Stage 13: Mads Pedals One to Win
Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) reeled in the win on sprint stage 13 of La Vuelta 2022. Chalk up another stage win on the Grand Tour circuit for the Dane, as he earned a stage win in this year’s Tour de France as well.
Stage 13Lucky Stage 13 was the last “rest” before the mountain stages this weekend. The flat stage was intended for the sprint teams and their fastmen. In the old days of cycling, the general consensus would prevail among the peloton to take it easy until ramping it up for the final kilometers. Enjoy the arid beauty of the Spanish countryside!
In the new era of cycling there are no days off. Riders who might not have a chance to win on any other stage will go for glory when everyone else wants to rest. As a result, no one rests, the tempo of the entire peloton cranks up, and the big name contenders get a little grumpy.
Lawson CraddockJulius van den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH) and Joan Bou (Euskatel-Euskadi) powered the breakaway through to the last 10km, gunning for a stage win, and making life difficult for the sprint teams that merely wanted to coast to the finish. All for nought. The breakaway was reeled in with about 10km to go.
Remco Evenepoel (QST) stays in the red jersey. With the stage win Mads Pedersen builds on his lead in the green jersey competition. With no categorized climbs either, Jay Vine (ADC) keeps the polka dot jersey.
Brandon McNulty (UAE) was the first American to cross teh finish line on Stage 13, but his countryman Lawson Craddock (BEX) stays as the highest-ranked American overall at 49th overall.
Notable exits: none.
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