Wout van Aert won his fourth career stage at the Vuelta a España on Friday, battling extreme heat to edge out fellow breakaway rider Valentin Paret-Peintre on the 192km route from Almuñécar to Loja. The Belgian star, riding for Team Visma Lease a Bike, stopped the clock after four-and-a-half hours of racing in southern Spain, where thermometers hit 36 degrees Celsius (97 Fahrenheit).
First win of the 2025 edition
Van Aert’s victory was his first of this year’s Vuelta, adding to his three stage wins in the 2024 edition. His career tally now includes 10 Tour de France stage wins and several one-day classics. It was also the fourth team win for Visma Lease a Bike at this edition.
Enric Mas, the Movistar leader, retained the red jersey with a lead of 1 minute, 45 seconds over four-time Vuelta winner Primož Roglič. Mas and Roglič crossed the line in a group some three minutes behind Van Aert.
Riders endure brutal conditions
The heat was a major talking point. Riders compared the conditions to having a “hair drier blowing in your face,” and one said he spent the day pouring water over himself at every opportunity. The stage finished in Loja, where temperatures peaked at 36°C.
“It was a very tough stage because of the heat and the hard pace,” said American rider Sepp Kuss, also of Visma Lease a Bike, speaking to broadcaster RTVE in fluent Spanish. “If you tried to attack, you just cracked. But we all had to compete in the same conditions. I must also thank the organizers for adding extra spots where we could grab water. If not, it would have been impossible.”
Mas extends lead, eyes historic win
Mas has led the grand tour since Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar withdrew following a crash last Saturday. The Spanish rider has finished the Vuelta as runner-up three times—in 2018, 2021, and 2022—and is aiming to become the first Spanish winner of the home race since Alberto Contador in 2014.
The key to Mas’s success will likely hinge on maintaining a sufficient lead to withstand Roglič during the time trial on Stage 18. Friday’s Stage 13 took place just south of Granada, where the three-week race will conclude on September 13. On Saturday, riders face a 154km stage from Jaén to Sierra de la Pandera.
“Our goal tomorrow is just keeping the red shirt for the next day,” Mas said. This year’s Vuelta is entirely in southern Spain, without any of its classic mountain finishes in the greener north.
