TakeVuelta4 days ago
Wout van Aert won stage 13 of the Vuelta a España 2026 by attacking from the breakaway with 4km left, holding off Valentin Paret-Peintre into Loja. This wasn't a sprinter finding a soft finish — it was a rider who spent the day chasing points, surviving splits, and using Matthew Brennan as a second card before deciding the moment himself.
Van Aert had been everywhere in this Vuelta without a result to show for it — sprinting, climbing for points, working, chasing. Stage 13 finally converted that presence into a win, and it came on a medium-mountain stage many expected the breakaway to settle among themselves. He built it piece by piece rather than winning it in the last 200 metres, which fits a rider currently doing three jobs at once: points leader, attacker, and tactical operator with a teammate in reserve.
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