Portugal’s Joao Almeida outpaced overall leader Jonas Vingegaard to win the gruelling 13th stage of the Vuelta a Espana – as the race was again disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters. <\/b><\/p>\n
Almeida of UAE Team Emirates-XRG took over the lead from team-mate Felix Grossschartner with less than six kilometres to go to the summit finish at the Alto de Angliru. <\/p>\n
The Portuguese and Vingegaard, the top two in the general classification, then broke away from Jai Hindley and 2023 winner Sepp Kuss with three kilometres to the summit before the duo battled it out in for the stage win up the steep ascent.<\/p>\n
Earning bonus seconds with his first stage win at the Vuelta, Almeida closed the gap to Visma-Lease a Bike’s Vingegaard to 46 seconds in the overall rankings. <\/p>\n
“This is a special one, I still don’t believe it,” Almeida said.<\/p>\n
“I just put my pace from the bottom and I just did my bit the best I could. Jonas was always on my wheel. We were both on the limit and I was waiting for his attack anytime.<\/p>\n
“I think this is the hardest climb in the world, it’s crazy, I’m really sore.”<\/p>\n
Great Britain’s Tom Pidcock remains third overall despite finishing seventh in the stage, but he is now two minutes 18 seconds off two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard. <\/p>\n
Australia’s Hindley, who took third in the 202.7km ride from Cabezon de la Sal to Alto de L’Angliru, sits fourth in the general classification. <\/p>\n
Protesters waving Palestinian flags disrupted the stage before the climb to Angliru, affecting lead riders Jefferson Cepeda, Bob Jungels, and Nico Vinokurov. <\/p>\n
The stoppage lasted a few seconds before security intervened. <\/p>\n
“We were slowed down a bit by a demonstration during the race, but that didn’t change anything – we knew we would be caught by the best,” said Vinokurov, who held a three-minute lead over the peloton before the disruption. <\/p>\n