A short but brutal mountain stage to the feared Sierra de la Pandera, in the heart of the Andalusian heat.
From olive-oil city Jaén, the route crosses two second-category warm-up climbs before the Sierra de la Pandera, one of the steepest and most feared finishes in all of Spain.
Deep in Andalusia in early September, temperatures can be brutal — an extra opponent on a stage that already ranks among the toughest of this Vuelta on paper.
Roglič chases a record, Pogačar makes his debut and Spain dreams of Enric Mas. These are the contenders for the 2026 red jersey.
After the shock of Pogačar's crash, the Vuelta heads into the Andalusian mountains for its first rest day on Sunday. Week 2 holds off on a summit finish until stage 12, but then delivers a one-two punch: the Alto de Velefique followed by the climb to the Calar Alto observatory, and three days later the feared Sierra de la Pandera. Everything you need to know about stages 10 through 15.
A gigantic 43-rider breakaway swallowed nearly a third of the peloton on the rolling road to Loja, and it was Visma-Lease a Bike's numbers advantage that decided it: after Matthew Brennan spent the finale snuffing out every counter-attack, Wout van Aert struck clear with 3.8 kilometres to go and held off Valentin Paret-Peintre in a two-up sprint for his first stage win of this Vuelta — with Brennan still having enough left to win the chase group sprint for third. Behind, the GC group crossed the line together, so nothing changes at the top: Enric Mas keeps the red jersey, 1:45 clear of Primož Roglič and 2:06 clear of Felix Gall. The full story of stage 13, the standings after thirteen stages, and a look ahead to the fearsome Sierra de la Pandera in stage 14.