Stage hunters had a spectacular rendezvous on day 13 of La Vuelta 26, and they didn’t fail to light up the day with relentless attacks over the many hills between Almuñécar and Loja (192.8 km). Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) eventually put the hammer down with 3.5 kilometres to go. Only Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) managed to follow, but there was no resisting the Belgian superstar in the final sprint. With the green jersey, Van Aert took his first victory in La Vuelta 26 after claiming three stages two years ago. Also part of the day’s 43-man breakaway, Matthew Brennan completes the top 3 to make it an even more special day for Visma-Lease a Bike. Among the GC contenders, Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) also raced at the front, eventually gaining over two minutes on his rivals on the eve of a grueling mountain showdown to Sierra de la Pandera.
A day for the attackers? Today’s course between Almuñécar (Carlos Rodriguez’s hometown) and Loja (192.8 km) is packed with uphills (3,404 metres of elevation gain), including the cat. 1 climb of the Alto de la Venta de la Cebada. This demanding ascent features early in the stage, before the Alto del Legionario (cat. 2), and then the Puerto de Granada (cat. 2) to enter the final 50 kilometres of the stage. Then, it’s essentially the downhill and a flat run-in to the finish.
An impressive 43-man breakaway
A significant part of the peloton announce at the start they want to make the breakaway. A fierce battle ensues, with a flurry of attacks up and down the Alto del Venta de la Cebada (summit at km 31.2). Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) leads the way to the summit ahead of Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious).
Past the Alto del Venta de la Cebada, a 43-man breakaway is established with Van Aert, Buitrago, as well as Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike), Andreas Leknessund and his Uno-X Mobility teammates Andreas Kron, Magnus Cort, and Simon Dalby… Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) is the main GC threat as the Dane started the stage seventh overall (+8’05’’).
A relentless battle
The battle rages on at the front while EF Education-EasyPost and Movistar set the pace in the peloton. Onto the climb up the Alto del Legionario (km 83.4), eleven riders set off from the front group. Axel Laurance (Netcompany Ineos) crashes and lets ten riders lead the way: Kevin Vermaerke (UAE Emirates XRG), Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike), Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM), Clément Berthet, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet (Groupama-FDJ United), Andreas Kron, Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility), Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost), Cristian Rodriguez (XDS Astana), and Lars Craps (Lotto Intermarché).
They start the final ascent of the day, Puerto de Granada (km 155.4), with a gap of 40’’ to the chasers, and 4’50’’ to the peloton. With such gaps, Skjelmose moves up to the fourth place in the virtual GC. Oscar Onley’s Netcompany Ineos collaborate with Movistar to try and reduce the gap.
Van Aert and Brennan master the finale
A handful of riders bridge the gap from the chase group to the front of the race in the final kilometre of ascent: Van Aert, Buitrago, Laurance, Skjelmose, Dalby, as well as Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Valentin Paret-Peintre, Filippo Zana (Soudal Quick-Step), Jarno Widar (Lotto Intermarché)… More chasers return on the downhill, but Visma-Lease a Bike force another move with Van Aert, Brennan and seven rivals: Fisher-Black, Vermaerke, Bisiaux, Paret-Peintre, Dalby, Albanese and Widar.
Attacks keep flying, but the Visma-Lease a Bike duo keep things under control until Van Aert puts the hammer down with 3.5 km to go. Paret-Peintre is the only rider on his wheel. He opens the sprint but can’t defeat the Belgian superstar, who takes his first stage win in this editions of La Vuelta. Brennan sprints to the third place and the peloton finish with a gap of 3 minutes, 2’10’’ behind Skjelmose.
