"It's one of the best things we've seen in the Vuelta" - Danish commentator amazed by Visma's dominance on stage 13
Cycling
Wout Van Aert finally took his first stage win of the 2026 Vuelta a Espana. On the thirteenth stage, he and teammate Matthew Brennan animated the race finale and, with three kilometers left, Van Aert launched his decisive move to secure the stage victory in a head-to-head sprint against a lightweight climber Valentin Paret-Peintre.
Until now, Visma | Lease a Bike prioritized their young sprinter Matthew Brennan in bunch finishes, who celebrated three times so far, leaving Van Aert's own opportunities rather scarce.
In stage 7, the Belgian finished third off a breakaway when he couldn't compete uphill with Uno-X duo Leknessund-Johannessen. And on Tuesday, the uphill sprint in Elche de la Sierra became too chaotic for Van Aert to strike with precision.
Van Aert wanted a stage victory too
But towards the end of the second week, Van Aert said that all was enough and the stage 13 would become his prey. At least that's how Danish Eurosport commentator Brian Holm perceives the offensive racing style employed by Visma today.
"He just wanted to today. You can question the way he races, but it takes an exceptionally high amount of strength to be able to stab so many times," says Holm.
The Brennan-Van Aert duo has become a menace of bunch sprints, but both riders know to climb as well as they displayed a number of times, most recently during stage 13 when they joined the breakaway after a challenging start to the stage.
Wout Van Aert and Matthew Brennan celebrate stage 13 victory
"No doubt who was the boss today"
According to Holm, there was not much doubt about who the team would race for on Friday: "They had both him and Brennan and were sitting with good cards in their hand, but it was a bit like Wout was going to win today. That's what they had agreed on. He rode so aggressively the whole time. He kept going. It's one of the best things we've seen in the Vuelta."
In the end, a nine-rider group emerged out of the 43-headed breakaway which featured both Brennan and Van Aert, who have become the men to beat. Eventually, it was a two-versus-seven situation, but both riders were so strong that they in fact pushed opponents into defense under the pressure of their acceleration.
Read also
Until with three kilometers to go, Van Aert finally snapped away with only the "skinny" Valentin Paret-Peintre - a seemingly perfect opponent into a one-on-one sprint. And unlike in the past, Van Aert was not going to disappoint this time. Matthew Brennan covered him in third position.
"He was man-covered. They couldn't take it anymore. He keeps going, and he keeps going, and he keeps biting back. They were riding fantastically," Holm concluded with words of praise.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
- I'm picking .... .... Never mind 🫥flyer07-11-2026
- If Tiberi has a better and more consistent 2027 I somehow doubt it will be because of this victorious warning. Unless his preparation has been off, cycling isn't football.flyer07-11-2026
- Love this guy. He is such a pure racer.mij07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment