A method for stopping a pitch controlled wind turbine comprising a rotor with at least one blade (11), a mechanical brake (31) on the high speed shaft, a pitch system ((21, 23, 25) for adjusting the blade pitch angle, that includes: a) a first stage using the pitch system (21, 23, 25) for slowing down the rotor; b) a second stage using both the pitch system (21, 23, 25) and the mechanical brake (31) for stopping the rotor. The second stage begins when one of the following conditions takes place: the high speed shaft rotational speed is under a predefined value So; a predefined time delay To with respect to the beginning of the first stage is reached; a predefined high speed shaft torque level TLo is reached.