Vuelta a España: Jasper Philipsen wins crash-marred stage 5

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Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) won his second stage of the Vuelta a España, coming out on top in the hectic sprint finish during stage 5 in Albacete.

At the end of what was largely a quiet day of racing, the Belgian beat Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) to the line, with Alberto Dainese (Team DSM) taking third as the race leadership switched hands after a late crash.

Elsewhere, red jersey Rein Taaramäe (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) trailed home at 2:21 down after being held up by the mass crash in the peloton 11 kilometres from the line, handing the race lead over to Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) as a result.

"It makes it even more beautiful if you see the final five kilometres how we were there together all with the team. I cannot describe that," said Philipsen, who now leads Jakobsen by a single point in the points classification.

"This team, we haven't been riding so long together but it's incredible what we all do for each other, and I think it's so beautiful to finish it off together.

"After yesterday I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't do my sprint how I wanted but to win today is super nice to turn a page from yesterday and enjoy this moment together with the team.

"It's not particularly that I'm already thinking about the end of the Vuelta and the green jersey but it's nice to wear it day by day and then we'll just see how far we can get."

Philipsen led from the front in the sprint, benefitting from the most organised lead out in the finale. He hit the wind at 200 metres to go with Dainese and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (Qhubeka NextHash) positioned on his wheel.

Jakobsen's positioning proved to be his undoing, with the Dutchman having to come from around sixth wheel to go the long way around to pass the South African. He was in clear air at the 100-metre mark, and managed to pass Dainese, but Philipsen was already in clear air, poised to celebrate, and set for victory by that point.

Further back, Elissonde's 23rd position on the day assured him of the red jersey for Thursday's hilltop finish at the Alto de la Montaña de Cullera, with the Frenchman now leading Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) by five seconds in the general classification.

All but one of the GC contenders came home safely in the peloton, with Romain Bardet (Team DSM) going down in the crash and losing over 12:32 at the finish.

How it unfolded

The fifth stage of the Vuelta a España took the peloton south across the central region of Castilla-La Mancha, a flat 184-kilometre ride from Tarancón to Albacete and another day for the sprinters.

No categorised climbs lay en route for the riders, with only a few small lumps coming on the stage along with an intermediate sprint after 132 kilometres of racing.

With little to battle for during the course of the stage, barring TV time and a tiny chance of victory, there wasn't much stomach for a battle to make the break of the day as the flag dropped at kilometre zero.

Pelayo Sanchez (Burgos-BH), Oier Lazkano (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), and Xabier Mikel Azparren (Euskaltel-Euskadi) were the three men who jumped away from the peloton at the very start of the day, the trio encountering no resistance as they ventured out into what would be the break of the day.

No other riders attempted to make it out front, as the break jumped out to a seven-minute lead at the end of the first hour of racing. Back in the peloton, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert did the work on the front on behalf of race leader Rein Taaramäe.

Alpecin-Fenix and Deceuninck-QuickStep – working for sprinters Jasper Philipsen and Fabio Jakobsen – were also present at the front in the early kilometres of what would certainly be a day for the fastmen. Groupama-FDJ also sent men to the front to work for stage 4 runner-up Arnaud Démare.

It was a largely quiet day out on the road, with little incident in the peloton and nothing to fight for in the break until they reached the intermediate sprint at 53 kilometres to go.

There, it was Lazkano who took the maximum points, leading Sanchez and Azparren across the line. Back in the peloton it was Philipsen who won the sprint for 13 points ahead of Démare on 10.

Following that touch of drama, a new group of teams took charge of the peloton as the GC-focused squads of Jumbo-Visma, Ineos Grenadiers, and Movistar, among others, moved up in anticipation of crosswinds on the run to the finish.

With 34 kilometres to go, Sanchez was the first man to drop from the break, falling backwards as the peloton lurked two minutes further back down the road. Lazkano and Azparren continued on into the headwind, which would switch to a crosswind at the 30-kilometre mark as the road turned to the south.

The break's advantage had fallen to 1:30 at the 25-kilometre mark, following an upping of pace at the head of the peloton, while Azparren didn't last much longer out front, dropping back with 22 kilometres to go.

Deceuninck-QuickStep and Groupama-FDJ were back on the front inside the last 20 kilometres, the teams driving the pace on along with several other squads, though the wind wasn't strong enough to provoke any echelons in the peloton.

Lazkano was finally brought back just inside the final 16 kilometres as Deceuninck-QuickStep pushed on at the front, his efforts enough to secure the combativity prize for the day. However, the smooth, quick run to the line was disrupted at 11 kilometres to go following a large crash in the middle of the peloton.

Red jersey Taaramäe was caught up for the second day running after Danish champion Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel Start-Up Nation) fell victim to a touch of wheels near the front of the peloton. While many of those involved were back up and running with minimal fuss, Bardet and Mikel Nieve (Team BikeExchange) were among those still on the ground minutes later.

A visible slowdown in the peloton followed the pileup as groups of felled riders made it back on, while Bardet – sporting a torn-up jersey – got back on his bike to finish the stage, albeit minutes behind the peloton.

With the crash happening late in the day, the peloton couldn't continue the slow pace to the line, duly getting back up to speed with five kilometres to run. The red jersey was still in trouble though, with Taaramäe still chasing at a minute and a half down.

Alpecin-Fenix took charge on the front of the peloton heading into the final two kilometres, with UAE Team Emirates moving up to join them shortly after. Deceuninck-QuickStep and Groupama-FDJ were also present at the front in what turned out to be a messy drive to the line.

Philipsen's squad came back at the perfect time in the final kilometre, delivering what turned out to be the most organised lead out of the sprint teams, resulting in their man taking victory by a clear bike length ahead of Jakobsen.