Van Aert triumphs after Vuelta stage shortened

Cordoba, Spain - Wout van Aert secured his second victory in three stages at the Vuelta a Espana after triumphing in a five-man sprint at the conclusion of a shortened stage 15 in Cordoba on Sunday. The Visma Lease a Bike cyclist managed to outpace his four breakaway team members in the final kilometers and delivered a final push just before reaching the finish line, surpassing both Alessandro Romele of XDS Astana and Lidl-Trek's Thibaut Nys.

Van Aert revealed that they aimed to surprise the field by dominating the day, and he sensed an opportunity for an attack during an intermediate sprint. With Matthew Brennan riding behind, there was no hesitation to attempt the move. The medium mountain stage, originally planned to be 189.7 kilometers long, saw 79.5 kilometers removed from the middle due to the activation of the Extreme Weather Protocol following a series of intense heat days.

Race leader Enric Mas, alongside his main general classification contenders, finished together after the Movistar team effectively controlled the pursuit behind the decisive breakaway, leaving Mas to carry the red jersey into the second rest day of the race.