Wout van Aert claimed victory on stage 13 of the Vuelta 2026 after launching his decisive attack 3.6km from the finish and dragging Valentin Paret-Peintre with him. The Frenchman put up a strong effort but was logically beaten in a two-rider sprint, with Van Aert proving once again to be unbeatable in this kind of finish.
Matthew Brennan, who had looked impressively comfortable throughout the day, completed a Visma podium sweep by taking third place ahead of an excellent Jarno Widar and Italy’s Vincenzo Albanese.
This was the Belgian’s 57th career win, earned through determination, talent and boldness. The stage was contested in punishing heat that approached 40C, yet that did not stop around 40 riders from attacking on the day’s first climb, La Venta de la Cebada (14.1km at 5.1%). Van Aert was among them and collected a full haul of points at the top of the category-one ascent.
About 10 riders then went clear and built an advantage of almost two minutes over the Van Aert group. But the presence of Brennan may well have unsettled the cohesion at the front and allowed Van Aert and company to close to within 30 seconds at the foot of the final climb, the Puerto de Granada. There, Van Aert and a handful of strong riders – including Widar – managed to make the junction.
The Brennan-Van Aert duo then dominated the final 38km of transition, taking turns to attack and tire out the remaining rivals. Van Aert’s last move, just before the finish, proved decisive in delivering the long-awaited and deserved victory.
In the general classification, Mattias Skjelmose took more than two minutes out of his rivals. He remains seventh, but made a useful gain.
On Saturday, stage 14 between Jaen and Sierra de la Pandera (154.5km) will offer a day more suited to skirmishes among the general classification contenders. After a rolling stage that should favour breakaway riders, the race will finish by tackling the Sierra de la Pandera and its 11.8km climb at 7.5%.