BELGIAN WOUT VAN Aert got the better of a two-man sprint after a breakaway to win his first stage of this year’s Vuelta a España on Friday, as home rider Enric Mas maintained his overall lead.
Visma’s Van Aert and Aurelien Paret-Peintre attacked from a breakaway late in the 192.8km 13th stage from Almunecar to Loja.
The 31-year-old Van Aert was too strong for the Frenchman in a sprint for the line, clinching the fourth Vuelta stage win of his career after three victories in 2024.
Britain’s Matthew Brennan, who has won three stages already on the race, won the battle for third, 24 seconds behind the leading duo.
Mas, who has led the race since title favourite Tadej Pogačar crashed out during stage eight, kept his 1min 45sec overall lead ahead of four-time champion Primož Roglič after finishing safely in the pack.
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Austrian Felix Gall is 21 seconds further back in the final podium position, with former Giro d’Italia winner Richard Carapaz 3min 53sec off Mas’s lead in fourth.
Van Aert was part of a large breakaway group early on a day marked by intense heat in Andalusia.
A smaller group of 10 riders later pulled clear and consolidated their advantage on a descent from the day’s final climb with 37km left.
Van Aert attacked with 3.5km remaining and only Paret-Peintre managed to stay with him until the last 100 metres.
Van Aert, who beat Pogačar at Paris-Roubaix earlier this year, also holds a commanding lead in the points classification.
Eddie Dunbar finished 21st, while fellow Irish cyclist Darren Rafferty came 136th.
Dunbar is now 45th in the general rankings, while Rafferty is 116th.
The peloton face another tough day in the mountains in Saturday’s 14th stage, a 154.5km ride from Jaen to La Pandera featuring two category-two climbs and a category-one summit finish.
Silje Weitze Antvorskov of Team Friis crossing the line to take the third-stage win. LORRAINE O'SULLIVAN
LORRAINE O'SULLIVAN
Meanwhile at the Rás na mBan, Silje Weitze Antvorskov of Team Friis claimed victory on today’s third stage.
Antvorskov finished ahead of Noémie Garnier (Vendée Féminine RVC) and Olympia Norrid-Mortensen (Torelli), with Cycling Ulster’s Aliyah Rafferty just missing out on a podium spot at the back of the four-rider lead group.
The result moves the Danish U23 road race champion into the overall race lead, taking over the magenta jersey from stage-two winner Aoife O’Brien of Team Ireland, who finished 1m 40s behind the leaders on today’s stage.
“We just tried to go from the bottom of the hill,” said Antvorskov after her win. “My teammates [moved] me to the front and I just pushed as hard as I could all the way to the top, and when we got to the top there were only four [others] left.
“In the end we were all working, but I was trying to drive for the GC and not so much for the stage win.”
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Van Aert powers to Vuelta stage 13 victory, Mas consolidates lead
LAST UPDATE | 4 Sep
Updated at 17.33
BELGIAN WOUT VAN Aert got the better of a two-man sprint after a breakaway to win his first stage of this year’s Vuelta a España on Friday, as home rider Enric Mas maintained his overall lead.
Visma’s Van Aert and Aurelien Paret-Peintre attacked from a breakaway late in the 192.8km 13th stage from Almunecar to Loja.
The 31-year-old Van Aert was too strong for the Frenchman in a sprint for the line, clinching the fourth Vuelta stage win of his career after three victories in 2024.
Britain’s Matthew Brennan, who has won three stages already on the race, won the battle for third, 24 seconds behind the leading duo.
Mas, who has led the race since title favourite Tadej Pogačar crashed out during stage eight, kept his 1min 45sec overall lead ahead of four-time champion Primož Roglič after finishing safely in the pack.
Austrian Felix Gall is 21 seconds further back in the final podium position, with former Giro d’Italia winner Richard Carapaz 3min 53sec off Mas’s lead in fourth.
Van Aert was part of a large breakaway group early on a day marked by intense heat in Andalusia.
A smaller group of 10 riders later pulled clear and consolidated their advantage on a descent from the day’s final climb with 37km left.
Van Aert attacked with 3.5km remaining and only Paret-Peintre managed to stay with him until the last 100 metres.
Van Aert, who beat Pogačar at Paris-Roubaix earlier this year, also holds a commanding lead in the points classification.
Eddie Dunbar finished 21st, while fellow Irish cyclist Darren Rafferty came 136th.
Dunbar is now 45th in the general rankings, while Rafferty is 116th.
The peloton face another tough day in the mountains in Saturday’s 14th stage, a 154.5km ride from Jaen to La Pandera featuring two category-two climbs and a category-one summit finish.
Meanwhile at the Rás na mBan, Silje Weitze Antvorskov of Team Friis claimed victory on today’s third stage.
Antvorskov finished ahead of Noémie Garnier (Vendée Féminine RVC) and Olympia Norrid-Mortensen (Torelli), with Cycling Ulster’s Aliyah Rafferty just missing out on a podium spot at the back of the four-rider lead group.
The result moves the Danish U23 road race champion into the overall race lead, taking over the magenta jersey from stage-two winner Aoife O’Brien of Team Ireland, who finished 1m 40s behind the leaders on today’s stage.
“We just tried to go from the bottom of the hill,” said Antvorskov after her win. “My teammates [moved] me to the front and I just pushed as hard as I could all the way to the top, and when we got to the top there were only four [others] left.
“In the end we were all working, but I was trying to drive for the GC and not so much for the stage win.”
– © AFP 2026
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