Stage 13

The road

At the start

The sprinters go home, the mountains start

Greipel, Ewan, Roelandts and Ruffoni all fail to sign on this morning: the fast men have looked at the Julian Alps and gone home. What is left is the first true mountain stage, a figure of eight around Cividale del Friuli over the Montemaggiore, the Cima Porzus and the wall at Valle. Bob Jungels still leads Amador by twenty-four seconds, with Valverde, Kruijswijk and Nibali just over a minute back.

How it was won

1. 1112 km to go

   Denifl punches clear

   With the peloton chaotic and Etixx on the back foot over Ulissi's presence, Stefan Denifl goes solo and crests the Montemaggiore with nearly a minute — a long, brave spell that will end with him inexplicably pulling over on a descent.

2. 230 km to go

   Nieve rides away

   Two minutes up on the pink jersey group, Mikel Nieve attacks on the Cima Porzus. Dombrowski holds him briefly and then cannot, the break is blown to smithereens, and the Spaniard settles into his rhythm alone.

3. 320 km to go

   Amador and Nibali on the descent

   Astana have ground the favourites down to a handful; on the narrow, twisting descent Amador accelerates and Nibali goes straight onto his wheel, and the pair open a gap that mops up what is left of the break.

4. 414 km to go

   Nibali's sting on the Valle

   Valverde lifts the pace and Nibali follows it with a vicious attack. Urán, Zakarin, Pozzovivo and Amador are all shed; Roglič drags it back for Kruijswijk, and Jungels is left staring at the pink jersey leaving him.

5. 57 km to go

   Hell for leather down the mountain

   Jungels throws himself at the steep descent to save his lead and hits the flat seven-kilometre run-in a minute down. He and a resurgent Brambilla empty themselves on the plain, and it is not enough.

6. 6At the line

   Nieve solos in the Julian Alps

   Mikel Nieve gives Team Sky the consolation of a fine solo win in Cividale del Friuli, and Steven Kruijswijk takes over the maglia rosa.

The result