09/06/26 12:32:00
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09/06 12:31 CDT Van Aert wins shortened Spanish Vuelta stage amid extreme heat,
Mas keeps overall lead
Van Aert wins shortened Spanish Vuelta stage amid extreme heat, Mas keeps
overall lead
CORDOBA, Spain (AP) --- Wout van Aert pulled away to win the Spanish Vuelta
15th stage that was shortened because of extreme temperatures in southern Spain.
Enric Mas safely held on Sunday to his overall lead entering the final week of
the Grand Tour.
The temperature neared 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) when Van
Aert crossed the finish line in a stage shortened from 189 kilometers to 110
kilometers (117 miles to 68 miles) because of the heat.
Race organizers altered the stage with "the aim of protecting the health of the
riders and ensuring the best possible conditions for the competition." The Tour
de France also had a stage shortened because of a heatwave in France in July.
It was in Cordoba two years ago that Van Aert took his second win in the
Spanish Vuelta.
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider had also won the 13th stage on Friday. On Sunday,
the Belgian had the best final kick to the line from the group of five riders
challenging in the final sprint. Alessandro Romele of XDS Astana finished
second, ahead of Thibau Nys of Lidl-Trek.
"Most of the days that we thought we were able to win, we won actually," Van
Aert said. "That's pretty impressive. And on a stage like today, how we took
control as a team is something to be really proud of. I have to be very
grateful for the work of the boys again."
Mas kept an overall lead of more than two minutes over Flix Gall of Decathlon
CMA CGM. Primo? Roglic is third.
Mas of Movistar has led the race since Tour champion Tadej Pogacar withdrew
following a crash the previous weekend that has ended his season. He is trying
to win the race for the first time after finishing runner-up in 2018, 2021 and
2022. No Spaniard has won the Vuelta since Alberto Contador in 2014.
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