For much of the sprint, Jasper Philipsen looked out of contention. But as sprints often go, riders can appear out of nowhere\u2014and the Belgian delivered. With a bold move past Elia Viviani, Philipsen surged ahead to take his second stage win of the 2025 Vuelta. Relief was evident at the Flame of Ham after several punishing days in the mountains. \u201cWe suffered in the mountains to get here,\u201d Philipsen said, beaming after the finish.<\/p>\n
The stage briefly mirrored the chaos of stage 4, when Philipsen had been trapped behind his own lead-out. Once again, he found himself boxed in during the final sprint. Classic.<\/p>\n
Determined not to repeat the mistake, he seized a gap between Viviani and the barriers, ultimately sliding through to victory. \u201cWe won, so we have no reason to complain,\u201d he said to Sporza<\/a>. \u201cBut I did lose the wheel of my teammate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey did another great lead-out, only I wasn\u2019t there. I tried to communicate, but that is of course difficult in the final kilometre,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Philipsen added that he had to navigate the wind on his own, with his legs feeling like concrete. Even so, he proved fastest in the sprint. \u201cYes, luckily I was just able to win. I am very happy, also because the work of the team was not in vain.\u201d<\/p>\n The victory marked Philipsen\u2019s 15th Grand Tour stage win. \u201cBut every victory in the Giro, Tour or Vuelta remains special,\u201d he noted. \u201cYou often suffer in the mountains to get here.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead, he acknowledged that the Vuelta will become more challenging, with few sprint opportunities remaining. \u201cFrom now on it will indeed be a difficult Vuelta, but two victories always make it a little easier.\u201d<\/p>\n Hopefully the sprinters enjoyed the flat day\u2014things get brutal from here. Stage 9 runs from Alfaro to Estaci\u00f3n de Esqu\u00ed de Valdezcaray (195.5 km) with a summit finish that no sprinter will like. While the GC contenders battle, the fast men will drop into the gruppetto and do some math to make the time cut\u2014they all will, they\u2019re pros.<\/p>\n