La Vuelta: Joao Almeida delivers epic ride to beat race leader Jonas Vingegaard for Stage 13 win on the Angliru

Portugal’s Joao Almeida won his team a sixth stage in La Vuelta after a UAE Team Emirates-XRG masterclass on the infamous Alto de L'Angliru denied Jonas Vingegaard a historic win in the red jersey. Battling Tom Pidcock limited his losses in Stage 13 to retain his third place in the standings on the toughest climb in the sport.

Cycling fans were treated to some rare sunshine atop the legendary Alto de L'Angliru on Friday, but not – as expected – a first victory on the brutal climb from a rider in the red jersey.

Despite his best efforts, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) was unable to get the better of his Portuguese rival Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who soared to a maiden stage victory on La Vuelta – and his team’s sixth of the Grand Tour.

Almeida benefitted from some sumptuous pacing from his UAE team-mates Ivo Oliveira, Jay Vine and Felix Grossschartner on the gentler slopes of the Angliru before Almeida took matters into his own hands with around seven kilometres remaining of what is arguably the toughest ascent in pro cycling.

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Almeida’s hefty tempo on the front quickly poured cold water on the chances of the remaining escapee, the Luxembourg veteran Bob Jungels (Ineos Grenadiers), before whittling down the group of general classification (GC) favourites to a mere handful.

With the likes of Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech), Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) all unable to keep up, Almeida soon went clear with Vingegaard on his wheel after dropping the Dane’s Visma team-mate Sepp Kuss and Australia’s Jai Hindley (Red Bull) inside the final five kilometres.

Such was Almeida’s pace that Vingegaard was forced to dig deep to hold his wheel, the two-time Tour de France champion not once coming through for a pull.

The duo’s lead grew on the savage 23.5% gradient of the tough Cuena les Cabres section with 2.5km remaining as the riders momentarily entered the misty clouds usually associated with the rugged peaks of Asturias.

As they emerged into bright sunshine over the summit, Almeida still had the bit between his teeth. The Portuguese climber pushed on as the duo dropped down towards the finish line, ensuring that he took the decisive final corner in pole position.

Try as he might, Vingegaard could not come past Almeida, who surged to the biggest and best win of his career – and moved within 46 seconds of the race summit.

Hindley, the 2022 Giro champion, took third place at 28 seconds ahead of the 2023 Vuelta champion Kuss, who moved into the top 10 at the expense of his fellow American team-mate Matteo Jorgenson.

Pidcock battled back to finish just behind Gall and Pellizzari in seventh place, the 26-year-old retaining his third place in the standings. But with Pidcock now 2’18" down on his rivals, it looks like the 80th edition of La Vuelta will be a two-horse race between the top two on the Angliru: Almeida and Vingegaard.

• Stage 13 as it happened: Almeida holds off Vingegaard as Pedersen shines
• 'Scary, scary moment' sees Vuelta riders nearly wiped out by dog attached to a chair

A day in the mountains in this Vuelta would not be the same without Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) in the break – and the Danish powerhouse duly delivered. Pedersen was one of 25 riders who went up the road on the long flat run towards the three categorised climbs that peppered the final third of the 200km route in northern Spain.

The escapees held a lead of 3’45" going onto the Alto de La Mosquera with 55km remaining, and Kazakh rider Nicolas Vinokurov (XDS Astana) leading a five-man splinter group over the summit.

Watch 'scary moment' dog with chair almost wipes out multiple Vuelta riders

Video credit: TNT Sports

Dropped on the climb, Pedersen fought back to join Vinokurov on the front alongside Jungels, the Italian duo of Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) and Giancarlo Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step), and the Ecuadorian Jefferson Cepeda (Movistar).

Pedersen then won the intermediate sprint in the valley to move over 80 points clear at the top of the green jersey standings ahead of the penultimate climb, the Alto del Cordal, over which Vinokurov once again took the spoils ahead of Jungels and Cepeda.

With Garofoli dropped early on the second climb and Tiberi – after narrowly avoiding a collision with a stray dog – suffering a double whammy of a mechanical and then a crash on the descent, the Jungels trio led the race going onto the mythical Angliru.

But their lead of just over two minutes was dealt a blow when a handful of protesters at the foot of the climb momentarily held up the race – just as Vingegaard’s Visma train had upped the tempo in the peloton behind.

UAE’s fifth stage winner from Thursday, Juan Ayuso, had already been distanced by Victor Campenaerts’ (Visma) hefty metronome on the Alto del Cordal – although UAE soon took control through Oliveira, Grossschartner and Vine.

But ultimately, it was the individual excellence of Almeida that made the difference. The Portuguese’s sustained pull on the front whittled down the GC group, dropping the likes of Jorgenson and Pellizzari with 6.5km to go before Pidcock soon felt the pinch along with Gall and Riccitello.

Kuss kept Vingegaard company while Hindley clung on as Almeida continued his infernal tempo on the unforgiving double-digit gradients. When the elastic snapped for Kuss and Hindley inside the final five kilometres, Vingegaard was even forced to get out of the saddle to close the gap on the crazed Almeida.

Unwilling or unable to come through for a pull, Vingegaard held the back wheel of his rival through the mist and up the goat path of the Cuenta de Cabres – and despite his best efforts to become the first rider in the red jersey to win on the Angliru, a "disappointed" Vingegaard simply could not come pass Almeida once the gradient eased ahead of the finish.

‘Disappointed’ Vingegaard says ‘sorry’ to his team-mates after gruelling Stage 13

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UAE’s sixth win saw Almeida pocket 10 bonus seconds and move to within 46 seconds of Vingegaard’s red jersey ahead of Saturday’s Stage 14 – yet another summit finish at La Farrapona.

"This is a special one – I still don’t believe it," said Almeida, 27, after his first stage win on La Vuelta. "Thanks to my team-mates, who were key today. They did an amazing stage. I just did my pace from the bottom and did the best I could.

"Jonas was always on my wheel. In the last kilometre I was on my limit – I guess we were both on our limit – and I was waiting for his attack. I thought he was going to pass me at the finish line. But I remember the finish line from a few years ago and I took the last corner ahead, and it’s hard to pass.

'I still don’t believe it – Almeida delight after triumphing on ‘hardest climb in the world’

Video credit: TNT Sports

"It was an amazing day. I think it’s the hardest climb in the world. It’s crazy. I’m glad it’s over. I still have a lot of time to make up to Jonas – he’s looking phenomenal and so I think it’s going to be a hard task. But we’re never going to give up."

Hindley’s solid ride saw the Australian rise four places to fourth, at 3'00'', while Red Bull team-mate Pellizzari also rose four places to sixth, ahead of Riccitello.

For his part, Pidcock was happy to retain his place on the podium after a climb he described as "super tough".

"Finding a rhythm there is just unforgiving," Pidcock said after fighting back for seventh place. "At the start, I was okay. But I knew I couldn’t keep that pace up all the way. I think everyone slowed down. I just tried to do my own pace, but it’s like fighting all the way up. Thankfully, I didn’t lose much time."

‘Have to be realistic’ – Pidcock gives thoughts after climbing ‘unforgiving’ Angliru

Video credit: TNT Sports

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