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Hola and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage from stage 13 of the 2024 Vuelta a España!
We're expecting an all-out GC battle on the slopes of Puerto de Ancares this afternoon, with movement in the GC standings highly likely!
The neutralised start for today's stage is just under 15 minutes away.
In case you missed it, here's what happened on stage 12.
What a time to claim your first professional win!
Vuelta a España: Pablo Castrillo holds off chasers and wins stage 12 atop Manzaneda
The peloton will tackle a 176km test today from Lugo to Puerto de Ancares, via four categorised climbs.
The last one, Puerto de Ancares itself, is 7.5km at a 9% average gradient.
The sign-on process looks to be complete for today.
Could this man fancy his chances on today's parcours?
The stage starts in Lugo today, which means the race is departing from yet another World Heritage Site. The Lugo City Walls are a Roman structure that wrap around the city centre.
It is more than two kilometres long and is the only Roman city wall in the world to have been preserved in its entirety. The race last visited Lugo in 2020.
Mixed success for today's stage start selfie!
Selfie of the day 🤳😎El selfie del día 🤳😍#LaVuelta24 pic.twitter.com/ooju8NTU5YAugust 30, 2024
And the riders have rolled out for stage 13 of the Vuelta a España.
They'll pootle along for 6km before the flag is dropped and the action properly begins!
Two DNS for stage 13, as Hagos Welay Berhe (Jayco AlUla) and Jonathan Lastra (Cofidis) both abandon this year's La Vuelta.
We're down to 151 riders.
#LaVuelta24 After suffering with illness, Hagos Berhe will not start stage 13 ❌Get well soon, Hagos. pic.twitter.com/jl4mueoLSNAugust 30, 2024
The flag is dropped for stage 13 of the 2024 La Vuelta!
Plenty of attacks from the peloton already.
It looks as if Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) is up the road, in amongst a sizeable group.
So there's a group of five riders with a slender margin of 10 seconds.
Soler, Jay Vine, and Wout van Aert are there.
The quintet have been joined by a whole host of riders.
At least 20 men up the road currently.
Despite the make-up of the break not yet sorted, they look to be gaining some ground on the peloton.
The 18-man group have extended their lead. This looks like it could stick.
They're being tailed by a group of eight, including Brandon McNulty and Michael Woods, that are 30 seconds behind.
Interestingly, both Wout van Aert and Kaden Groves are in the break. The duo will be hoping they can make it to the intermediate sprint before the day's penultimate climb.
158km to go
Just 10km before we start our first climb of the day, the third-category Alto Campo de Arbre (5 km at 5.9%).
A rider can take a maximum of 23 KOM points today.
Considering that Adam Yates, the polka-dot jersey wearer, has 22, and he's tied with van Aert, there could be some movement in the classification today.
The two breakaway groups have merged.
There's now a 24-man break with almost two minutes advantage over the bunch.
Best placed in the GC stnadings from the breakaway is José Félix Parra (Equipo Kern Pharma) at 30:24.
We can't see Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale and Ben O'Connor being too fussed about chasing this one down.
The maximum gradient of the Alto Campo de Arbre is just a touch over 7%.
It shouldn't trouble even the heaviest of riders in the break, though.
The gap isn't increasing as perhaps first thought, it's still just over 90 seconds back to the bunch.
He's been in several breaks already during this Vuelta but Xabier Isasa (Euskaltel-Euskadi) is struggling to hang on to today's break.
Our front pack on the road.
We have a breakaway! 2️⃣4️⃣ riders have an advantage of 1'34"...✅ ¡Hay fuga! 2⃣4⃣ ciclistas son los valientes que tratarán de ganar la etapa al pelotón. ⏱️ 1:34" de ventaja.➡️ https://t.co/JLcUZRn88l#LaVuelta24 📸 @cxcling pic.twitter.com/QiXN3XTJcDAugust 30, 2024
Isasa manages to regain contact as the break summits the climb.
Their advantage has rapidly shot out to four minutes.
KOM (Alto Campo de Arbre)
Van Aert claims the three points over the top - he's now the virtual outright KOM leader.
Vine scoops up two, with Sylvain Moniquet taking a singular point.
A valley now separates us from our next obstacle of the day.
The Alto O Portelo is 25km away. It's longer than the first climb of stage 13 but actually ridden on shallower gradients.
There's now a six minute gap to the peloton.
Isasa has now dropped off the back of the break.
We've ticked off just over a quarter of the vertical metres on the menu today.
Still more than 2700m to climb!
We're just 6.5km away from the foot of the Alto O Portelo, it's most testing slopes come earlier on when it has pinches at 6.5%.
The 23-man group are powering along.
Interestingly, although their best placed rider on the GC is Adam Yates in eighth, UAE Team Emirates lead the team classification by a hefty margin at the moment.
Second-place Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe sit 19:24 down on the UAE squad which is down to seven riders after João Almeida's abandonment on stage 9.
The gap is almost touching 10 minutes as the break tackles the Alto O Portelo.
A fun fact courtesy of the race organisers, Pablo Castrillo's victory yesterday ensured that there are only two editions of La Vuelta to finish without a Spanish stage winner.
1996 and 2021.
Both groups have summited the category two climb now. We're still waiting to find out who crossed the KOM first.
100km to go
Wout van Aert attacks with Vine and Soler.
KOM (Alto O Portelo)
The Belgian scoops up the maximum five points over the summit of the Alto O Portelo.
Soler and Vine take three and one points, respectively.
15 seconds for the lead trio. They forced a gap over the top and decided to push on.
Decathlon are controlling things back in the bunch but, unsurprisingly, they're in no rush to chase down the break.
The race has entered the municipality of León, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León.
Soler, Vine and van Aert are consumed back into the main breakaway after their brief foray out front.
81km to go
Van Aert nips back to the team car for some refreshments and a quick chat about tactics with the DS.
With the time gap out to an almighty 12:35 now, which of these escapees could fancy themselves for the stage win?
There are some strong climbers in the group, with the likes of Vine and Soler from UAE riding well.
Meanwhile, Michael Woods and Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech) could work well together to tee up an attack - both are strong when the road points upwards.
Of course, Wout van Aert should never be disregarded from a stage win regardless of the parcours.
However, the Belgian might need to spring an early attack if he's to hold off some of the more natural climbers.
46km until the intermediate sprint at Sésamo.
Could van Aert use this checkpoint as a springboard for an attack?
Van Aert holds an 81-point lead over Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in the points classification.
In terms of numerical power in this break, UAE and DSM-Firmenich PostNL both have three riders at their disposal.
There are also several teams with a pair of riders up there: Alpecin-Deceuninck, Israel-Premier Tech, Lotto Dstny, and Arkéa-B&B Hotels.
Ahead of today's final two climbs, we thought we'd share some analysis from one of our reporters on the ground in Spain, Alasdair Fotheringham.
Analysis: Why is the 2024 Vuelta a España so wide open?
50km to go
There's now an advantage of 15 minutes for the break.
Some accelerations in the front group now.
Van Aert and Campenaerts are igniting the group.
Van Aert, Campenaerts, Schmid, and Mathis Le Berre have a short gap.
Some counter-attacks coming from the second group on the road now.
Clearly the quartet in front don't fancy heading into the final climbs with the likes of Soler, Vine, Woods, and Teuns.
Le Berre has been dropped by the small group of attackers. The Frenchman was unable to keep up with the incessant pace being set.
The chase group is splintering as they tackle an uncategorised climb ahead of the sprint.
Kim Heiduk (Ineos Grenadiers) is one of them to be dropped.
The trio of UAE riders have jumped across, so too Michael Woods.
As their advantage pushes up to 16:10, this group looks set for a shakeout ahead of the penultimate climb.
Van Aert is orchestrating the attacks.
Mauro Schmid has been active in the break for a second day running.
It's Marc Soler to make the next move, though.
6km until our intermediate sprint.
Van Aert is marking out any moves in a bid to protect those sprint points.
It hasn't thwarted Soler from trying once more, though. He has a slender gap on the descent.
In fact, Soler has actually lost the wheel of the lead group. He's been slighty too cautious downhill.
Back in the peloton and it's Movistar who are pulling.
Intermediate sprint (Sésamo)
It comes as no surprise to see van Aert take the maximum number of points at the sprint.
The lead group of eight riders are now on the Puerto de Lumeras (6.6km at 5.9%).
Marc Soler has clawed his way back on to make it a nine-rider group. The Spaniard has probably overexerted himself a bit too much there.
Here's how today's intermediate sprint unfolded.
💚 A much-reduced breakaway goes through the intermediate sprint, with van Aert picking up another 20 points! Soler was distanced on the descent but is trying to rejoin the group.💚 La reducida fuga pasa por el Sprint Intermedio con van Aert más líder. ¡Soler trata de enlazar… pic.twitter.com/pRmaks6KorAugust 30, 2024
Just as his teammate regains contact, Jay Vine sets off up the road.
Woods, van Aert, Schmid, and McNulty are able to follow.
Some stragglers have rejoined the lead group, including, that man, Marc Soler.
Despite their numerical advantage, UAE aren't using it too well.
And just like that, Marc Soler attacks.
There's no method to his tactics!
There's a real grimmace on Marc Soler's face.
He's holding a small gap, but for what cause? We're not quite sure.
500m left on the Puerto de Lumeras.
Soler is caught and van Aert pushes on for the KOM points.
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider takes the maximum points then sits up.
He's not wanting to push on, just yet.
A nasty crash for two UAE riders on the descent.
Brandon McNulty and Jay Vine are the duo to go down. Fortunately, they're both on their feet.
Vine has remounted but McNulty looks to be receiving some more treatment.
We'll wait to see if he carries on.
15km to go
There's just four riders at the front now as we head towards our final climb of the day.
Correction, there's a five-rider group leading now.
Soler, van Aert, Schmid, Oomen, and Woods.
Mcnulty is back riding but over three minutes behind the leaders, now.
Vine is reportedly just 20 seconds in arrears of the first group.
We're heading uphill but there's still a few kilometres until the climb officially gets underway.
Van Aert attempted an attack but couldn't make it stick.
It's never a dull day when Marc Soler is in the break.
10km to go
The gap back to the peloton is 16:23. Movistar appear to be working far too hard at the moment.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe won't be complaining, though.
KOM (Puerto de Lumeras)
Confirmation that van Aert took five points over the last KOM, with Vine and Woods taking three and one, respectively.
This moves Vine above his teammate Adam Yates into second place in the classification with 23 points. Van Aert leads on 35.
The ascent to the finish line begins. The lead group have reached Puerto de Ancares (7.5km at 9%).
This is going to really test the break group, especially in the final section of the climb when the gradient ramps up to 15% in places.
It's a cool day here in the Ancares mountains.
There's even some rain in the air. What a difference a week makes, eh?
Mauro Schmid launches with 5km to go. He's joined by Michael Woods.
Sam Oomen is attempting to cling on but van Aert and Soler have been distanced.
Woods is pushing on solo, Schmid can't keep pace with the Canadian.
The climb ramps up to 14% shortly.
Woods has his mouth wide open but he looks fairly calm at the moment.
Woods has already won two stages of La Vuelta during his career.
He claimed stages in 2018 and 2020, both via solo attacks on climbs.
The Israel-Premier Tech rider has opened up a strong gap over Schmid, Oomen, and Soler.
The chasing trio are all riding on their own, but is close proximity of each other.
The pace set by Movistar back in the peloton is clearly high, with the gap to Woods cut down to 14:30.
2.5km to go
Woods keeps on powering through the pedals in his unique style.
The gradient will ease off in the final kilometre.
Back in the bunch and the pace is ticking on up as GC teams battle for position.
Woods holds a 35 second gap over Schmid - he just needs to tempo to the line now.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe are taking up the pace-setting now.
1300m for Woods.
Schmid and Soler are now together, acting as the chase group.
While Woods is pushing, further down the mountain, his teammate George Bennett is being dropped.
Adam Yates is another rider unable to hold onto the bunch.
1km to go
A third Vuelta stage is very nearly here for Michael Woods.
The red jersey is dropped from the main GC favourites as Dani Martínez sets a ferocious pace to launch Primož Roglič.
Roglič has teammate Florian Lipowitz in his group, alongside GC rivals Enric Mas and Sepp Kuss.
Michael Woods is in the hoarded section, it's hard to tell whether he's straining or smiling.
But it's certainly smiles now for the 37-year-old, as he wins stage 13 of the Vuelta a España.
Back down the mountain and Roglič has distanced Sepp Kuss.
Mas is still there, by the skin of his teeth, while O'Connor has Felix Gall pacing him up the climb.
There seems to be a gap of 1:30 between Ben O'Connor and Roglič.
Another acceleration by the Slovenian and Mas can't handle it.
The GC riders are spread all over this mountain.
Everyone apart from Primož Roglič appears to be struggling.
An unstoppable pace.
💥 ROGLIC ATTACKS! He’s distanced La Roja🧨 ¡ROGLIC CON TODO! Sufre O'Connor.#LaVuelta24 pic.twitter.com/Xisr5qHCqLAugust 30, 2024
It's a lonely ride for Ben O'Connor. He's battling to stay in red this evening.
Roglič is approaching the line.
The Slovenian comes over the line, he's put a hefty dent into Ben O'Connor's lead today.
Carapaz has recovered well to overtake Mas in the final metres.
Now O'Connor comes into the final stretches, he's battling hard.
O'Connor has wrestled his way up the climb, losing approximately 1:53.
He'll remain in the red jersey with an advantage of 1:21 over the Slovenian.
We'll bring you the stage standings as we wait to hear from today's winner and our red jersey.
Today's stage has delivered a lovely battle for the podium.
Mas, Carapaz, and Mikel Landa are separated by 19 seconds in third, fourth and fifth on GC.
What it means for 'Rusty'.
🗣️ « THANKS BOYS » @rusty_woods #LaVuelta24 pic.twitter.com/g8kafbtzGNAugust 30, 2024
Some thoughts from red jersey Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) after today's tough stage.
"I was pretty cooked. I wasn't going anywhere in a hurry today. [It's] sad times but at least I'm still in red. To be honest, I'd already dropped by then [when Roglič attacked] so I didn't really see. I was just trying to manage my effort. I didn't have too much going on today.
"Tomorrow, I'll just try and do my best to recover, have another day in the red jersey, then see how Sunday goes."
Wout van Aert holds the outright lead in the points classification and the King of the Mountains competition.
He leads Groves by 112 points in the green jersey standings and has a margin of 13 points over Vine in the battle for the polka-dots.
Some words from the stage 13 winner of La Vuelta, Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech):
"I had to suffer still [today], it hurt a lot. A really challenging day but I'm really proud. The team rode amazingly to get me into a breakaway, so I couldn't have done it without them.
"I'm so happy that I can back up all the support that I've got from the team over the year. I've had a lot of setbacks over the year but everyone has been in my corner, they've believed in me so it was so nice to pay them back today."
He continued: "I'm not getting any younger, I'm almost 38 now, I'm basically in the masters category so it's nice to win against the young guys.
"I know there's not many more chances to win here so I'm going to cherish it and be proud of it."
