PREVIEW & FAVOURITES | Vuelta a España 2025 stage 13 - Jonas Vingegaard versus João Almeida on the Angliru

We take a closer look at stage 13 of the Vuelta a España, widely seen as perhaps the most decisive day of the race. The riders will face a summit finish on the legendary Alto de l’Angliru – the most brutal climb of this year’s edition and among the toughest in professional cycling. This marks the Vuelta’s true arrival in the high mountains. The stage is scheduled to start on Friday, the 5th of September at 12:10 CET and is expected to finish around 17:10 CET.

The queen stage? Stage 13 will have a flat start but head into the mountains for the traditional Cordal-Angliru combination. This is a day that all GC riders will be eyeing for the whole race, and doing everything in their possibilities to have their very best legs on this crucial test. Unlike most Vuelta mountain stages, this one actually is long, topping over 200 kilometers even - although the first two thirds are almost pan-flat.

The riders take on the Alto de Mozqueta which is 6.4 kilometers long at 8.4%, warming things up although the ascent in itself is already quite hard. It ends with 49 kilometers to go. The riders will then prepare for the traditional combination that will decide the stage.

The first of the climbs is the Alto del Cordal, which is 5.5 kilometers long at 8.8%. The climb is very steep, specially towards the summit (which comes 21 kilometers to go) and from the summit to the bottom of the Angliru there is nothing but a steep and technical descent. We may see attacks here, both up or downhill, as the descent is a true test of confidence and can be used.

Finally of course, the Alto de l'Angliru, the headliner of this race and one of the most iconic and difficult ascents in pro cycling. It's 12.4 kilometers at 10%, and the final half is just ungodly steep. We're talking about an average of almost 15% throughout several kilometers and one in specific that averages even above that. It's an individual effort, teammates can only provide moral support to a certain point. The climb can make brutal differences and it's a day for the pure climbers.

Nothing noteworthy.

Jonas Vingegaard - If we excluse Valdezcaray, this is the real start of the race for Vingegaard. He's attacked on one stage so far, and Visma were very clear that they were waiting for today's stage and saving up their men as much as possible to reach this point as fresh as possible. Now, teammates don't matter much in a climb like this honestly, but Jonas Vingegaard is the strongest climber in the race and this ascent suits him very well. He has the chance, and likelihood of winning in red and expanding his race lead. Last time Visma rode up this climb, in 2023, they were literally swarming all of the top positions in the day.

João Almeida - As is the case with Vingegaard and most other riders, team won't really matter, but instead having the legs on the final climb. The very long effort will suit Almeida, but the Portuguese will also have to hope for a bad day from Vingegaard to be able to shorten the gap. At the same time, he is likely to extend on his second position.

Tom Pidcock - The Briton faces his first big test here. With great form, he can do great things in the hills, and all other mountain stages have been ridden in an explosive way thus far which suits him. No, he does not have the pressure to finish this race on the podium, but it's become possible, and this will be an important day to gauge how realistic it may be. The longer efforts don't suit him as well, but the ultra-steep climb suits his lightweight build, so I sense he may surprise once again.

GC Fight - This isn't a climb for attacks, don't expect them. We will have Visma setting the pace until Vingegaard hits the front and everyone will just ride at their own pace. Jai Hindley is in tremendous form and I expect a good performance from him, potentially threatening the podium spots already. On paper Felix Gall will also do quite well as a pure climber, but I think fatigue is being felt as in some days he's not shown his usual level... Besides the Visma domestiques who will be there, we will also have Giulio Pellizzari, Matthew Riccitello, Egan Bernal, Giulio Ciccone and Tortsein Traeen present as GC men to consider.

Breakaway - The chances are not high. The start is flat, the stage is easy for any team to control if they want to, and the finale is just so incredibly hard that you need a top climber in top form in front just to have a chance at succeeding, let alone make it happen.

Hence only look towards top climbers to potentially win from the front, such as Mikel Landa, Santiago Buitrago, Jay Vine, Marc Soler, Juan Ayuso (the latter two unlikely due to today's breakaway), Javier Romo, Pablo Castrillo, Eddie Dunbar, Wout Poels and Lorenzo Fortunato.

*** Jonas Vingegaard
** João Almeida, Jai Hindley
* Tom Pidcock, Felix Gall, Giulio Pellizzari, Matthew Riccitello, Santiago Buitrago, Jay Vine, Javier Romo, Eddie Dunbar

Pick: Jonas Vingegaard

How: Solo win.