decisive showdown. But the pace surged in the final 40 kilometers, with teams shutting down every breakaway attempt to set up a bunch sprint.
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) showed he was the fastest sprinter in the race as he claimed his third stage of La Vuelta, finishing two bike-lengths ahead of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek).
"After 11 stages without going deep, it was a really tough finish," said Philipsen, who said he was "looking forward to a repeat on Sunday's last stage."
The sprint didn't alter the overall standings of race favorites Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease-A-Bike) or Joao Almeida (UAE-Team Emirates-XRG), although Vingegaard caught Almeida's UAE team off guard at the intermediate sprint in Salamanca to take four bonus seconds that extended his lead over the Portuguese rider to 44 seconds.
La Vuelta will conclude on Sunday in Madrid. ■
