Philipsen rediscovers rhythm to sprint to Vuelta stage one win

Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck won stage one of the Vuelta a Espana in a sprint finish on Saturday to take the red jersey in a repeat of his heroics in the first stage of the Tour de France where he registered his last Grand Tour stage win.

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Philipsen had also taken the yellow jersey at last month's Tour before a serious crash, where he fractured his collarbone and needed surgery, ruled him out of the rest of the race two days later.

With a score to settle, the 27-year-old Belgian had the perfect lead-out from Alpecin-Deceuninck as he roared down the final stretch on the inside to claim victory ahead of Ethan Vernon of ProTeam Israel-Premier Tech and Movistar’s Orluis Aular.

"Winning is always a nice feeling and definitely when there is a reward like the red jersey, of course it's a nice present," Philipsen said.