Key Takeaways: Vuelta a España Stage 13

Breaking down how a tough summit finish was won & how it left its mark on the GC classification

Michael Woods, relying on a tried and true formula that has now delivered him to four Grand Tour stage wins, got into the early breakaway and smartly marked dangerous attacks before exploding clear to win Stage 13 of the Vuelta a España the moment the pitches on the slopes of the summit finish hit the double-digit gradients where Woods feels most comfortable. Knowing the move was coming but helpless to do anything to stop it, Mauro Schmid finished the better part of a minute behind in second place, while Marc Soler racked up his third, third-place finish of this Vuelta. Wout van Aert may have only finished fifth on the stage, but the Belgian’s substantial work in the breakaway consistently thinned down the group and allowed him to build up an insurmountable lead in the Points Jersey Classification while also taking control of the KOM competition, which has him in a position to win both the sprint and mountains, classification in the same Grand Tour.

When the peloton, with all of the General Classification favorites, hit the same steep slopes minutes later, Primož Roglič, looking as strong as ever, settled into a crushing high-cadence tempo that saw him distance every GC contender with kilometers remaining on the climb. Roglič pushed on and continued to chip into race leader Ben O’Connor’s overall advantage, all while building a key buffer over the rest of his GC rivals. After the dust settled, O’Connor still held the lead by over a minute, but with Roglič surging and the others appearing to fade, the momentum was thoroughly in Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe’s corner just as the race entered its most critical phase.

Stage Top Five
1) Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) +0
2) Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) +45
3) Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) +1’11
4) Sam Oomen (Lidl-Trek) +1’25
5) Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) +2’56

Green Jersey Top Three
1) Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike)-274pts
2) Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck)-162pts
3) Pavel Bittner (dsm-firmenich PostNL)-81pts

KOM Jersey Standings
1) Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike)-36pts
2) Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates)-23pts
3) Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates)-23pts

Time Top Five GC Contenders Gained(+)/Lost(-) On Stage:
Primož Roglič +0
Mikel Landa -35
Richard Carapaz -58
Enric Mas -58
Ben O’Connor -1’55

Current GC Top Five
1) Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +0
2) Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +1’21
3) Enric Mas (Movistar) +3’01
4) Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) +3’13
5) Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) +3’20

Stage 13 Race Notebook

BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the 2024 Vuelta a España with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)

48km: After getting clear in a strong early breakaway, Victor Campenaerts takes a massive pull at the front that breaks an elite group, including Wout van Aert, off the front of the break.

38.2km: Sensing an opportunity to distance Kaden Groves for Green Jersey points and Mike Woods to build a buffer for the stage win (both are stuck in the group behind), Van Aert begins pulling through and immediately begins thinning out the breakaway group.

28.7km: This thinning allows Van Aert to roll through the intermediate sprint uncontested and pick up the maximum 20-point prize.

23.3km: When the peloton, over 17 minutes behind, hits the penultimate climb of the day, Enric Mas’ Movistar team gets on the front, setting a hard pace to fatigue his rivals and set up an attack on the final climb. However, when we look at Mas’ facial expression, he appears to be hurting under the pace set by his own team.

22km: Up front, UAE, with three strong riders in the move, attempts to attack on the climb, but Wout van Aert is having none of it and bursts clear from the group behind to take the KOM points at the top of the climb, which puts him in the hunt to win both the Sprint and Mountains jersey.

12.6km: Heading into the run-in to the final climb, the list of potential winners has been significantly cut down after Brandon McNulty and Jay Vine suffer crashes on the descent of the previous time (McNulty went over the guardrail and down into a ravine, but appeared to be relatively unharmed). Van Aert and Mauro Schmid continue to push the pace while Mike Woods, having come back to the lead group and knowing that only allowing a rider to build up a massive advantage here is the only thing that can stop him from winning the race, is smartly closely marking the duo.

4.7km: Woods and Schmid eventually get clear at the front, and when the pitches get steep, Woods launches a slow-motion attack and rides clear.

2.6km: As the GC group heads into the climb minutes later, Movistar is still on the front (this time with Nairo Quintana), but Red Bull-Bora, massing en force behind, doesn’t look too bothered.

750m: When Dani Martínez from Red Bull-Bora finally hits the front, the nuclear pace is so difficult that it drops race leader Ben O’Connor (and puts his teammate Aleksandr Vlasov under immense visible pressure) with a lot of climb left to race.

725m: Meanwhile, with Red Bull-Bora’s extremely high pace already burning through their team, Roglič gets to work by lifting the pace, which drops everyone but Enric Mas and Sepp Kuss.

Finish: After a vintage ride, Woods crosses the line for a well-deserved stage win, with Schmid 45 seconds back and the hulking Van Aert shockingly just 2’56 back.

2.5km (GC Group): As Roglič continues tapping out a steady pace that has now dropped everyone but Mas, O’Connor is suffering behind. Surprisingly, his teammate Felix Gall leaves him behind, forging on to protect his top-ten GC position.

2.3km: Roglič’s metronomic pace becomes too much for Mas, who slowly slips off his rival’s wheel as Roglič forges ahead.

Roglič Finish: Roglič’s incredibly consistent pacemaking on such a steep, sustained slope sees him cruise over the finish line after producing one of his season's most impressive climbing performances (6.6w/kg and 1,970 VAM for 19’13).

Mas Finish: After semi-blowing up and being passed and overtaken by Mikel Landa and Carlos Rodríguez, Mas comes over the line 58 seconds later, barely holding the wheel of Richard Carapaz. O’Connor finishes 1’55 down on Roglič.

Three Key Takeaways