La Vuelta 2024:-Stage 13: Lugo-Puerto de Ancares, 175.6km ***Spoilers***

Stage 13: Lugo-Puerto de Ancares, 175.6km

Friday 30th August

Start Time: 11-55BST.

Stage 13 serves up five climbs - three of which are categorized - before the race concludes with the steep drag up the Puerto de Ancares. The riders traverse Galicia for the fourth day in a row and cross into neighbouring Castile-Léon in the final kilometres. The 175.6 kilometer long race commences in Lugo. Lugo is the capital of the northwestern region Galicia. The town reserves major remains of its Roman past.

La Vuelta last visited the Puerto de Ancares in 2014, although it was tackled on another – but still brutal – side. It was the last call for that year’s red jersey and the race came down to a fascinating fight between the big four. Following attacks by Joaquim Rodriguez and Chris Froome, Alberto Contador outsmarted the lot and took both the stage and the GC victory. El Pistolero crossed the line 16 seconds ahead of Froome with Valverde almost 1 minute in arrears. Purito faded away in the last part of the climb and finished in fourth.

Profile.

Map.

The Climbs.

The Final Kilometres.

What to Expect.

On paper, this is one of the toughest finishes in the entire Vuelta, making it likely that the GC riders will test each other.

Lugo

Lugo has already hosted 4 La Vuelta stage departures.

97,211 inhabitants.

Lugo is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo. It is located on a hill on the banks of the river Miño. The Lugo City Walls, a World Heritage Site, surround the old city centre with its Roman structure. Featuring towers and doorways, this historical monument offers an insight into the city’s antiquity and fortitude. It is over two kilometres long, includes 10 doorways and is the only Roman city wall in the world to have been preserved in its entirety.

Tarta de Mondoñedo

Tarta de Mondoñedo is a layered cake consisting of puff pastry, sponge cake, angel hair pasta, almonds, and candied fruit. It was first created in the 12th century by nuns in Mondoñedo, a small town in the Galician province of Lugo.

Puerto de Ancares

Puerto de Ancares has already hosted 2 La Vuelta finish-lines.

828 inhabitants (Candín).

The Ancares Mountain Pass will, once again, host a La Vuelta finish-line for the 3rd time, after doing so in 2012 and 2014. It will do so by debuting a new slope to climb the León side from Tejedo de Ancares.

Queso de Valdeón

One of the great blues of Europe, this Spanish cheese is produced in the Picos de Europa Mountains, namely the valley of Valdeón. The smooth and creamy Valdeón blue cheese is made from either pure cow's milk or a combination of cow's, sheep's, and goat's milk. It is matured for about 45-60 days and sold wrapped in sycamore maple or chestnut leaves.