Michael Kwiatowski of INEOS Grenadiers went with the breakaway on Stage 13 of the Tour de France on Friday. Kwiatkowski then broke away from the breakaway and ended up winning the 137.8-kilometer mountain stage with a huge solo effort.
In the general classification race, UAE Team Emirates pushed the pace in the next group to set up leader Tadej Pogacar for a late strike. While UAE had three riders stay with Pogacar until the end, Durangoan Sepp Kuss was the last man standing to help Team Jumbo-Visma leader Jonas Vingegaard.
Simon Yates, Pogacar’s teammate, attacked on the 7.5-kilometer-long Grand Colombier climb where the race finished, but Kuss was able to chase him down and Vingegaard and Pogacar followed.
Kuss continued to help pull Vingegaard until the final kilometer when Pogacar made a massive attack and sprinted off. Vingegaard immediately chased him, but Pogacar never slowed down and was able to finish four seconds ahead of Vingegaard, plus grab four bonus seconds with a third-place finish on the stage, to cut Vingegaard’s GC lead from 17 seconds down to nine seconds.
“It was an explosive climb, but we had everything under control,” Kuss said. “We expected it to come down to the last few meters, and that’s what happened. There was no need for us to take the initiative today. We can be happy with where we are. It will be a matter of finding the right moments.”
Vingegaard was also happy with the effort to hold on to the yellow leader’s jersey.
“This stage didn’t suit me,” he said. “I am happy that I was able to limit the gap. I felt strong, and the team rode excellently.”
Kuss finished 12th on the stage to move back into the top-10 of the GC. Kuss finished 1:20 behind the stage winner. Thibault Pinot of Groupana FDJ, who passed Kuss in the GC on Stage 12, finished 3:29 back in 21st place, allowing Kuss to leap frog him and finish the day 10th overall (+7:11).
None of the jerseys changed on Stage 13. Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck still has a huge lead in the points race. American Neilson Powless kept the polka dot King of the Mountain jersey, but he’ll have to fight to keep it on Stage 14 because lots of points will be available. Pogacar is second behind Powless after scoring 12 mountain points while wearing the white youth leader’s jersey that he’ll be in again on Saturday.
Kwiatkowski’s stage win also helped the INEOS Grenadiers move into first in the team race, passing Bahrain-Victorious (+3:39) while Jumbo-Visma remained in third (+11:44).
