Pascal Ackermann narrowly missed out on victory on the 13th stage of the 77th Vuelta. After 168.4 kilometres from Ronda to Montilla, the 28-year-old Palatinate rider from UAE Team Emirates was beaten in the sprint by the Danish stage winner Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) and the Frenchman Bryan Coquard (Cofidis).
Ackermann opens sprint early
Ackermann had opened the final sprint early, but had to let former world champion Pedersen and Coquard pass him and is still waiting for his third Vuelta stage win.
Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) once again defended the overall leader's red jersey with ease. At 2:41 minutes, the 22-year-old Belgian continues to lead ahead of the Slovenian title defender Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma). Third is the Spaniard Enric Mas (Movistar), 3:03 minutes behind Belgium's great cycling hope Evenepoel.
Ayuso continues despite corona
Another rider, Juan Ayuso, who finished fifth overall, tested positive for the coronavirus. According to Ayuso's UAE Team Emirates, the 19-year-old Spaniard is symptom-free and at low risk of infection. In consultation with the medical officials of the Vuelta and the UCI, it was therefore decided to leave Ayuso in the race. In the past few days, numerous riders have had to withdraw from the race due to positive corona tests.
The battle for positions in the overall standings will continue on the 14th stage on Saturday. After 160.3 kilometres, the day's stage ends with the mountain finish at an altitude of 1815 metres on the Sierra de La Pandera.
Profile: This was the 13th stage of the Vuelta
The stages of the Vuelta in detail
Unlike in the Tour de France, the leader's jersey in the Vuelta is not yellow, but red. We have summarised which other leader's jerseys and special classifications there are in the Tour of Spain in our text on the rules.
Numerous top cycling stars will be at the start of the 2022 Vuelta. TOUR has compiled an overview of the line-ups of the 23 teams.
Tour of Spain for women
In addition to the men's race, there will also be another Vuelta for women in 2022, the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta. It will take place from 7 to 11 September with a total of five stages.
The first stage starts in Marina de Cudeyo in Cantabria, with the final section finishing four days later in the Spanish capital Madrid.
History of the Vuelta
The men's Vuelta a Espana is back after the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France the third of the three major national tours (Grand Tours), which will be held in 2022. The Tour of Spain was held for the first time in 1935 and is therefore younger than its Italian and French counterparts.
Until the 1990s, the Vuelta traditionally took place in spring. The date was then moved to August or September. There was one exception in 2020, when the Vuelta was moved to October and November due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The record winner is the Spaniard Roberto Heras with four titles. Three Germans have won the race so far: Rudi Altig (1962), Rolf Wolfshohl (1965) and Jan Ullrich (1999).
