Race report | 30 August 2024, 20:45

Impressive Van Aert takes lead in KOM competition in Vuelta a España after fifth place in tough mountain stage

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Wout van Aert impressed in the thirteenth stage of the Vuelta a España, in which he finished fifth. In the breakaway of the day, the 29-year-old Belgian captured points for both the points and mountain classification, meaning he now leads both classifications. The stage win was for Michael Woods.

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The peloton prepared itself for a tough mountain stage between Lugo and Puerto de Ancares. Four categorised climbs awaited the riders in the 176-kilometre stage, with the steep final climb as highlight. After the start, Van Aert was part of a large breakaway group. The 24 escapees quickly gained a lead of more than ten minutes.

Van Aert, who was already leading the points classification by a big margin, also set his mind on the mountain classification along the way. On the first three categorised climbs, the Belgian always reached the top first. That was enough to take over the lead in the mountain classification from Adam Yates. On the final climb, Van Aert chose his own pace. He finished fifth, well behind stage winner Woods.

“This morning, I had not set my sights on the mountain classification”, Van Aert looked back. “I saw that Kaden Groves was in the early breakaway. He is second in the points classification, so I had to go with him. Once I was in the front, I decided to try to take all possible points. I never really believed in the stage win. Riders like Jay Vine, Brandon McNulty and Woods are better than me on the steep sections. Besides, I was too focused on the intermediate sprints. Climbs with an average gradient over seven per cent are tough for riders like me.”

"I am very proud to wear this jersey"

Wout van Aert

In the mountains classification, Van Aert now counts 13 points more than Vine. “In the Tour de France, I was already close to wearing the polka dot jersey several times. I always regretted that I never went for it then. Today I saw an opportunity, so I am very proud to wear this jersey. Tomorrow there is another beautiful stage. It will be a matter of surviving the hills. After that, we will see what is possible.”

In the group of favourites, Sepp Kuss managed to follow the pace of Primoz Roglic and Enric Mas for a long time. The 29-year-old American limited the damage and eventually reached the line in 25th place. “I knew Roglic was going to accelerate on the Puerto de Ancares. I tried to follow as long as possible, but on the steep sections the legs exploded. It was good for my confidence that I was able to follow for some time. Therefore, I had nothing to lose today.”