Vuelta a España stage 13: Jonas Vingegaard wins atop the Col du Tourmalet as Jumbo-Visma go 1-2-3

Jonas Vingegaard won stage 13 of the Vuelta a España as Jumbo-Visma displayed the biggest strength of power we have seen in the mountains for possibly a decade. Behind Vingegaard quickly came his teammates, race leader Sepp Kuss and Primož Roglič, in second and third, respectively.

Early in the stage, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) had been shockingly dropped on the Col d'Aubisque, spelling the end of their assaults on the red jersey. It was the Belgian's white flag that was the more stark of the two, with the reigning Vuelta champion quickly falling minutes behind the peloton, as rumours swirled of a possible illness.

Jumbo-Visma's aggression became all the more apparent as the Aubisque continued, with no breakaway allowed to truly form and Robert Gesink put to work at the head of proceedings. Their desire was to create an elite selection well in advance of the final climb, and their desires were swiftly fulfilled.

Jonas Vingegaard and Sepp Kuss (both Jumbo-Visma) joined forces with Bahrain-Victorious on the Col de Spandelles, further thinning out the peloton, and by the foot of the Col du Tourmalet, only a group of 22 riders remained.

Playing the numbers game, Vingegaard was the first to put in a major attack on the Col du Tourmalet, and his attack with 8km to go would prove fatal to the hopes of his rivals. As he developed a gap, teammates Kuss and Roglič marked the chase behind and dampened the enthusiasm of the likes of Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) and Enric Mas (Movistar).

In the end, Vingegaard came over the line alone but was closely followed by Kuss and Roglič, both of whom took their leave from their rivals in the final kilometre of a grandstand finish to the summit of the Col du Tourmalet.

"I’m just so happy and I couldn’t choose a better day. Today is the birthday of my daughter and I wanted to win for her today," Vingegaard revealed in an emotional post-stage interview.

"I’m just so happy and today I did it for her. Our plan was to see if we could take time on our opponents. That happened and I’m happy and proud to do it today. This is for my daughter. Going one, two, three is even better than we planned."

Remco Evenepoel and João Almeida dropped on the Col d’Aubisque

There was a peculiar feeling in the air on the morning of stage 13, as although the day presented the toughest challenge of the Vuelta a España to date, it was a stage in the French Pyrenees that awaited the peloton. Indeed, for the first time in his professional career, Soudal Quick-Step’s Remco Evenepoel was going to race over French mountains.

It may seem absurd given his illustrious palmarès in the space of just a few seasons, but the only elite race that Evenepoel had ever ridden in France was the Chrono des Nations in 2021, in which he finished fifth. With Evenepoel on the hunt to reclaim the red jersey that he gave away to Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) on stage 6, all talk at the head of proceedings surrounded Jumbo-Visma’s plans for current red jersey holder, Sepp Kuss.

Read more:

• Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates look to ramp up pressure on the Col du Tourmalet as they eye Vuelta and world domination
• Is Jumbo-Visma's Vuelta a España team better than Team Sky at their best?

Of course, they had Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard in their ranks and as such, it was up to the Dutch superteam to control the start of the stage.

Over the top of the Portalet, Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich) took the maximum KoM points as a result of his offensive, but his group were soon swallowed up on the descent to the Col d’Aubisque. As the km to go ticker dipped under 100km, Jumbo-Visma appeared in numbers at the front of the peloton to marshall the riders who would be ‘allowed’ to enter the day’s breakaway. One of those looking to drift up the road was Ineos Grenadiers’ Geraint Thomas, who has seen his race ambitions change to stage victories over the past week.

Read more: Geraint Thomas 'limited' in Vuelta a España stage 11 breakaway but vows to keep fighting

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Emanual Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Max Poole (dsm-firmenich) were two of the early aggressors, but any hopes of a breakaway win were soon dashed

The early pace had surprisingly seen João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) drift off the back of the peloton with over 6km of the climb remaining, which spelt trouble for later in the stage, but it was to be the next victim that would send tremors through the bunch.

Halfway up the climb, it soon became apparent that Evenepoel was in big trouble at the back of the peloton, drawing all of his Soudal Quick-Step teammates to the side of their leader. However, the Belgian team could do very little as Evenepoel became pale in the face, dejected and in turn, rejected from the back of the peloton. Looking a shadow of his former self, it appeared as though Evenepoel was suffering from illness, as his deficit to the bunch ballooned to over a minute by the final 2km of the Col d’Aubisque.

Speaking to GCN, Evenepoel’s team boss Patrick Lefevere admitted his own surprise at the scenes: "I have the same question. I’m in Belgium. This morning he was okay."

Read more: Remco Evenepoel shockingly dropped on key Tourmalet stage

Chaotic racing precedes the Col de Spandelles as Sepp Kuss drifts off the front

Sources close to the Jumbo-Visma team had told GCN at the start of the day that their plan was one of aggression for stage 13. Robert Gesink had been instructed to ride at circa 5.8w/kg on the Col d’Aubisque, before upping his own tempo to nearer 6w/kg on the Col de Spandelles to return the peloton to just the leaders by the Col du Tourmalet. As it turned out, Gesink’s work on the Aubisque would be enough to tear the race to shreds.

On the descent of the Aubisque, Kuss, Vingegaard and the Bahrain-Victorious duo of Damian Caruso and Mikel Landa drifted off the front of the peloton. By design or happy accident, these four riders soon found themselves at the head of the race and with a 20-second gap by the foot of the Col de Spandelles, the penultimate climb of the stage. With Evenepoel out the back door and the peloton dwindling down to a little over 15 riders, it was down to UAE Team Emirates to pace the group back to the four opportunists out front.

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Jonas Vingegaard and Sepp Kuss were far from shy on the Col de Spandelles

With the race now inside the final 5km of the Col de Spandelles, a resurgent Gesink reappeared at the front of the peloton and set to task once again at tapping out a strong rhythm on the front.

Unfussed by the presence of Jumbo Visma, though, was Groupama-FDJ’s Michael Storer, who had already picked up 15 KoM points over the top of the Col d’Aubisque and attacked with 1.5km of the Col de Spandelles remaining. His efforts were rewarded at the summit, picking up maximum points and riding into the virtual KoM jersey on the road.

Jumbo-Visma tee up a final showdown on the Col du Tourmalet

The pace slowed after the descent of the Col de Spandelles was successfully navigated, as a sense of foreboding drooped over the 22-man lead group. As the front of the race entered the final 30km, Almeida and Evenepoel were two and seven minutes down, respectively, ensuring they would not be a feature in the finale.

A period of status quo followed before the riders began the lower slopes of the Col du Tourmalet (18.9km at 7.2%), with Gesink still the man charged with setting a mean tempo. Behind the Dutchman sat Wilco Kelderman, Vingegaard, Kuss and Roglič - an imposing sight indeed for the likes of UAE Team Emirates and Movistar.

With a little over 15km to ride to the summit, Gesink's astonishing day in the saddle was finally done - at least at the head of proceedings - and Kelderman was quick to take over the role of lead pacer as the front group continued to be strung out in single file. This pace notably took its toll with 11km to ride, as Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost), Emanual Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and David de la Cruz (Astana Qazaqstan) all dropped from the front.

Jonas Vingegaard launches the stage-winning attack as Jumbo-Visma play their cards

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Sepp Kuss and Jonas Vingegaard celebrate a job well done at the summit of the Col du Tourmalet

At 8km to go, Vingegaard recognised that Kelderman's legs were at an end, and proceeded to attack in an effort to draw UAE Team Emirates and Movistar out in the open. Enric Mas (Movistar) responded best to his first acceleration, but Vingegaard went again and this time, there were no answers to be found.

Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bora-Hansgrohe) was enjoying a splendid day in the saddle, but his efforts, alongside that of Mas and Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates), did not appear to be enough, as Vingegaard developed a 30-second gap and Kuss and Roglič were able to sit on their wheels - devoid of any responsibilities.

Mas made a more sustained pickup with 5.6km to go, but the Spaniard's move was cunningly marked by race leader Kuss. In effect, the Movistar man was towing Kuss back towards his teammate. Just a few seconds back, Ayuso was shadowed by Roglič and Uijtdebroeks, and with 4km to go, Kuss attacked of his own accord.

It was, put simply, a masterclass from Jumbo-Visma, who found themselves with three of the first six riders on the road. Kuss was caught by a resilient Mas and in turn, both he and Roglič refused to do any work to help the trio of riders alongside them. It was down to Mas, Uijtdebroeks and Ayuso to lead the chase of Vingegaard, who by the final 2.5km had developed a gap northwards of 50 seconds.

With Vingegaard's stage victory all but assured, Kuss lit the afterburners behind and launched a ferocious attack that made jaws hit the floor. His speed was astounding as the crowds roared on their heroes from the side of the road, with Roglič the next to take a flyer.

Vingegaard's first stage victory at the Vuelta was a sweet one for the Dane, with the 26-year-old coming to tears in his post-stage interview as he revealed it was also his daughter's birthday. He came over the line alone, with Kuss 30 seconds behind and Roglič finishing just three seconds behind the American.

Dejected but resolute, Ayuso was the first non-Jumbo-Visma rider to the summit, losing 38 seconds to Vingegaard alongside Uijtdebroeks - with the 20-year-old producing the best performance of his career to date. Two seconds later, Mas rounded out those finishing within a minute of the stage winner.

What stage 13 means for the general classification

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Jonas Vingegaard blows a kiss to his daughter, as he provides the perfect birthday present

Not content with 1-2-3 on the stage, Jumbo-Visma now also occupy the first three places at the top of the GC standings. Kuss retains his lead, followed by Roglič at 1:37 and Vingegaard at 1:44. It is an enviable position for the Dutch superteam, who now appear to have the red jersey all but sewn up over a week before the end of the Vuelta.

A Spanish quartet may soon be scheming an ambush of their own, with Ayuso, Mas, Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) and Landa occupying the places fourth to seventh. Ayuso's deficit is 2:37 and Landa is the furthest of those riders from Kuss, facing a gap of 4:12 to the American.

Uijtdebroeks has been rewarded for his astounding ride, jumping inside the top 10 to ninth, with UAE Team Emirates' Almeida dropping down to 10th position. Evenepoel was, of course, the day's biggest loser and now finds himself outside of the top 15, with his ambitions sure to be reorientated.

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