
Wout van Aert won a sprint from a small breakaway group to claim Stage 15 of the Vuelta a España 2026 on Sunday, which was shortened because of extreme heat conditions in the south of Spain.
General Classification leader Enric Mas maintained his lead of 2 minutes, 6 seconds on Felix Gall, with four-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic a further four seconds behind.
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With temperatures crossing 40 degrees Celsius, organizers cut the planned 189.7-kilometer ride from Palma del Rio to Cordoba by around 80 kilometers, and Visma-Lease a Bike's Belgian rider Van Aert claimed his second stage win of the race. He also won Stage 13.
Van Aert pumped his fists after crossing the line ahead of Alessandro Romele and Thibau Nys, who went early but could not cope with his compatriot's power.
"We tried to surprise the bunch, we took control the whole day, and we were still there with a few strong, strong guys to help us," Van Aert said.
Visma's Matthew Brennan, who won three stages earlier in the race, was unhappy at having to ride in such high temperatures.
"We have 41C average... when I was on the climb at the start it was 44C, at that point you start thinking, 'what are we doing?'" said the Briton. "It wouldn't surprise me if there is a few bodies going home in an ambulance tonight with heatstroke."
The modified route ran 110.2 kilometers through hilly territory and began at a fast pace with a flurry of attacks.
A group of 11 riders formed a break, but the peloton stayed close, keeping the gap at 45 seconds with 50 kilometers remaining.
Norwegian rider Andreas Leknessund went solo around 39 kilometers from the end, with Ramses Debruyne coming across to him, before Van Aert, Romele and Nys did the same.
A chase group languished a minute behind. The peloton, containing the GC contenders, finished two and a half minutes behind Van Aert.
Riders have a rest day Monday before Tuesday's 16th stage, running 181.1 kilometers from La Rabida to Palos de la Frontera, expected to be another chance for the sprinters.
Vuelta a España 2026 Stage 15 Results – Top 25
- Wout van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 2:34:50 (B10)
- Alessandro Romele (XDS Astana Team) – 2:34:52 (B8)
- Thibau Nys (Lidl - Trek) – 2:34:56 (B4)
- Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin - Premier Tech) – 2:34:54 (B6)
- Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) – 2:34:56 (B4)
- Alessandro Covi (Team Jayco AlUla) – 2:35:58
- Bastien Tronchon (Groupama - FDJ United) – 2:35:58
- Henok Mulubrhan (XDS Astana Team) – 2:35:58
- Ivo Oliveira (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 2:35:58
- Stefan Küng (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 2:35:58
- Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 2:35:58
- Mats Wenzel (Equipo Kern Pharma) – 2:35:58
- Eddie Dunbar (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – 2:35:58
- Iván Cobo (Equipo Kern Pharma) – 2:35:58
- Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – 2:35:58
- Urko Berrade (Equipo Kern Pharma) – 2:35:58
- Gijs Leemreize (Team Picnic PostNL) – 2:35:58
- Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 2:36:03
- Enzo Paleni (Groupama - FDJ United) – 2:36:05
- Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) – 2:36:47
- Pau Miquel (Bahrain - Victorious) – 2:36:47
- Fabio Van den Bossche (Soudal Quick-Step) – 2:36:47
- Lorenzo Rota (Lotto Intermarché) – 2:36:47
- Matthew Brennan (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 2:36:47
- Koen Bouwman (Team Jayco AlUla) – 2:36:47
Vuelta a España 2026 Overall Standings – Top 25 After Stage 15
- Enric Mas (Movistar Team) – 52:05:34 (B22)
- Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 52:07:58 (B8)
- Primož Roglič (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 52:08:06 (B4)
- Richard Carapaz (EF Education - EasyPost) – 52:09:58
- Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS) – 52:11:40 (B10)
- Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain - Victorious) – 52:12:00 (B10)
- Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl - Trek) – 52:12:43 (B2)
- Clément Berthet (XDS Astana Team) – 52:12:45 (B12)
- Cristián Rodríguez (Groupama - FDJ United) – 52:13:17 (B2)
- Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 52:14:51
- Harold Tejada (XDS Astana Team) – 52:15:44
- Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 52:22:21
- Guillaume Martin (Groupama - FDJ United) – 52:25:13
- Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 52:31:22
- Mario Aparicio (EF Education - EasyPost) – 52:35:20
- Juan Felipe Rodriguez (Burgos Burpellet BH) – 52:44:04
- Finlay Pickering (Team Jayco AlUla) – 52:44:55
- Filippo Zana (Soudal Quick-Step) – 52:46:51
- Jan Hirt (NSN Cycling Team) – 52:09:34
- Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain - Victorious) – 52:09:22 (B16)
- Jarno Widar (Lotto Intermarché) – 52:09:39 (B6)
- Raúl García Pierna (Movistar Team) – 52:09:59
- Embret Svestad-Bårdseng (Netcompany INEOS) – 52:10:20
- Koen Bouwman (Team Jayco AlUla) – 52:16:40
- Gijs Leemreize (Team Picnic PostNL) – 53:06:22
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