00:00Welcome to stage 13.
00:05It's a big day at La Vuelta 25 as the riders tackle Anglerou,
00:09one of the hardest climbs in Europe.
00:11This 13th stage could have a significant impact on GC.
00:15Race leader Jonas Vingegaard is eyeing up an iconic victory in the red jersey
00:19on a day that is right in between his children's birthdays.
00:23For sure it's the one that I would really love to win.
00:25I wouldn't say I have to win it, but for sure I would love to win today.
00:29Then I can honour maybe both my son and my daughter.
00:36So yeah, today will be a brutal stage and it will be all in for everyone.
00:42So yeah, you just have to do your best.
00:44UAE have been winning for fun at this race
00:47and today is absolutely crucial for their leader Joao Almeida.
00:50He knows it will take something special to emulate Primoz Roglic,
00:54the last winner on Anglerou in 2023.
00:57Today is a super hard day, 200k with a lot of climbs, so Anglerou in the final.
01:04It's going to be massive and we hope for good legs.
01:08I think if you want to win today you need to be Jonas Vingegaard,
01:11so it's quite a hard task.
01:14Other climbers could give it a go if the GC favourites mark each other too closely,
01:18but they will need superb legs.
01:20Wout Pools has finished second on Anglerou twice and came fifth two years ago,
01:25so he has a decent idea of how to approach the fearsome ascent.
01:29I mean every time we climb Anglerou is very special, it's such a hard climb.
01:33Really passionate fans always over there, so yeah, nice.
01:37I think the key point is at the second last climb to take that downhill in the front,
01:42it's very technical and then you hit the Anglerou straight away.
01:45If you can sit there in the front you can save some energy and then it's like,
01:48or you have the legs or you don't have the legs, simple as that.
01:55It's a day of rampas in humanas on stage 13 with three big climbs in the final.
02:00First up is the Alto de la Mosqueta, 6.3k at 8.4%,
02:04then the Alto del Cordel, 5.5k at 8.8%,
02:08before the Anglerou itself, 12.4km at a gruelling 9.7%.
02:14Plenty of GC dreams could be shattered on those brutal slopes.
02:25Well 25 men got into the breakaway as they blasted through the first two hours of racing
02:29at over 50km an hour.
02:31The pace was too much for Ben O'Connor who's been struggling after a crash,
02:35last year's runner-up stepping off the bike.
02:38There were fewer big names at the front than in recent days,
02:41but Mads Pedersen was up there yet again hunting for green jersey points,
02:45along with his nearest rival in that classification, Ethan Vernon.
02:49The best placed man overall was Gianmarco Gaddafoli of T-Rex Quickstep,
02:53some 32 minutes down on Vingegaard.
02:56Joel Nicolaou was in the break for the sixth time at this race,
02:59targeting mountains points.
03:01And there were some strong all-rounders, including Antonio Tiberi,
03:05who has been a long way from his best at this Vuelta,
03:08and Bob Jungels, a stage winner at the Giro d'Italia and at the Tour de France.
03:14The peloton letting the gap ease out to nearly four minutes
03:16as they approach the first time of the day, the Alto de la Mosqueta.
03:20On the early slopes, Remy Cavagna took control of the breakaway
03:23for his Group Armour FDJ teammate Clément Braz-Affonso,
03:27a lot of riders soon dropping away.
03:30Back in the peloton, meanwhile, Tom Pidcock's Q36.5 team
03:34had taken over the pacing duties from Visma Lisa Bike.
03:43Well, Jungels then decided to step things up a gear in the breakaway,
03:46with Cavagna and Braz-Affonso fading away.
03:49The Luxemburger looking strong as he led a group of five up the climb.
03:53He was joined by Tiberi, Gadafoli, Nikolas Vinokurov and Jefferson Cepeda.
04:00A little further back, Pedersen was fighting to catch up again
04:03before the intermediate sprint, which was on the other side of the mountain.
04:06The Dane even dropping his fellow chaser, Hube Arts,
04:10last year's European under-23 champion.
04:17The green jersey getting back to the front and taking the place of Tiberi,
04:21who was held up by a puncture.
04:23The Italian linking up with Arts, around 20 seconds behind the front group.
04:32The intermediate sprint was a formality for Pedersen,
04:35who sat up as soon as he had collected his 20 points.
04:38The rest of the front group heading on to the Alto del Cordal.
04:41Gadafoli soon dropped, leaving Jungels, Vinokurov and Cepeda at the front.
04:46It didn't look like Tiberi would be able to get back to them.
04:51UAE taking over at the front of the peloton meanwhile,
04:53with the King of the Mountains, Jay Vine, working for Almeida
04:56and eating into the breakaway's advantage.
05:00Vinokurov was once again first over the top to make it 20 KOM points for the day.
05:05On the descent of the Cordal, Tiberi had a close shave,
05:08this crash ending his chances of getting back to the fronts.
05:12The stage, and perhaps even La Vuelta, would be decided on Angleru.
05:16Three riders arrive at the base of the Alto del Angleru.
05:20The first especial climb of the 2025 La Vuelta Espana.
05:25The GC group was now around two minutes down
05:29and Cepeda was the latest man to be dropped at the front.
05:32Jungels doing an impressive job, but the favourites were closing fast.
05:36UAE doing all sorts of damage, with Egan Bernal going backwards.
05:40And so too was Vinokurov, meaning Jungels would be the last survivor from the breakaway.
05:45Felix Grosschartner putting in a big turn for Almeida,
05:49as Gall, Pellizzari and Pidcock all fell away from the red jersey group.
05:55And by the time they caught up to Jungels, there were only four of them left.
05:59Almeida, Vingegaard, Kuss and Hindley.
06:03And four would soon become two, with Almeida and Vingegaard pulling away
06:07and preparing for a mano a mano on the Angleru.
06:13Hindley and Kuss trying to limit the damage,
06:16with Pidcock struggling to follow the trio of Riccitello, Gall and Pellizzari.
06:20There would be some big gaps at the finish line.
06:25It was an absorbing final, with nothing to separate the top two on GC.
06:30Almeida still setting the tempo.
06:32Further back, Gall had dropped the white jersey contenders, Pellizzari and Riccitello.
06:37And Pidcock was just behind them, fighting all the way.
06:41The inseparable pair of Almeida and Vingegaard trading pedal strokes
06:46as they entered the final kilometre.
06:48But which of the two would be first over the line?
06:51They come out of the fog. They come out of the mist.
06:55They bear the left-hand turn. They're into the sunshine.
06:58And is it going to be João Almeida, who is able to crown himself the winner
07:02on stage 13 of La Vuelta?
07:04Jonas Vingegaard has been on this climb two times in the past.
07:09He finished second two years ago, but he wants that victory.
07:13It's going to be the Portuguese rider, João Almeida, who comes across the line.
07:17João Almeida crowns himself the winner at the top of the famous Alto de la Anglia.
07:24João Almeida showing that he is a force to be reckoned with on this Vuelta,
07:28and that nothing is settled just yet.
07:30The Portuguese star taking his tenth win of a brilliant season,
07:33which has included GC successes in the Basque Country, Romandie and Switzerland.
07:38UAE's hot streak continues. They have now won six of 13 stages.
07:45Best win of your career so far?
07:47Yeah, this is a special one. I still don't believe it.
07:51Yeah, I think this is the hardest slam in the world. It's crazy.
07:54It just doesn't end anymore.
07:58I'm glad it's over.
08:00I still have a lot of time to make up to Jonas,
08:02but he's looking phenomenal.
08:04So I think it's going to be a hard task, but we never give up.
08:09Almeida taking his 23rd career win ahead of Vingegaard.
08:12Hindley, Kuss and Gal were all within one minute,
08:15followed by Pelizzari, Pidcock and Riccitello.
08:18Vingegaard now leads by just 46 seconds, with Pidcock at 2 minutes 18.
08:23Hindley, Pelizzari and Riccitello all moved up four places today,
08:26while Torstein Train held on in the top ten.
08:30Well, Jay Vine was in domestique mode for Almeida today,
08:32but keeps hold of the polka dot jersey by 13 points from Vingegaard.
08:36Three of the top four belong to UAE.
08:39And the fight for the white jersey is hotting up between Pelizzari and Riccitello,
08:43separated by just five seconds today and 32 overall.
08:47Tomorrow we have another short and explosive mountain stage to La Farapona.
08:53Join us for that on Saturday and thanks for watching.
