Vuelta a España stage 13: LIVE

2025-09-05T12:56:43.209Z

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.

2025-09-05T12:50:34.902Z

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.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2025-09-05T12:46:10.500Z

Having held steady for so long, the gap has come a little in the last few kilometres, to 2:30.

2025-09-05T12:45:10.220Z

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.

2025-09-05T12:39:10.809Z

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.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2025-09-05T12:33:03.041Z

A reminder that Ben O’Connor pulled out of the race earlier. You can read more about what happened here.

2025-09-05T12:22:34.935Z

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.

2025-09-05T12:17:58.593Z

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.

2025-09-05T12:00:17.328Z

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.

2025-09-05T11:52:10.055Z

Fernando Barceló had a mechanical, but the pace is slow enough for him to easily return to the peloton.

2025-09-05T11:48:22.067Z

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.

2025-09-05T11:25:30.241Z

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.

2025-09-05T11:21:45.232Z

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.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2025-09-05T11:19:15.933Z

Hamilton won’t be making the juncture – he’s dropped back into the peloton.

2025-09-05T11:17:34.070Z

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.

2025-09-05T11:16:29.683Z

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.

2025-09-05T11:14:40.492Z

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.

2025-09-05T11:11:00.299Z

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.

2025-09-05T11:05:26.748Z

Here are the 24 men in the breakaway.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2025-09-05T10:59:52.925Z

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.

2025-09-05T10:56:20.994Z

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.

2025-09-05T10:55:17.087Z

The break is 2:50 up on the peloton, who are happy to let them stay up the road for now.

2025-09-05T10:53:54.177Z

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.

2025-09-05T10:52:17.761Z

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.

2025-09-05T10:50:22.850Z

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.

2025-09-05T10:49:09.352Z

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?

2025-09-05T10:47:59.721Z

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.

2025-09-05T10:45:46.700Z

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.

2025-09-05T10:44:27.127Z

Felix Gall is also back in the peloton.

2025-09-05T10:43:56.530Z

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.

2025-09-05T10:41:22.853Z

This group is building their lead. It’s up to about 40 seconds over the peloton.

2025-09-05T10:40:20.601Z

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.

2025-09-05T10:37:19.538Z

A large group of about 25 has a small gap, featuring Antonio Tiberi and – guess who – Mads Pedersen.

2025-09-05T10:36:15.855Z

(Image credit: Getty Images)

2025-09-05T10:32:33.527Z

It’s been a chaotic start, and Felix Gall is in a group about 20 seconds off the back of the peloton.

2025-09-05T10:31:07.807Z

No break has formed yet, but attacks are firing off the front

2025-09-05T10:29:57.868Z

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.

2025-08-11T17:26:49.225Z

Hello and welcome to stage 13 of the Vuelta a España!