Stage 15 from A Veiga/Vegadeo to Monforte de Lemos was always set up for the breakaway, and from the drop of the flag the racing was chaotic. Jakub Otruba was the first rider to attack, building a gap of over a minute before the first serious climbing of the Puerto da Garganta. He was soon joined by Jay Vine and Michał Kwiatkowski, the Australian cresting the summit first to strengthen his grip on the mountains jersey.
Behind them, the peloton was shredded by relentless attacking. Groups kept forming and reforming, with Lidl-Trek among the most aggressive, sending multiple riders forward to make sure Mads Pedersen was covered. Eventually the chasers caught the leaders, and for a long spell a giant group of over 40 riders pressed on at the head of the race. Among them were Vine, Pedersen, Giulio Ciccone, Egan Bernal, Junior Lecerf, Magnus Sheffield and Orluis Aular. With so much firepower in front and Lidl-Trek heavily represented through Pedersen, Ciccone, Bernard, Ghebreigzabhier and Verona, the peloton gave up the chase. The gap ballooned beyond seven minutes, then to over ten, locking in that the winner would come from the move.
The Alto de Barbeitos provided another springboard, where Vine and Louis Vervaeke attacked together. They opened a gap of 30 seconds, then pushed it out to more than two minutes as Lidl-Trek once again used their riders behind to keep the chasing group rolling and ensure Pedersen remained in contention. The duo worked seamlessly for over 100km, stubbornly holding off the chase even as fatigue set in. Their advantage hovered between two and three minutes, but with 40km to go the balance began to shift.
Attacks finally began to fly from behind. Santiago Buitrago surged, quickly joined by Bernal and then Pedersen, who showed his strength by following every dangerous move. That trio opened daylight before being reinforced by Sheffield, Aular, Dunbar and Frigo. This seven-man chase operated smoothly, slicing the deficit down to 20 seconds and having Vine and Vervaeke in sight as the roads straightened towards Monforte.
With just over 7km to go, the junction was made. Bernal immediately countered, trying to snap the elastic again, while Vine and Vervaeke desperately clung on after their long day out front. Pedersen, however, was alert, shutting down the attacks one by one. The group of nine – Pedersen, Aular, Frigo, Buitrago, Dunbar, Bernal, Sheffield, Vine and Vervaeke – entered the final kilometre together.
Drama struck on the last corner when Sheffield lost his front wheel and crashed, leaving eight men to contest the sprint. Frigo was the first to open up, launching early on the finishing straight, but Pedersen sat poised on his wheel. When the Dane kicked, he simply overpowered the rest, storming into clear air. Aular tried to follow but could not stay in the slipstream, while Frigo clung on for third ahead of the others.
Behind, the peloton was never a factor. Bahrain Victorious took responsibility to keep the gap manageable and protect Torstein Træen’s place in the top ten overall, but they rolled in over 13 minutes down. Junior Lecerf, Giulio Ciccone and Bernal all banked significant GC gains, while Pedersen celebrated his long-awaited first win of this Vuelta – his 11th career Grand Tour stage victory.
2025 Vuelta a Espana Stage 15 result
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Main photo credit: Getty
