It was a day on one of the hardest mountains in cycling, with a finish on the Alto de L’Angliru in stage 13 of the Vuelta a España.
La Vuelta Ciclista a España stage 13 2025
In 2023 Jonas Vingegaard finished alongside his then teammate Primož Roglič on the climb, setting a record on the steepest section (6.3 km at 13.95%) with 6.75 ᵉW/kg for 26:28. Back in 2000, Roberto Heras completed the same section in 26:57 at 6.70 ᵉW/kg, but the legendary Spanish climber was faster on the full climb, covering the 12.2 km at 10.49% segment in exactly 41 minutes, an outstanding performance for his era. Due to a slower start, Roglič and Vingegaard were 24 seconds slower. With João Almeida, Jonas Vingegaard, Felix Gall and other pure climbers on the start line, there was a good chance that Heras’s record might finally be challenged.
Abel Balderstone spent 3,467 kilojoules over 4:13 hours at a rate of 14.4 kJ/kg/h before reaching the Angliru. It was a fast-paced stage, with the peloton climbing Mozqueta in 19 minutes at 6.1 ᵉW/kg and Cordal in 17 minutes at 6.25 ᵉW/kg.
Jay Vine and Felix Großschartner worked for Almeida until 5.8 km to go. From that point, Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss, and Jai Hindley were able to hold Almeida’s pace for a while, but soon only the Dane could follow him on the steep gradients. However, he was not strong enough to attack and challenge UAE climber for the stage victory. Almeida produced 6.52 W/kg for 41:10 over the full climb, recording the second-fastest ascent of the Angliru behind Heras. Hindley, Kuss, and Gall were the only riders who lost less than a minute to Vingegaard and Almeida, who had already claimed victories in the Tour de Suisse, Tour de Romandie, and Itzulia Basque Country earlier in 2025. The most impressive performance of his career on such a stage came from Thomas Pidcock, who defended his third place overall with 6.29 W/kg for 42:26.