Córdoba (Spain) (AFP) - Wout van Aert won a sprint from a small breakaway group to claim stage 15 of the Vuelta a Espana on Sunday, which was shortened because of extreme heat conditions in the south of Spain.

General classification leader Enric Mas maintained his 2min 6sec lead on Felix Gall, with four-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic a further four seconds behind.

With temperatures crossing 40C organisers cut the planned 189.7 kilometre ride from Palma del Rio to Cordoba by around 80km, and Visma-Lease a Bike’s Belgian rider Van Aert claimed his second stage win of the race.

Van Aert pumped his fists after crossing the line ahead of Alessandro Romele and Thibau Nys, who went early but could not cope with his compatriot’s power.

“We tried to surprise the bunch, we took control the whole day, and we were still there with a few strong, strong guys to help us,” said Van Aert.

Visma’s Matthew Brennan, who won three stages earlier in the race, was unhappy at having to ride in such high temperatures.

“We have 41C average… when I was on the climb at the start it was 44C, at that point you start thinking, ‘what are we doing?’”,” said the Briton.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if there is a few bodies going home in an ambulance tonight with heatstroke.”

The modified route ran 110.2km through hilly territory and began at a fast pace with a flurry of attacks.

A group of 11 riders formed a break but the peloton stayed close, keeping the gap at 45 seconds with 50km remaining.

Norwegian rider Andreas Leknessund went solo around 39km from the end, with Ramses Debruyne coming across to him, before Van Aert, Romele and Nys did the same.

A chase group languished a minute behind. The peloton, containing the general classification contenders, finished two-and-a-half minutes behind Van Aert.

Riders have a rest day on Monday before Tuesday’s 16th stage, running 181.1km from La Rabida to Palos de la Frontera, expected to be another chance for the sprinters.