La Vuelta a España has passed its midway point, but the real meat of the race starts now. Stage 13, on Friday, is the longest stage, 202.7 km, and by far the hardest, ending with the climb to Alto de L'Angliru in Asturias.
During the 12.5 km of climbing 1,266 km (to a maximum height of 1,573 km above the sea level) there's an average slope of 9.8%, with some parts, like the climb to Les Cabres, reaching a maximum peak of 23.5%, but other climbs like Alviru (21.5%), Les Piedrusines (20%)9 and Les Cabanes (22%) will be equally hard. It will be in those moments when the peloton will break, with only the best and more prepared climbers will have chances of surviving.
The climb was first included in La Vuelta in 1999, and the last winner was Primoz Roglic in 2023. Vingegaard has a special connection to this mountain, as he was second in 2023, and in 2020, finishing 14th, coincided with his big breakthrough at Grand Tours.
The race started at 12:15 CEST in Cabezón de la Sal, and after four or five hours, we will know who has what it takes to win La Vuelta. Jonas Vingegaard is the clear favourite, but Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock, 50 seconds behind, and even Torstein Træen, will try to stand up. For them, it might be their last chance to hold some hopes of winning the race: this race won't decided the winner, but could condemn the losers.