According to BBC, the Israel-Premier Tech team raced in modified jerseys that did not display their team name, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led an attack on southern Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages. In response, Israel launched a campaign in Gaza, where at least 63,633 people have been killed since, according to Gaza's health ministry.
In the race, Pedersen, riding for Lidl-Trek, achieved his first victory of this year's Vuelta with a decisive sprint finish. He overtook Italy's Marco Frigo, who was riding for Israel-Premier Tech, in the final stretch of the medium mountain stage, completing it in four hours, two minutes, and 13 seconds. Venezuela's Orluis Aular finished in second place. Pedersen credited his team for their hard work in the breakaway, which provided him the opportunity to win the stage.
The peloton, which included Vingegaard and other main contenders, finished 13-and-a-half minutes after Pedersen. Following a rest day on Monday, the Vuelta a Espana resumes with stage 16, a 167.9km route featuring another medium mountain stage from Poio to Castro de Herville.
The stage 15 results saw Mads Pedersen finishing first, followed by Orluis Aular and Marco Frigo. The general classification after stage 15 has Jonas Vingegaard maintaining the lead, with Jay Vine in second place, followed by Joao Almeida in third.
