Updated September 5, 2025 05:18PM
Is the Vuelta Now a Two Horse Race? ‘Now I Have to Focus More on João Rather than the Other Guys’
Jonas Vingegaard sees João Almeida as the most obvious rival, rues missed chance on Angliru.
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) was second on Friday and continues to lead the Vuelta (Photo: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Jonas Vingegaard made his ambitions clear prior to stage 13 of the Vuelta a España, saying that he wanted to win atop the Angliru, arguably cycling’s hardest climb.
Had he done so he would have been the first-ever Vuelta leader to achieve the feat.
He went close.
Vingegaard was right there in the finale, ready to pounce, but was unable to do anything about a rampant João Almeida. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider blasted home first, with Vingegaard unable to do anything about his rival’s finishing speed.
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The twisting, downhill nature of the sprint and the close proximity of crowd control banners certainly complicated things, but the Visma Lease a Bike leader gave credit where credit was due.
“I think if I could, I would have done it,” he said, dismissing the suggestion that he may have let Almeida win due to the latter riding the final six kilometres completely on the front.
“To be honest,” he continued, pausing and carefully considering his words, “I was not feeling the best at that moment.
“João was on the front and I didn’t really see the moment to pass him or to try to pass him. Also with the corners there it wasn’t really possible.”
The manner of Vingegaard’s response suggested he was put under considerable pressure by Almeida.
The Portuguese rider was in incredible form, accelerating after a fast pace set by his team on the early part of the Angliru climb, and then hammering all the way to the summit.
Initially Vingegaard, Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) were the only riders able to go with Almeida. However his pace saw the latter two crack, leaving Vingegaard as the only one able to cling on.
He did cling on, but it hurt.
‘We were both on the limit’
Almeida was completely focussed during his effort, his face a mask of concentration, his eyes set on the rod ahead. He never sought a pull from other riders and was clearly on a very good day.
Asked afterwards if this was the best win of his career, he accepted it was.
“Yeah, this is a special one. I still don’t believe it,” he said.
“Thanks to my teammates, they were key to today. We did an amazing stage. I just did my pace from the bottom and I did the best I could.
“Jonas was always on my wheel. In the last K I was on the limit. I guess we were both on the limit. I was waiting for his attack any time. I thought he was going to pass me on the finish line, but I knew the finish line quite well from two years ago. I took the last corner first and it is hard to pass. It was an amazing day.”
The two riders finished together but Almeida gained four seconds in time bonuses. He is now 46 seconds back. With third-placed Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) now 2:18 behind and unable to replicate his form earlier this week when he briefly dropped Vingegaard, it is looking like a two-horse race.
Of course there is over a week to go. Grand tours can see changes day by day and it is not certain that Friday’s outcome will become a trend.
For now, though, Vingegaard said he is relieved that the list of contenders is narrowing.
“Now I have to focus more on Joao rather than the other guys, so that’s something I can be happy about,” he stated.
It’s certainly easier to mark one rather than many.
‘Still a lot of time to make up’
There’s still plenty of racing ahead in this Vuelta, including more climbing stages plus an individual time trial. Almeida is strong in both disciplines and his morale and motivation are on the up.
Speaking with the thrill of the day’s victory still fresh, he pledged to give it everything in pursuit of his first grand tour win.
“I still have a lot of time to make up to Jonas,” he accepted. “He is looking strong so I think it is going to be hard task, but we never give up.”
That fighting talk is good news for the race. A domination by Visma Lease a Bike two years ago when Kuss, Vingegaard and Primož Roglič finished first, second and third overall was good for that team, but ensured that the drama was all internal. There was ultimately little mystery about which squad would prevail.
A more open contest should make for more compelling viewing, particularly a clash between the two top teams in the sport.
Visma Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates-XRG have each won a grand tour this season, with Simon Yates and Tadej Pogačar respectively.
It looks likely that one or other of those teams will prevail overall. The Vuelta is not the Tour but if Vingegaard does prevail, two grand tour victories to UAE’s one, plus Vingegaard’s runner-up slot in the Tour will be a huge achievement.
It’s also hugely important on a personal level. His last grand tour victory was the 2023 Tour de France, and winning another three week race would underline his status as one of the greats in the current peloton and also be an important psychological step in advance of next season.
Vingegaard will do what he can in the days ahead to pad his lead. He’ll look forwards to the upcoming stages, but he will also reflect on Friday’s outcome and wonder what might have been.
“I would have loved to win today for my teammates, for my family,” he said. “It’s L’Angliru, it’s a very special climb, and anybody would love to win here.”
“On the last climb João was super strong. He deserved to win today.”
