Jonas Vingegaard won the 13th stage of the Vuelta a España in superior fashion on Friday. The 26-year-old Dane of Team Jumbo-Visma rode solo to victory on the flanks of the Tourmalet after clever team play. Durangoan Sepp Kuss and Primoz Roglic finished second and third on the stage with Kuss extending his general classification lead. The Jumbo-Visma trio is now holds the top three spots in the overall classification.
“I’m proud and over the moon,” Vingegaard said. “I can’t imagine a better day. My little daughter Frida is celebrating her birthday today. So I wanted to win the stage. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, but I’m hoping this will more than make up for it. This victory is for her.”
Team Jumbo-Visma set the pace at the start of the stage. On the climb to the Col d’Aubisque, several riders got into trouble. Eventually, an elite group reached the Col du Tourmalet. Following a good team effort, Vingegaard launched an attack, and the two-time Tour de France winner rode solo to his maiden Vuelta stage victory. Kuss and Roglic completed the Jumbo-Visma success by finishing second and third, half a minute behind their teammate.
“We had our sights set on this stage,” Vingegaard said. “We wanted to gain time on the competition, which we managed to do. Then, finishing first, second and third makes it really unique. We now have three team members in the top three in the overall standings. It’s perfect in every way. Our goal is to win the Vuelta. At the moment, it looks promising.”
Despite being happy with the stage victory, sports director Marc Reef recommended restraint. “First of all, my compliments to Robert Gesink. He controlled the pace from the first climb. He was very valuable today. After that, the guys were exceptional. But each stage demands that we remain focused. We still have a long way to go, though we are already in a better place than yesterday. Today’s 1-2-3 is exceptional. We will celebrate that tonight.”
Kuss retained the red jersey and leads teammates Roglic and Vingegaard by over a minute and a half. “It was a dream scenario,” he said. “We are thrilled with the way we used our collective strength today. We are in a good position, but tomorrow is another tough mountain stage. It’s up to us to keep doing well.”
Team Jumbo-Visma now has 58 victories this year. It was Vingegaard’s 14th win of the season. Kuss also won Stage 6 and Roglic won Stage 8 of the Vuelta.
Marc Soler of UAE Team Emirates started the day 26 seconds behind Kuss, but slid four spots to sixth and is now 3:10 back. Soler’s teammate Juan Ayuso is the closest competitor to Jumbo-Visma, trailing Kuss by 2:37.
The defending Vuelta champion Remco Evenepoel dropped from third all the way down to 19th in the GC and is now 27:50 back.
