Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen will wear the first red jersey of this year’s Vuelta a Espana after winning the opening stage in a sprint finish.

It is the Belgian’s first stage victory since the opening day of the Tour de France at the start of July, two days before a broken collarbone sustained in a serious crash ruled him out of the rest of the race.

The 27-year-old surged down the final straight following a lead-out from his Alpecin–Deceuninck team-mates, claiming victory ahead of Britain’s 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.

“After my crash in the Tour, I was really disappointed to be out. It was a setback. This was a nice goal, but I knew we only had one chance because there aren’t many opportunities for a sprinter like me at this Vuelta.”

Tom Pidcock, tipped as Britain’s great hope after impressing at his new Q36.5 team this season, finished ninth.

The 2025 Vuelta a Espana is starting outside of Spain for the sixth time, and the first time in Italy, with the largely flat 186.1km ride going from Turin to the town of Novara.

Alessandro Verre claimed King of the Mountains points on the only categorised climb of the day on the ascent at La Serra, ahead of Joel Nicolau.

Sunday’s second stage remains in Italy’s Piedmont region, with the 159.6km route beginning in Alba and ending with a 9.8km climb to the ski resort of Limone Piemonte.

Four-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar is not competing in this year’s race as he focuses his attention on September’s World Championships.