The title holder, Remco Evenepoel, in difficulty from the Col d’Aubisque, conceded more than twenty minutes on Friday and probably lost the 2023 Vuelta.
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With the Aubisque, Spandelles and Tourmalet passes on the program, this 13e stage of the Vuelta announced a battle between strong men, Friday September 8. The favorites formed a group at the front from the Aubisque with one big absentee: Remco Evenepoel, in difficulty from the first big climb of the day. This group of leaders, which included five riders from the Jumbo-Visma, lost almost nothing until the foot of the Col du Tourmalet, where Jonas Vingegaard placed several attacks eight kilometers from the summit, before crossing the line arriving in first position.
Jumbo-Visma hat-trick and powerhouse
After the successes of Sepp Kuss on the 6e stage and Primoz Roglic on the 8e stage, the three leaders of the Jumbo-Visma now have a stage victory each in this Vuelta. Kuss, who set off solo one kilometer from the summit of Tourmalet, finished second in the stage on Friday, just ahead of Roglic. The American retains his red jersey and is now ahead of his two teammates in the general classification. The choice of which rider to favor now in the general classification will become the biggest dilemma of the Jumbo-Visma.
Their main opponent, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), experienced an unprecedented failure and conceded more than 24 minutes at the finish. Winner of the Tour of Spain last year, the Belgian sees his dreams of a double disappear.
On the French side, the young Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ), who yo-yoed all day trying to hang on to the group of favorites, was finally dropped at the start of the Tourmalet climb and finished more than of 8 minutes by Vingegaard. He fell from fifth to fourteenth place in the general classification.