Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) launched the first serious attempt at the overall victory of the Vuelta a España on the stage to the Puerto de Ancares. The Slovenian rode far ahead of all his rivals on the steep climb, on which leader Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R) lost 1.55 minutes. Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) won the stage after a stage in which Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) made a mad dash.
Before the final climb, the riders had 168 kilometers to cover, including three categorized climbs. Here, the Alto Campo del Arbre (5.0 kilometers at 5.8 percent), Alto o Portel (7.7 kilometers at 5.4 percent), and Puerto de Lumeras (6.6 kilometers at 6.0 percent) were considered warm-ups for the finale. Breakaway riders consequently took advantage of this first stage to attack. The counter finally stopped at 23 riders over the summit of the day's first climb. Van Aert took the three mountain points and, thus, the virtual lead for the polka dot jersey.
In addition to Van Aert, Woods, Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech), Sam Oomen (Lidl-Trek), Marc Soler, Jay Vine and Brandon McNulty (UAE), Gijs Leemreize (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla), Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) and Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-Quick Step) were among those in the front. The peloton was okay with this. There was no danger with Jose Felix Parra of Equipo Kern Pharma, who had been more than thirty minutes away from GC leader Ben O'Connor, as the best classified. After forty kilometers of racing, the gap had already increased to nearly six minutes.
When the lead at the foot of the Alto O Portel was now nine minutes and even eleven minutes at the summit, the question was raised: who are the best climbers at the front? Woods? Soler? McNulty? Vine? There, it did stick; the leading group thus had an excellent opportunity for stage success. Indeed, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale did little in the peloton to close the gap, waiting for other teams to do so. But was anyone interested in getting the breakaway riders back? Or did we once again get two races for the price of one?
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Breakaway gets considerable lead, Van Aert with UAE duo (and Campenaerts) on track
UAE-Team Emirates attacked fiercely on the day's second climb, with three men in the breakaway. Soler and Vine upped the pace and rode away, hunting for mountain points. And who was able to join them? Right, Van Aert. After a strong sprint against Vine, he picked up five more mountain points. The three then headed into the descent with a 15-second lead, with the twenty behind knowing that a long stretch of valley was coming up after the descent. It was not ideal for the breakaway riders; Van Aert didn't take over either. The 23 came back together.
After the first two climbs, a long status quo followed. The breakaway group added a few more minutes, and the peloton took it easy, knowing that the worst was yet to come. The Puerto de Lumeras, the third climb of the stage, was waiting for them. The Belgians finally wanted to escape in the phase leading up to the climb. Campenaerts and Van Aert teamed up and got the always thoughtful Schmid. Simon Guglielmi wanted the same, but it was simply too fast.
The group behind counted about 20 riders and thus quite solid in size. UAE-Team Emirates had to start moving, but soon there was half a minute on the counter. That gap only increased as the road went up false flat, warming up for the climb. At the foot of the Puerto de Lumeras was another intermediate sprint, where Van Aert could also pick up some more points for the green. How impressive! With Woods, Vine, McNulty, Soler, Asgreen, Oomen, Schmid, and Leemreize all joined, the climb could begin without Campenaerts, who could no longer keep up under the ferocity.
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Movistar puts pressure on O'Connor heading into final
So, did anything happen in the peloton? Yes indeed! After a sleepy pace from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, Enric Mas put his men from Movistar in front to put some pressure on O'Connor and the rest. The nine leaders now had a 17-minute lead, so it was time to do something about it. At the front, they already knew they could ride for the day's victory, so the tactical racing could begin. UAE-Team Emirates had to use its surplus of three riders, attacking first with Vine and then with Soler.
It seemed like the perfect tactic, but it was beyond the capabilities of Van Aert's tireless legs. He rode everything close at a tight pace, and when Soler seemed to create a gap with yet another attack that he couldn't close, an unprecedented acceleration from the Belgian below the summit was enough to bash over it, adding another five mountain points. In the downhill, UAE put pressure once again, but it slightly overshot it. McNulty slid under the railing in a turn, and Vine slipped out of fright. Two UAEs were down; fortunately, both could continue (somewhat battered).
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Logically, the crash broke up the leading group. Van Aert saw Schmid, Oomen, and Woods stay in his wheel, and Soler could still cross. Five guys left, ready for the steep final climb to Puerto de Ancares. Once at the foot, Van Aert's fairy tale was over: the Belgian slowed down, knowing this was too much even for him.
Schmid accelerated quite smoothly, but it was a losing battle. Woods had an arrival to his liking and, as a former runner, danced away from the others, heading for victory in his Israel-Premier Tech jersey. Schmid and Soler shared the remaining podium places, with Oomen finishing the stage in fourth.
In the peloton, meanwhile, they also flashed into the foot of the climb at full speed. Movistar did the intro; then Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe took care of the first lanes of the climb. Giovanni Aleotti immediately pushed hard, eliminating Adam Yates (UAE-Team Emirates), the number eight of the GC—an unlucky day for that team.
After Aleotti, it was Daniel Felipe Martinez's turn, who rode off leader O'Connor with panache. When the Colombian rider dropped out, he announced this through his earpiece, after which Roglic immediately put on an extra acceleration himself. Only three riders, Enric Mas, Sepp Kuss, and Florian Lipowitz, could follow the Slovenian pace.
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O'Connor struggled and had to rely on the support of Felix Gall, while the Slovenian from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe kept knocking on his door. Kuss and Lipowitz also had to fight it out, while Mikel Landa was able to make the connection. For a short while, however, because another acceleration by Roglic was too much gas for Mas.
At that point, events followed one another: O'Connor then gave Gall carte blanche to go for it himself, while Roglic took a lot of time on Mas and co with the blow. The Movistar leader completely fell through, while a reborn Cian Uijtdebroeks even managed to pass leader O'Connor.
Results stage 13 Vuelta a España 2024
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