From breakaways to battling for the green and polkadot jerseys, from lead-outs for sprint victories to late attacks with Tadej Pogačar, Wout van Aert has had plenty of standout moments in this year's Vuelta a España. But if a stage win wasn't among them until deep into the second week of the 2026 race, when Van Aert finally raised his arms in victory on stage 13 into Loja, it was certainly worth the wait.
In Grand Tours, the 31-year-old has taken dramatic victories over the Ventoux and on the Champs-Élysées in the Tour de France, as well as across the strade bianche of the Giro d'Italia.
Yet his win in Spain in the quiet backwoods town of Loja in central Andalucia was memorable in its own way too - both for being a masterclass in team tactics with Matthew Brennan, and for the major boost to his morale his first stage win in the 2026 Vuelta represents en route to the World Championships.
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Battling across very hilly terrain starting in Almuñecar on the Mediterranean coast and with the final key category 2 climb of Puerto de Granada some 40 kilometres from the line, as Van Aert put it afterwards, he and Brennan worked to ensure that either one or the other was ahead at all the key moments.
They did this by both getting in a large, 40-rider break when the stage started, then it was Brennan who kept control over a 10-man move over the Puerto de Granada, and then it was both of them again in the decisive nine-rider attack on the run-in to Loja.
No other team had such a clear control of every scenario, and by the time Van Aert soared away with only Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-QuickStep) three kilometres from the line, such was their domination that it felt like there could only be one outcome.
"We'd targeted this stage, we knew it was favourable for us," Van Aert said a few minutes after easily dispatching Paret-Peintre on the grinding uphill finish.
"It was great to have Matthew in that front group on the climb early on; I could ease back a little, and that was a good situation going into the final.
"Then after I'd bridged across, Matthew and I made sure we could win from every situation that developed after that. There were a lot of attacks, but we controlled them all."
"As long as one of us was there, we always had the advantage of having the fastest sprint."
The ability to work off each other's moves was critical, and by the time Van Aert took off with three kilometres to go, jumping away from around five riders back in the front of nine, only Paret-Peintre had any kind of answer. Even Kevin Vermaercke (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was unable to respond.
"There were constant small attacks, but we still had plenty of power, "Van Aert explained in comments reported by Sporza.
"We kept attacking, and that final attack was the right one. I already had it in my head to go on that little chicane before the finish."
The Van Aert-Brennan duo has seen the Briton claim victories on stages 2, 5 and 11, but before Friday the Belgian, whilst stacking up points in the green jersey competition - and stage 13 gives him an almost unassailable advantage in that respect - did not get his own win. It wasn't a question of confidence, Van Aert said, just one of waiting for the right moment to come.
"I had no doubts that I could win a stage, but that doesn't mean it would happen," Van Aert said. "There were lots of guys in the break, so it was great to have the support of the team. I didn't doubt it was possible, but it's still super nice to be able to get it."
As for why he had managed to pull off a win in Spain, Van Aert said the style of racing and the route itself suited him more, say, than the Tour de France of 2026.
"There were less sprint stages than in France and more opportunities for aggressive racing. It's a type of racing that suits me and also, this is also the second time we've come here with a team looking for stage wins and the second time I can enjoy it."
The Vuelta for Van Aert is also very much a race that will propel him towards the UCI Road World Championships, and this latest success on very difficult terrain can only give him confidence for a course as hilly as the one in Canada.
There, too, he'll be working in tandem with another top candidate for success, Remco Evenepoel, but after the masterclass in Spain, it's clear that when it comes to teamwork under pressure, Van Aert is on top form.
"It is a great victory and a serious confidence boost heading into the World Championships," Van Aert told Sporza. "Because this was a tough stage, and the World Championships will be, too.”
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