Wout van Aert claimed his second victory in three stages at the Vuelta a Espana after winning a five-rider sprint at the end of a shortened stage 15 in Cordoba on Sunday.
The Visma Lease a Bike rider covered every attack from his four breakaway companions in the closing kilometres before producing a late surge just before the finish line to beat Alessandro Romele of XDS Astana and Lidl-Trek's Thibau Nys.
"We tried to surprise the bunch by controlling the whole day. We were still there with a few strong guys, and I knew people would not expect the attack. I smelled the moment on the intermediate sprint and with Matthew (Brennan) behind there was no risk to try," Van Aert said.
"We always had a good option in the bunch. That’s how I like to race.”
The medium mountain stage from Palma del Rio to Cordoba was originally scheduled to cover 189.7 kilometres, but organisers removed 79.5km from the middle of the route after activating the Extreme Weather Protocol following several days of severe heat.
Race leader Enric Mas and his main general classification rivals finished together after Movistar controlled the chase behind the decisive breakaway and Mas will carry the red jersey into Monday's second rest day.
