Impressive Van Aert takes lead in KOM competition in Vuelta a España after fifth place in tough mountain stage
The peloton prepared itself for a tough mountain stage between Lugo and Puerto de Ancares. Four categorised climbs awaited the riders in the 176-kilometre stage, with the steep final climb as highlight. After the start, Van Aert was part of a large breakaway group. The 24 escapees quickly gained a lead of more than ten minutes.
Van Aert, who was already leading the points classification by a big margin, also set his mind on the mountain classification along the way. On the first three categorised climbs, the Belgian always reached the top first. That was enough to take over the lead in the mountain classification from Adam Yates. On the final climb, Van Aert chose his own pace. He finished fifth, well behind stage winner Woods.
“This morning, I had not set my sights on the mountain classification”, Van Aert looked back. “I saw that Kaden Groves was in the early breakaway. He is second in the points classification, so I had to go with him. Once I was in the front, I decided to try to take all possible points. I never really believed in the stage win. Riders like Jay Vine, Brandon McNulty and Woods are better than me on the steep sections. Besides, I was too focused on the intermediate sprints. Climbs with an average gradient over seven per cent are tough for riders like me.”
“I am very proud to wear this jersey”
Wout van Aert
In the mountains classification, Van Aert now counts 13 points more than Vine. “In the Tour de France, I was already close to wearing the polka dot jersey several times. I always regretted that I never went for it then. Today I saw an opportunity, so I am very proud to wear this jersey. Tomorrow there is another beautiful stage. It will be a matter of surviving the hills. After that, we will see what is possible.”
In the group of favourites, Sepp Kuss managed to follow the pace of Primoz Roglic and Enric Mas for a long time. The 29-year-old American limited the damage and eventually reached the line in 25th place. “I knew Roglic was going to accelerate on the Puerto de Ancares. I tried to follow as long as possible, but on the steep sections the legs exploded. It was good for my confidence that I was able to follow for some time. Therefore, I had nothing to lose today.”
🇪🇸 #LaVuelta24 Brutal stage, great reward. 💙💚 pic.twitter.com/3lfxkIsMsA— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) August 30, 2024
La Vuelta Ciclista a España
Stage 13
Result
Rankings
Result
1
Michael Woods
Israel – Premier Tech
04:19:51
2
Mauro Schmid
Team Jayco AlUla
+00:00:45
3
Marc Soler
UAE Team Emirates
+00:01:11
5
Wout van Aert
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:02:56
25
Sepp Kuss
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:12:01
32
Cian Uijtdebroeks
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:12:41
46
Steven Kruijswijk
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:15:18
53
Robert Gesink
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:18:54
73
Edoardo Affini
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:21:58
88
Attila Valter
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:24:01
Rankings
1
Ben O’Connor
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
52:10:15
2
Primož Roglič
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe
+00:01:21
3
Enric Mas
Movistar Team
+00:03:01
15
Sepp Kuss
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:07:28
27
Steven Kruijswijk
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:38:18
35
Attila Valter
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+00:49:13
50
Wout van Aert
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+01:06:24
51
Cian Uijtdebroeks
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+01:06:43
54
Robert Gesink
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+01:13:15
124
Edoardo Affini
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
+02:21:54
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Subjects
Cycling – World Tour men
Wout van Aert
Sepp Kuss
1
La Vuelta Ciclista a España
