Thanks for joining us today, for another memorable installment of the Alto de l'Angliru. Vingegaard might have defended the red jersey, but Almeida’s getting the better of him to win the stage feels like a big moment in the race for the red jersey.
Here's Pidcock and Riccitello crossing the line together, 1:16 after the two leaders.
Almeida made Vingegaard hurt today - as evidenced by the Dane’s expression at the finish.
Almeida leading Vingegaard - the sight at the front of the race for much of the Angliru.
While the top three remains the same, the big change in GC sees Jai Hindley leap from 8th to 4th overall. He looked like his very best on the Angliru today, and is, as he so often does, coming into his own the deeper this Grand Tour goes on. Now just 42 seconds behind Pidcock, he’ll be eyeing up a podium finish.
This stage victory also confirms that Almeida can indeed challenge Vingegaard for the red jersey, and looks like his match in the mountains. If they can harness the power of the likes of Soler, Vine and Ayuso, they can put Vingegaard under serious pressure.
It's also yet another win for UAE - they're 6th at this Vuelta in fact. They might not be cohering, but they do keep winning.
This was a great day for Almeida - possibly the best of his career, even. He went up the Angliru at his own pace, and only Vingegaard was able to follow him; but even he didn’t have the legs to defeat him at the line. Only Tadej Pogačar has managed to match Vingegaard on a mountain like this these past few years.
Given how he was dropped quite early on the Angliru, Pidcock can be pleased with how he went today - and sounds pleased too in his post-race interview. He limited his losses well enough to remain third on GC, withholding the surge from both Gall and Hindley.
On a day Vingegaard stated that he wanted to win the stage, he has instead lost time, his lead over Almeida at the top of the classification down to 46 seconds due to the bonus seconds.
Now Pidcock reaches the top with Riccitello - just 1:15. That was a very impressive case of limiting losses by the Brit.
Pellizzari is 6th, just over a minute.
Gall is 5th, within a minute.
Hindley is 3rd, Kuss 4th.
The Portuguese rider takes the win! Vingegaard was unable to come around him in the sprint.
ALMEIDA WINS
Almeida leads on the finishing straight…
That’s the steepest part done. Now Almeida and Vingegaard must try to recover ahead of the final 2-up sprint. This is a hard one to call…
Pidcock is clawing his way back to Riccitello and Pellizzari.
Almeida is grimacing and gurning as he leads Vingegaard into the final kilometre.
1KM TO GO
Gall is swaying side to side to try and take a less steep line.
Vingegaard and Almeida are 48 seconds ahead of Kuss and Hindley. They will soon be battling for the stage win, and the bonus seconds on offer.
Almeida looks like he's putting his all into this while the gradient remains this steep but can't drop Vingegaard.
Pidcock is riding out the saddle, and suffering.
Almeida looks behind him again, but Vingegaard is still there.
Pidcock is 8th on the road, about 1:30 down on the leaders.
Gall has dropped Pellizzari and Riccitello, and is fifth on the road.
The leading duo are nearly at the levelling off at the top, with just 2km left to ride.
Will Vingegaard make a move at some point, or is he clinging on for dear life?
The road of this steepst part of the climb is lined with fans on both sides of the road.
Still Almeida leads, and still Vingegaard remains glued to his wheel.
They’re on the steepest part of the climb now, Vingegaard and Almeida now a whole minute ahead of Kuss and Hindley.
3KM TO GO
Pidcock has lost the wheel of Gall, Riccitello and Pellizzari, who bridged up to then.
Hindley and Kuss can still see the 2 riders ahead of them, but the gradient is so steep that they're 20 seconds behind despite that.
This feels like a crucial moment in the Vuelta - if Almeida can drop Vingegaard, suddenly the momentum in the race for the red jersey will be with him.
Almeida looks behind him, and sees Vingegaard is still there, his face still masking any pain he might be in.
Vingegaard is at last isolated, and looking under pressure.
Kuss and Hindley have been dropped, only Vingegaard can follow Almeida.
Pidcock is with Gall and Riccitello.
Vingegaard, Kuss, Hindley and Almeida is some lead group - of the four, Almeida is the only one not to have won a Grand Tour.
Pidcock is 30 seconds behind the four leaders as they continue to crawl up the climb.
5KM TO GO
It's Almeida doing all the work, the other three just following. Jungels has been dropped.
They make the catch 5.5km from the finish.
This quartet are about to catch Jungels.
Only Vingegaard, Kuss and Hindley are left with Almeida.
Großschartner is done, and Almeida takes over.
Pidcock is also losing the wheel, alongside Gall.
PIDCOCK DROPPED
Gall is losing the wheel.
Vinokurov is caught, with 6km still to climb.
Only 7 riders left with Großschartner - Almeida, Vingegaard, Kuss, Hindley, Pidcock, Riccitello and Gall.
Ciconne, Pellizzari and Jorgenson are all dropped.
Vine is finished at the same steepening of the road, and Großschartner takes over for UAE. The Austrian is on a very good day.
Jungels drops Vino as the road ramps up.
Cepeda has been brought back by the peloton, leaving just Jungels and Vinokurov as the only men left from the day's break.
The leaders are nearing the part of the climb where the road really ramps up, to gradients of over 20%. They're about to enter a world of pain.
Bernal is missing, having been dropped earlier on the climb.
The remaining rides in the peloton are: Vine, Großschartner, Almeida, Vingegaard, Jorgenson, Kuss, Almeida, Pidcock, Hindley, Pellizzari, Ricitello, Gall, Ciccone and Balderstone.
The peloton is already tiny, with only aout 15 riders left in it.
Oliveira has just done a turn for UAE having dropped back from the break, but Vine has taken over again now.
Torstein Træen has been dropped out the peloton. He'll surely plunge down the rankings from his current position of 4th.
Vino and Jungels have only 1:30 over the peloton now. The stage will surely go to one of the GC men, and not the break.
10KM TO GO
Jungels and Vinokurov has dropped Cepeda.
They’re on the lower slopes of the Angliru now. A reminder of the eye-watering vital stats - it averages 9.8%(!) for 12.4km.
ALTO DE L'ANGLIRU
The peloton has just passed the protesters, who are now stood at the side of the road.
Cepeda, Vinokurov and Jungels were halted for the best part of a minute by a protest on the road, but they are moving again now.
There’s a protest on the road, and they have stopped the three leaders at the front of the race.
The riders are nearing the start of the Angliru.
Tiberi’s fall has allowed Garofoli to catch up to him again.
It wasn't a heavy fall, and he managed to break and revert his line after misjudging a corner on the descent.
Crash for Tiberi on the descent He's unhurt and back up racing, but his day gets more and more frustrating.
Here are the updated virtual KOM standings. Vinokurov is climbing up the rankings, having picked up 20 points so far today.
Mikel Landa is once of the many riders to have been dropped out of the peloton as the near the summit.
The peloton's lead has come down, to 3 minutes. That might be a lot in most cases, but could come down very rapidly on a climb as brutal as the Angliru.
20KM TO GO
Tiberi reaches the top, and has gone backwards. He's now a minute behind.
Vinokurov takes the points at the top again. He made a point of doing so, putting a few bikelengths between himself and Cepeda and Jungels.
KOM - ALTO DEL CORDAL
Vine's increased the pace, and the peloton is thinning as a result.
Vine takes over from Novak.
UAE take over at the front with Novak - but not with Ayuso, who is dropped for good this time.
Pablo Castrillo has abandoned the race. He had looked like home team Movistar's best hope for a first stage win here, especially having having placed second on stage 10
It's still Campanaerts who's pacing for Visma.
Ayuso hasn't given up yet, and is just hanging on at the back of the peloton.
Ayuso's been dropped out of the peloton. Yesterday’s winner won't be offering his UAE teammate Almeida any assistance today - once again.
Tiberi has now dropped Garofoli, and is closing the gap to the leaders, to just over 30 seconds.
Jorgenson, Kuss, Kelderman and Tulett are the 4 teammates with Vingegaard.
In the peloton, Vingegaard has four teammates with him.
Tiberi has caught Garofoli, but is still 42 seconds beind the leading trio.
Campanaerts is the Visma rider leading, and is surrounded by a swarm of UAE domestiques, including Vine.
The peloton are also climbing, just under 4 minutes behind, being led by Visma-Lease a Bike.
Garofoli has been dropped by Cepeda, Jungels and Vinokurov.
Tiberi has dropped Artz on the climb, but is drifting further away from the leaders. He's just under 40 seconds behind.
That's looking like a very healthy leads in the points classification for Pedersen.
Pedersen earned himself 20 more points at the last sprint, meaning this is what the green jersey classification now looks like:
The leading quartet are climbing again, up the penultimate mountain of the day, the Alto del Cordal. It’s even steeper than the last, averaging 8.8%, but only for 5.5km.
Pedersen takes the points at the intermediate sprint. Chapeau once more to the incomparable Dane! His day is done and he’s dropped out of the break.
INTERMEDIATE SPRINT
This is what the peloton had looked like on the previous climb, diminished in numbers before the subsequent regrouping.
Tiberi and Artz are still chasing the 5 leaders, and are getting closer, now just 13 seconds behind.
Visma-Lease a Bike have retaken control of the peloton, but that slow down has seen their defecit to the break grow to 3:50.
30KM TO GO
The slow down is allowing lots of dropped riders to rejoin the peloton.
Red Bull have stopped pacing, and nobody’s taken over in their absence. The peloton is therefore just ambling along.
Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe have taken over at the front of the peloton.
Here was Jungels leading on the previous climb, forcing the selection we now have at the front of the race.
The dog ran towards Artz and Tiberi, but veered away before colliding with them.
A sight as worrying as it was surreal has almost, but thankfully not, caused disaster in the race. A dog has just run across the road, attached to a chair by a leash. Assumedly it was tied to that chair to avoid running on the road, but escaped anyway.
The peloton, meanwhile, are 3:37 behind the leaders.
40KM TO GO
Tiberi has made his way up to Artz, and the pair are 20 seconds beind the leading 5.
Bad news for Tiberi, who has had to stop for a mechanical. He drops out of the lead group as a result.
It’s nearly mission accomplished for Pedersen today, with the intermediate sprint coming up after 15km of mostly descending and some flat.
Pedersen has joined the leaders on the descent.
Jungels, Tiberi, Garofoli and Cepeda were next over, in that order, with Pedersen arriving a few seconds later.
Vinokourov leads the front group over the climb, to take 10 KOM points.
KOM - ALTO DE LA MOZQUETA
Pedersen has dropped Artz, but is still a few seconds behind the leaders. For him, it's all about keeping them close enough so he can join them on the descent, then take the intermediate sprint points at the foot of the upcoming climb.
The Jungels-led lead group has seen their lead to the peloton decrease on this climb, to just under 3:30.
50KM TO GO
Pedersen has only Huub Artz left on his wheel as he chases the leading five.
Pedersen is just a few bike lengths back and trying to stay in contention, with just 1500m left to climb.
Jungels has upped the pace, and only has four riders with him - Tiberi, Vinokourov, Cepeda and Garofoli.
Bob Jungels has taken over from Cavagna at the front of the break.
Yesterday’s runner-up Javier Romo is one of the latest wave of riders to be dropped from the ever-shrinking peloton.
Rémi Cavagna is the man leading the break, surprisingly given this isn't normally his kind of terrain.
Q36.5 have just taken over at the front of the peloton. This feels like a major statement in favour of their leader Tom Pidcock.
Behind, riders are also being dropped out the back of the peloton.
Zukowsky also dropped, one of the 2 Q36.5 riders who got into the break as possible satellite riders for Pidcock.
Foldager, Thierry and Bonneu have all been dropped from the break, and now Van Dijke is joining them.
More riders are dropping out from the break, which is thinning on these steep slopes.
Ethan Vernon is the first man to drop out of the break. That’s good news for Pedersen’s points jersey aspirations, as the Brit’s his rival for the points at the intermediate sprint coming up after this climb.
The break’s started the climb, having increased their lead to 3:45 by the foot of it.
After being in this holding pattern for so long, the race is about to begin in earnest. In just a few kilometres the break will start ascending the day’s first mountain, the category one Alto de la Mozqueta, which rises at 8.2% for 6.4km. That might pale in comparison to the Angliru, but is still steeper than most of what the riders have faced so far at this Vuelta.
The gap continues to grow, up to 3:35. The pace in the peloton is high, with Visma not holding back, but higher still in the break, which is well-organised with multiple riders taking committed turns.
60KM TO GO
The weather out there is sunny, which means the riders should be spared the rain and mist that have affected past ascents of the Angliru.
Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe are keeping their GC men Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari up towards the front of the peloton. They’re in 8th and 10th respectively onGC, and Hindley in particular has been looking better and better, and could be poised to leap up the rankings on the Angliru today.
The gap's gone back uo again, to just over 3 minutes - the highest it's been all day.
70KM TO GO
Felix Gall is another to watch, as a pure climber who is in 5th on GC. He had to recover the other day having been dropped on the final climb, but if in top form, this is exactly the kind of mountain he can excel at.
Everyone is intrigued as to how Tom Pidcock will ride today. The Brit has climbed better than ever in his career to date, peaking when he managed to even drop Jonas Vingegaard during the stage in the Basque Country two days ago. But he’s untested on a mountain like the Angliru - we’ll learn about Tom Pidcock as a bike rider today.
Having held steady for so long, the gap has come a little in the last few kilometres, to 2:30.
80KM TO GO
How good a chance João Almeida has of winning the red jersey will feel much more apparent today. While the Portuguese rider has struggled to respond to the explosive accelerations from Vingegaard at this race, he might flourish more on a mountain like Angliru, where the ultra-steep gradients will neutralise the gains made from brief accelerations in favour of how well they climb for a long time.
This is a big day for Visma-Lease a Bike and Jonas Vingegaard. The Dane leads the general classification, but not by much of a margin, with both João Almeida and Tom Pidcock still within a minute of his time. This feels like the day that he’ll want to take firm control of the race, and demotivate any of his rivals from believing they can challenge him.
A reminder that Ben O’Connor pulled out of the race earlier. You can read more about what happened here.
2024 Vuelta a España runner-up Ben O'Connor abandons race on road to Angliru
It’s as you were out on the road, with the gap between the 25-man lead group and the peloton holding steady at just shy of 3 minutes.
90KM TO GO
The riders have been racing for just over 2 hours, and have completed over half of this long stage already, flying at an average speed of over 50kmph. That’ll slow down once the climbing begins.
The ongoing controversy surrounding Israel-Premier Tech’s involvement in the race in the wake of the pro-Palestine protesters continued today, as a senior Spanish politician called for the team’s removal from the race.
Spain's Foreign Minister expresses support for removal of Israel-Premier Tech from Vuelta a España
The riders spent some of the day earlier by the Cantabrian Coast, getting a glimpse of the sea but have since moved inland as they approach the mountains.
The break are a little more than 50km away from the foot of the first climb, retaining their lead of about 2:45.
110KM TO GO
Few if any riders know the Angliru better than Wout Poels, who will today race up the climb for the fifth time in his Vuelta career, and has a great record here too, only failing to make the top five on the stage in one of those past occasions. He recounted some of his memories to us earlier this week.
No change in the gap between the peloton and the leaders, which is still at 2:45. Given the lack of quality climbers in this break, they will need much more than that to have a chance of winning the stage, you imagine.
120KM TO GO
Fernando Barceló had a mechanical, but the pace is slow enough for him to easily return to the peloton.
There’s plenty more reading on the Angliru to whet the appetite before we arrive at the climb today. Here’s Sepp Kuss memories of it, from when he just about held on to the red jersey in 2023.
The break's lead remains steady, at aout 2:40, with Visma-Lease a Bike keeping things controlled. You imagine their leader Jonas Vingegaard must fancy a stage win on the Angliru, to add to his growing Grand Tour collection.
Today is all about the Angliru, one of the most famous climbs in cycling, and one that evokes fear and excitement in equal measure every time it features at the Vuelta. You can read an in-depth preview of the stage, and what it is that makes this mountain so special, here.
There are a lot of KOM points on offer today - 40 in total, with 10 at the top of the first two climbs, and 20 at the top of the Angliru. This could therefore be a great chance for Joel Nicolau to challenge for the jersey, given that he’s made the break, and is 5th in the rankings already with 20 points, 26 behind leader Jay Vine.
The gap between the break and the peloton remains about 2:45, with Visma-Lease a Bike leading the latter.
140KM TO GO
Pedersen might not have a clear run at the intermediate sprint points today. His main rival for the green jersey, Ethan Vernon, is also in the break - though doesn’t have the climbing legs of Pedersen, so could well be dropped once the climbing starts.
The indefatigable Mads Pedersen is, yet again, in the day’s break. He has one category one mountain to negotiate later before the day’s intermediate sprint, where he could extend his 61 point lead in the points classification. But you imagine he’s in the break as much for that as he is for his pure love of attacking racing.
Hamilton won’t be making the juncture - he’s dropped back into the peloton.
Ivo Oliveira has managed at last to bridge up to the leaders, after a long chase, so we will have a UAE rider in the break after all. Oliveira dropped Hamilton earlier, who still remains in no-man's land.
2:56 is the gap between the leaders and the peloton, on this long flat section leading to the foot of the first of the day's three big climbs, which is still only a little less than 100km away.
150KM TO GO
After Tiberi, Jefferson Cepeda is one of the more acclaimed climbers in the break. The Ecuadorian was present in many of the breakaways at the Giro d’Italia earlier this season, though didn’t manage a stage win.
There aren’t many riders in the break who have experience of having won Grand Tour stages in the past, but Bob Jungels is one such rider. The Luxembourg rider triumphed at the Tour de France three years ago, on a mountain stage, too (albeit not one as hard as this), but hasn’t shown that kind of form recently.
Here are the 24 men in the breakaway.
Ben O’Connor’s withdrawal ends an impressive run of 10 finishes in his last 11 Grand Tour appearances, in which time he has finished 2nd overall once, fourth twice, and won four stages. By his high standards, this was a disappointing race for the Australian.
In no-man’s land between the break and the peloton, Chris Hamilton and Ivo Oliveira still haven’t given up the ghost, but have 1:13 to make up if they’re to join up to the former.
The break is 2:50 up on the peloton, who are happy to let them stay up the road for now.
170KM TO GO
O’Connor joins Archie Ryan in leaving the race, after the young Irishman didn’t start the stage this morning, due to a muscular strain in his right glute.
Ben O’Connor has just abandoned the race. In top form he’d be a contender for the stage on a mountain like the Angliru, but has been clearly struggling since crashing a few days ago, and will drop out of the race he finished second overall at last year.
The make-up of the group will have been shaped by the terrain at this early phase of the stage, which is most flat and only a little undulating - in stark contrast to the gradients that await them at the end of the day.
There are also no UAE riders in it, the team that has already won four of this year’s breakaway stages so far. Are the team at last changing tactics, and prioritising Almeida’s GC bid rather than another stage win?
It might be a big break we have out front, but it is lacking in the kind of climbing specialists you’d imagine would be able to compete for a stage win on a climb as difficult as the Angliru. Only Tiberi’s name stands out as a real elite climber.
There are four riders in between the lead group (which contains 24 riders) and the peloton - Chris Hamilton, Thomas Gruel, Ivo Oliveira and Jesus Herrada.
Felix Gall is also back in the peloton.
It appears we have our break of the day. Their lead’s grown to almost two minutes already, ahead of a peloton that’s sat up.
This group is building their lead. It’s up to about 40 seconds over the peloton.
180KM TO GO
It’s a large group, but no GC men have managed to sneak into it unnoticed. The highest placed rider on the overall rankings is Gianmarco Garofoli, who’s over half an hour down.
A large group of about 25 has a small gap, featuring Antonio Tiberi and - guess who - Mads Pedersen.
It’s been a chaotic start, and Felix Gall is in a group about 20 seconds off the back of the peloton.
No break has formed yet, but attacks are firing off the front
The racing has already begun and are out on the road, about 10km into one of the most important stages of this year's race.
190KM TO GO
Hello and welcome to stage 13 of the Vuelta a España!
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'João deserved to win today' - Vuelta a España leader Jonas Vingegaard searches for positives after narrowly losing to key rival Almeida on Angliru
Dane distances other contenders but recognises major battle remains with Portuguese stage winner -
'I've broken numerous power records this Vuelta a España' – Tom Pidcock gets dropped but battles to maintain GC podium spot up 'unforgiving' Angliru
'Whatever happens, we can build with confidence for more future goals like this' says coach to Cyclingnews as Brit finishes seventh on stage 13 -
'João showed he can beat Jonas' - Almeida keeps Vuelta a España GC battle alive with defeat of Vingegaard on Angliru
Portuguese rider outsprints Dane at summit for UAE Team Emirates-XRG's sixth stage win of 2025 race
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Here's how you can catch all the action in Switzerland from downhill to cross-country -
Vuelta a España standings 2025 – general classification after stage 13
Jonas Vingegaard maintains his lead despite failing to take stage 13 summit win -
As it happened: GC showdown on the devastating Alto de l’Angliru at end of stage 13 of the Vuelta a España
Cabezón de la Sal to L'Angliru, 202km
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Vuelta a España stage 13: João Almeida holds off Jonas Vingegaard for win atop Angliru as duo battle on savagely-steep mountain
Jai Hindley accelerates in front of Sepp Kuss to grab third place -
Tour of Britain Men: Romain Grégoire shuts down uphill charge by Julian Alaphilippe to win stage 4
22-year-old Groupama-FDJ rider takes control of GC with slight edge over Brit Matthew Brennan -
Simac Ladies Tour stage 4: Lorena Wiebes continues clean sweep with stage 4 sprint win
Chiara Consonni second place as Shari Ossuyt third in closest sprint yet
