"It had been agreed in advance that Jonas would attack first" - Marc Reef evaluates the stage where Jumbo-Visma took over Vuelta a Espana

The thirteenth stage of the Vuelta a España was a great success for Jumbo-Visma. Not only did Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss and Primoz Roglic dominate on the slopes of Col du Tourmalet, major competitors such as Remco Evenepoel and Joao Almeida also finally fell through the ice. The men of the Dutch team are now first, second and third in the general classification.

Sports director Marc Reef is pleased with his leaders, but also has a good word for his reliable domestiques. "Firstly: compliments to Robert Gesink! He controlled almost the entire stage by himself. He picked up the pace on the first climb, the Col d'Aubisque. When he was dropped on the second climb, he continued to fight to get back. That was also important for our three leaders, because now Wilco Kelderman could also rest for a while and we had an extra man to control the valley," said Reef at Eurosport.

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Due to a high pace by Jumbo-Visma, Remco Evenepoel had to let go at the Col d'Aubisque, with more than eighty kilometers to go. The Belgian classification rider would lose no less than 27 minutes. "That is not something you take into account," says Reef. 'We had our plan and we executed it well, but this is of course very annoying for Remco. He has also worked very hard to be at the start here in top form. I have no idea why he had to let go, but it's a shame for him."

The Jumbo-Visma leaders dropped their biggest rival, but still wanted to cause problems for the other classification riders. "We were already in a good position before the start, but we wanted to improve our position. It had been agreed in advance that Jonas would attack first. That had already been agreed on the bus, but the boys were also discussing this during the race. It allowed Sepp to follow, while others had to work to retrieve Jonas. Once you have the numbers, you can do this. But you also need the legs. Kuss was already one of the best climbers in the world in the Giro and the Tour, and he is now showing that again. It was a great team effort. We are in a good position at the moment."

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