Jasper Philipsen abandons Vuelta a España due to illness

Jasper Philipsen has abandoned the Vuelta a España due to illness, with his Alpecin-Fenix team saying the Belgian sprinter was suffering with a mild fever and left the Spanish Grand Tour "so as not to jeopardize the rest of his season".

Philipsen won stages 2 and 5 at the Vuelta a España and has become Fabio Jakobsen’s main rival in the other sprint finishes, finishing third on stage 8. He was also second in the points competition behind Jakobsen but did not line up for the start of stage 11 on Wednesday.