Date: Friday 30 August, 2024
Distance: 176km
Start location: Lugo
Finish location: Puerto de Ancares
Start time: 12:55 CEST
Finish time (approx): 17:17 CEST
Surrounding the city of Lugo are 10 to 15-metre-high Roman walls, with the distinction of being the only completely intact walls of their kind in the world. Built in the third century AD to defend the town against local tribes, they span over two kilometres, eclosing the entirety of the town within them. Though for all their longevity, they haven’t been entirely successful in their original purpose — they were breached and the city sacked by the Suebis, then by various other civilizations as Lugo continued to come under different rulership over the centuries.
In 1486, Lugo was, along with the rest of Galicia, annexed into the kingdom of Castille. Though both have since become autonomous communities within the nation of Spain, Galicia remains a proudly independent region with its own language and cultural identity, with many residents longing for more self-determination from the central government.
The modern border separating the regions of Galicia and Castile y León will be crossed by the riders today. Having so far spent the whole of the second-week racing in Galicia, they will at last leave via the second climb of the day, the category two Alto o Portel, before descending into one of León’s biggest and most important towns, Ponferrada. That’s followed by a change in direction northwards to take on an uncategorised climb followed by the category two Puerto de Lumeras, before the headliner of the day, Puerto de Ancares — which is itself a natural geographical border that has separated the two regions.
In terms of recent Vuelta history, Puerto de Ancares has been the site of memorable battles between the great Vuelta a España riders of the past generation. Coincidentally, the exact same four riders contested for the stage wins both times the climb hosted a stage finish in 2012 and 2014, as well as occupying the top four spots on GC by the end of the stage. That quartet was Alberto Contador, Alejandro Valverde, Joaquim Rodríguez and Chris Froome, who were exactly the kind of explosive climbers the Vuelta so well caters for. Between them, they accounted for six overall victories in the 10 editions between 2008 - 2017, as well as eight podium finishes. They grew used to trading blows with one another, but 2012 and 2014 were the only Vuelta editions in which all four lined up.
Rodríguez came out on top when the four raced up Puerto de Ancares in 2012, fending off attacks from the others before sprinting for the victory, while Contador both won the stage and all but sealed overall victory here on the penultimate stage of 2014. On both those occasions, it was the excessively steep gradients of the final kilometres that saw the decisive attacks. Though they will today tackle the climb via a different side from León rather than Galicia, the roads are similarly viscous, averaging about 12% for the final 5km to the summit. These are the kind of gradients that can cause substantial gaps between GC contenders who might, up until now, have appeared evenly matched and, therefore, produce potentially crucial moments in the race for the red jersey.
Stage profile sourced via Vuelta website
Contenders
The leg-sapping slopes of the Ancares will no doubt tempt the explosive climbers to try and make a stage-winning attack. It will be a climb that sees the gaps between the general classification riders widen or close, especially between Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and race leader Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale). Rolgič sits second on the GC, but he wants to be in pole position, and this is the kind of summit finish he will be able to use his explosive power to make a move, chipping away more time. However, there have been question marks around his back injury and the amount of pain he has been suffering, so whether this will impact his riding, we will have to wait and see.
Another rider boasting that attacking power is Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost). He's looked good on the tough stages, taking second place on stage nine and sitting in the top five on the GC. The rider who beat Carapaz to victory on that stage was the current polka dot jersey wearer, Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates). He won that stage with 1:39 and looked back to his best after his crash earlier in the race. He is one of the peloton's best climbers, and the slopes of the Ancares will not worry him.
Enric Mas (Movistar) is riding very well and will pose a threat to his general classification rivals as he is the only rider not to be dropped by Roglič yet, demonstrating his strength in this race. Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) has climbed the ranks over the past few stages, showing promising signs of a top-five finish for the Spaniard.
Last year's winner, Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike), hasn't had the same performance as he did in 2023, currently sitting 15th on the GC. He is a rider who excels in the big mountains, and we may see more from the defending champion over the next few days, or he may look to defend his position until the longer mountain passes. Mikel Landa (Soudal–Quick-Step), George Bennett (Israel-Premier Tech), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) will also be riders to watch, all of whom are in the running for the general classification.
Stage 13 winner prediction
We think Enric Mas will take the stage win atop the Ancares.
