Stage 13 of the Vuelta a España, with its short but multi-mountain rode to the summit of the Col du Tourmalet, was always expected to be a crucial day for the overall contenders but nobody expected such drama and dominance.
It was an incredible day of racing and Chris Auld was there for Cyclingnews to capture the day’s action. This special feature is a selection of his images from a race changing day in the Pyrenees.
It was surprising enough to see João Almeida struggle with 90km still to go and shocking to see defending champion Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) soon suffer the same fate.
Then on the final slopes of the Col du Tourmalet, Jumbo-Visma played cat and mouse with their rivals. Jonas Vingegaard won the stage and Sepp Kuss and Primož Roglič finished second and third to also fill the top three places on the GC.
After fighting for survival with his Soudal-QuickStep teammates, Evenepoel crossed the line more than 27:05 behind what could only now be described as his former GC rivals..
There was no illness, no crash but just an undeniable crushing reality that “the tank was just empty” said Evenepoel after the stage on social media.
Jumbo-Visma unequivocally made the Vuelta their race to lose.
Vingegaard is third, with nearly one minute to his nearest rival, Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates). Roglič moved up to second overall, while Kuss, who has looked less and less the domestique every day he has spent in red, extended his lead to 1:37 on Roglič.
The only question that appears to remain is who will go on to win the Vuelta.
The slopes of the Pyrenees were lined with cars as a second Grand Tour was on its way to the Col du Tourmalet in 2023
The anticipation was building as the crowds gathered
The roads were lined, with a pivotal GC stage almost an inevitability given the stage was traversing the Col d’Aubisque, Col de Spandelles and finally, the Col du Tourmalet
The lofty heights have been home to many a Grand Tour battle, just usually in July
This one didn’t wait to the Col du Tourmalet to unfold, with Jumbo-Visma emerging as the dominant force early
There were plenty of riders passing by before the figure of defending champion Remco Evenepoel emerged
Tucked in with his teammates and wearing white, this wasn’t where he’d expected to be
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