The Queen stage of the Vuelta a España delivered everything it promised: plenty of action and significant changes in the general classification.
The changes started in the middle of the ascent to Col d’Aubisque, where Remco Evenepoel surprisingly fell behind. At the summit of the mountain, he was already 1 minute and 30 seconds behind the leading group, which included Sepp Kuss, Roglic, Ayuso, and Vingegaard.
On the penultimate ascent, the Col de Spandelles, a front group of 21 riders was formed, including the top cyclists in the race. However, besides Evenepoel, one cyclist was missing: João Almeida.
The Portuguese rider, who had complained of a sore throat before the start of the stage (he even underwent a negative Covid test), struggled on the Col d’Aubisque to catch up with the front group. João remained 1 minute behind the front group.
At this point, Remco Evenepoel was already saying goodbye to any chance of winning the overall classification of the Vuelta a España 2023, as he was more than 5 minutes behind the main group.
And during the final ascent, the Col du Tourmalet, Jumbo-Visma took the lead of the peloton, setting a very strong pace, trying to put their opponents in a position where they couldn’t break the rhythm. Until the moment when Jonas Vingegaard launched an attack in pursuit of the stage victory:
And with the attack, Jonas Vingegaard wins the stage!!!! Jumbo-Visma takes 2nd and 3rd places, with Sepp Kuss and Primoz Roglic, respectively!!
Watch the winner’s finish:
João Almeida eventually finished in 15th place, 6 minutes and 47 seconds behind Vingegaard.
Results of the 13th stage of the Vuelta a España 2023:
Soon, the General Classification of the Vuelta a España 2023.