Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease A Bike) may have missed out on a fourth stage win of this Vuelta a España on the steep slopes of the Puerto de Ancares, but the Belgian came away with another leader's jersey in his wardrobe to go with the green points jersey.
Van Aert finished fifth on the stage, three minutes down on winner Michael Woods, but he picked up points from the breakaway along the way over the climbs of the Alto Campo de Arbre, Alto O Portelo, and Puerto de Lumeras.
Those 13 points, plus another at the finish, saw him leapfrog Adam Yates into the leadership of the mountain classification with 36 points to the Briton's 22, and he now heads into the race's final eight stages with a 13-point lead over Yates' UAE teammates Marc Soler and Jay Vine.
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Speaking after the stage, Van Aert said that even on the morning of stage 13, he didn't have a bid for the mountain classification on his mind. However, situations change, and it might be something on his mind going forward.
"Even this morning that was still the case," he told Sporza of his attitude towards the polka dot jersey. "But I saw Kaden Groves going in the breakaway. I decided to make the jump because he is still a competitor for the points jersey.
"From then on, I knew it would be a tough day on the attack. Then it's better to try to take everything on the road."
Van Aert has triumphed in the mountains before – the double Mont Ventoux stage at the 2021 Tour de France is one of his most memorable feats on the bike. However, beating the likes of Woods, Soler, and Mauro Schmid on the road to Ancares was never likely, he admitted.
"To be honest, I never really believed in the stage win," Van Aert said. "I knew riders like Woods, Vine and Brandon McNulty would be a lot better on the steep finish. Besides, I was too focused on all the intermediate points. I had already used a lot of energy there.
"As long as the gradients stay under 6-7%, I can compete. As soon as it gets steeper, I have no chance."
Van Aert is now the holder of the polka dot jersey as well as the green jersey – which he leads with 274 points to Groves' 162. He'll continue to battle for green and stage wins. As for the mountain prize, we'll have to wait and see.
"I will definitely try to survive the climbs," he concluded, referring to Saturday's stage 14 to Villablino. "And then we'll see what's possible."
