2023 Vuelta a España Stage 13 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 13 of the 2023 Vuelta a España! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
La Vuelta ventures into France on the thirteenth day of action. The riders set off from Formigal and tackle the Aubisque and Spandelles before finishing at the Col du Tourmalet. It's a short and explosive stage of 134.7 kilometres long, while the section after the flamme rouge is double-digit material.
The 2020 Vuelta was supposed to finish at the Tourmalet but the COVID-19 pandemic decided differently. The race was not allowed to cross the border and COVID-19 rules forced La Vuelta the re-route the race.
The Aramón Formigal finish came instead of the Tourmalet and that’s where the 13th stage now kicks off. After crossing the Portalet pass La Vuelta then descends into France to tackle the Col d’Aubisque from the Laruns side. This is a 16.5 kilometres ascent with an average gradient of 7.1%. The steepest stretches – 10 to 13% – are situated between Cascade de Valentin and the Gourette ski station.
The Col du Soulor is a short climb on the descent and when the riders are in Les Ganques they enter the Col de Spandelles, a brutal test with a lot of double-digit ramps. The ascent is 10.3 kilometres long and averages 8.3%.
The riders fly down into Argelès-Gazost and after a false flat section in the valley, the finish climb begins in Luz-Saint-Sauveur. The 18.9 kilometres ascent features eight hairpins and an average gradient of 7.6%. The hardest part is situated after the flamme rouge, as the last kilometre averages 10.5% and ramps up to 13.5% just before the finish.
Thibaut Pinot triumphed on this ascent in the 2019 Tour de France.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint comes with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
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