Vuelta: Vingegaard wins the queen stage - Evenepoel collapses

>> Click here for the detailed race report of the 13th stage

After a demonstration of power by his racing team Jumbo-Visma, Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard from Denmark won the 13th stage of the Vuelta on the legendary Col du Tourmalet.

Remco Evenepoel of Team Soudal Quick-Step, who was third overall so far, lost several minutes on Friday and thus probably also the fight for the overall victory at the 78th Tour of Spain. Behind Vingegaard, his team-mates Sepp Kuss (+30 seconds) and Primoz Roglic (+33) finished second and third in his first Vuelta stage win. The American Kuss thus defended the overall leader's red jersey. German riders did not play a role in the 2115 metre high finish.

Evenepoel falls back

Belgium's star Evenepoel experienced a very bitter day, dropping out of the lead group well before the final climb and thus probably losing all chances of his second overall victory at the Vuelta after 2022. João Almeida from the Emirates team, who had previously finished sixth overall, also had to abandon early on. Marc Soler (Emirates), previously Kuss' closest rival in the overall classification, lost sight of the top riders on the final climb. The Slovenian Roglic is now second overall, 1:37 minutes behind. He is followed by Vingegaard (+1:44), whose daughter had a birthday.

The next tough mountain stage follows on Saturday. The 156.5-kilometre stage leads from Sauveterre-de-Béarn to Puerto de Belagua in the border region between Spain and France. The first 50 kilometres are flat before the pros have to climb over four mountains in the following 100. The Col Hourcére and Puerto de Larrau belong to the most difficult category. The final climb has an average gradient of 6.3 per cent over a length of 9.5 kilometres. On the steepest ramps, the gradient is 10 per cent and the finish is at an altitude of 1587 metres.

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