“This is hands down the best performance of Almeida’s career” - Bruyneel and Martin dissect Stage 13 of the Vuelta

The Vuelta a España’s 13th stage to the legendary Alto de l’Angliru was always expected to be decisive. Few climbs in professional cycling carry its weight: 12.4 kilometers averaging nearly 10 percent, with the infamous Cueña les Cabres ramp kicking to gradients above 23 percent. On Friday it delivered again, as João Almeida outlasted Jonas Vingegaard to take what Johan Bruyneel called “the best performance of his career.” In short, it was the day Almeida announced himself as more than just a world class climber, but an elite GC racer.

On The Move podcast, Bruyneel and Spencer Martin broke down every angle of the race, from Almeida’s landmark win, to the general classification shake-up, to lingering questions about team dynamics and off-road controversies. Their conversation framed not only what happened on Angliru’s punishing slopes but what it means for the rest of this Vuelta. Let’s dive in.

As Martin explained, TV coverage joined the action with 65 kilometers to go, but the shape of the race was already clear: a breakaway out front with no real chance, UAE Team Emirates – XRG setting the pace behind. “UAE hits the front, I believe, near the end of the second-to-last climb and then they take it into the final climb,” he said. Domen Novak, Jay Vine, and Felix Großschartner delivered textbook pacing, with the Austrian’s effort particularly damaging. “Großschartner is on the front pushing so hard, he’s actually gapping João Almeida, who’s in second wheel, and dropping Tom Pidcock.”

By the foot of the Angliru, the field had been whittled down to Vingegaard, Almeida, Sepp Kuss, Jai Hindley, and Pidcock. Almeida then assumed control, setting a fierce tempo that nobody else could match. “He never looked back, never asked Vingegaard for anything, just kept pushing all the way to the finish line,” Martin said.

For Bruyneel, the ride marked a new level for the Portuguese climber. “I think it’s the first time we see him in this Vuelta on such a high level and really determined, riding his own tempo, not looking back. That was impressive,” he said. The sheer metronomic pace surprised even the analysts, who expected Almeida to crack after such a long pull. Instead, he not only sustained it but crossed the line first, netting 10 bonus seconds. Vingegaard finished alongside him, gaining six bonus seconds but losing four overall.

“This is hands down the best performance of Almeida’s career,” Martin said. “Unbelievable.” He estimated Almeida produced around 6.3 watts per kilo for the decisive stretch, comparing it to Vingegaard’s Tour de France numbers. “It shows Jonas is not nearly as strong as he was at the Tour, where he was closer to 6.5 w/kg over the last 45 minutes.”

The surprise was not Almeida’s strength alone but Vingegaard’s lack of a decisive attack. Bruyneel admitted he expected more. “I was expecting an attack from Jonas. I think he himself was expecting a stage win today,” he said. The Dane has called the Angliru one of the climbs that revealed his potential back in 2020, when he worked for Roglič. Yet on this occasion, he could not produce a knockout.

“It’s difficult to read Jonas’ style,” Bruyneel continued. “He was on the limit, but not to the point of getting dropped. He just didn’t have anything left to accelerate.” At 500 meters to go, when the twisting road funnels into a narrow chute, the expectation was for Vingegaard to sprint past. Instead, he struggled even to hold Almeida’s wheel. “If Jonas could have, he would have passed,” Bruyneel said. “He didn’t even have that.”

Martin suggested Vingegaard looked rattled at the finish, standing apart from other riders who joked and mingled in the tent. “The guy we saw today did not,” he said, “and he looked a little rattled.”

Still, Bruyneel refused to frame it as collapse. “I don’t know if you can call it cracked,” he countered. “Jonas can’t permit himself a bad day, but neither can Almeida. Those two are the strongest climbers, and it’s good the race is still open.”

After the result, an intriguing stat emerged: no rider wearing the leader’s red jersey has ever won on the Angliru’s slopes. Across more than two decades, some of the sport’s biggest names have tried and failed to break the curse. Abraham Olano in 1999, Chris Horner in 2013, Chris Froome in 2017, Primoz Roglic in 2020, Sepp Kuss in 2023, and now Vingegaard in 2025, all fell short despite starting the day in red. Even when close, like Horner’s second place or Froome’s third, the mountain has denied them victory.

Behind the top two, the standings tightened. Hindley rode strongly to finish 28 seconds back, while Kuss lost 30 and Pidcock 1:16. Almeida’s victory trimmed his overall deficit to Vingegaard to 46 seconds. Hindley moved up to fourth, just 52 seconds off the podium, where Pidcock still held on to third despite suffering.

Bruyneel described Pidcock’s ride as a mixed result. “A tiny disappointment. We’re discovering him, and he’s discovering himself in this terrain. Nearly two weeks into the race, he’s never done GC before. It wasn’t a great day, but he managed to limit his losses and still hold third place.”

Martin contextualized Pidcock’s effort historically. “Pidcock was the 13th fastest time ever up the Angliru. That’s not a bad ride.”

The day also affirmed Hindley’s resurgence. If his trajectory continues, Pidcock’s third place could come under serious pressure in the final week.

The stage confirmed the Angliru’s reputation as the ultimate filter. “There are four Grand Tour winners in this race: Vingegaard, Hindley, Kuss, Bernal,” Martin said. “Three of those four finished top four on the stage. It shows the cream rising now.”

For Egan Bernal, however, the story was less encouraging, as he faded in the second half of the climb, echoing patterns from the Giro. “This might be what it’s a bit of a repeat from the Giro,” Bruyneel said, noting the Colombian’s struggles to sustain form deep into three-week races.

The stage also featured off-road disruption, with protesters blocking the course and halting the breakaway. Organisers quickly cleared the road, but the peloton was never stopped, leaving the escapees disadvantaged. Martin was blunt, “Race radio had said protests would be treated like train crossings, neutralize all groups, but they didn’t do that. You have to keep the course clean.”

Bruyneel agreed: “If you apply the rules, you would have had to stop the peloton too. They’ve said protests would be treated like a railway crossing, but here they didn’t do that.”

The incident linked into broader pressure around Israel - Premier Tech’s participation. “There is more and more pressure on Israel - Premier Tech to leave the race from riders and directors,” Bruyneel said, pointing to a public message from Israel’s prime minister praising the team. “That tweet, I think, is the end of their participation in this Vuelta.” Martin added: “Anytime Netanyahu is tweeting about you, it’s not good.”

Beyond GC, the fight for other classifications carried on. Mads Pedersen continued to build a commanding lead in the points jersey by mopping up intermediate sprints. “Now he’s leading 192 to Vingegaard’s 122,” Martin said. “It looks amazingly good for Pedersen, he could win the points jersey in both Grand Tours he’s done this year.”

The white jersey duel between Pellizzari and Matthew Riccitello also took a turn. “Pellizzari managed the climb really well and even took time on Riccitello in the last 500 meters,” Bruyneel said. For Riccitello, moving into seventh overall softened the blow.

Attention quickly shifted to the next day: 136 kilometers with over 4,000 meters of climbing. The finale includes a two-part ascent, ten kilometers of rolling power slopes, followed by seven kilometers at nearly nine percent.

“I think it’s going to be a GC day,” Martin said. “Short, brutal, and a more interesting stage than today. I’m going back to Almeida as my pick.”

Bruyneel leaned on Vingegaard’s steadiness. “I’ll go with Jonas to win. He’s still the three-week specialist, and he’s solid, whereas Almeida has been known in the past to have ups and downs.”

Both entertained long-shot scenarios. Bruyneel suggested Movistar’s Javier Romo as a breakaway candidate, while Martin speculated that Juan Ayuso might once again defy team instructions. “It makes no sense whatsoever, he should not be in the breakaway tomorrow,” Martin said, “but as we saw today, I don’t think he cares that much about what the team says.”

If Stage 13 was supposed to seal the Vuelta for Vingegaard, it failed. Instead, Almeida elevated himself into genuine contention, while Hindley and Pidcock kept the podium contest alive. The red jersey remains on Vingegaard’s shoulders, but the aura of inevitability is gone.

As Bruyneel concluded: “I would say this Vuelta is not won yet for Jonas. He definitely cannot permit himself a bad day. The same goes for Almeida. Those two are the strongest climbers.”