Stage 13

The road

At the start

Ronda to Montilla, before the weekend

Richard Carapaz rescued his Vuelta on Peñas Blancas, and Remco Evenepoel showed that the crash he had that morning had cost him nothing: still 2:41 up on Primož Roglič and 3:03 on Enric Mas. Three more riders went home before yesterday. Today is the last easy day before La Pandera and Sierra Nevada — 168 kilometres to Montilla, ending on a six-kilometre drag at five per cent.

How it was won

1. 115 km to go

   The break spends its last matches

   Knowing they cannot win, Bou and Okamika burn everything to lead over the late intermediate — and cross it just twelve seconds ahead of an anxious, fully-ordered peloton chasing bonus seconds of its own.

2. 210 km to go

   Swept up for the puncheur finish

   With ten kilometres left the three are gone and the GC men are pushed to the front for safety. The 5% drag up to Montilla is about to decide this.

3. 3At the line

   Pedersen hunts down Ackermann

   Movistar, Ineos and Bora fight over the last two kilometres before Bahrain launch Fred Wright. Ackermann goes long, and Mads Pedersen simply rides him down on the rise, with Coquard second.

The result