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For the second day in a row, the 2013 Vuelta a Espana presents an opportunity for the sprinters, if they can survive the category 1 Alto de Rat Penat, which comes 50km before the finish.
Following Philippe Gilbert’s (BMC) curse-cancelling victory on stage 12, his rivals including Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky), Gianni Meersman (OPQS) and Australia’s Michael Matthews (OGE) will be eager for revenge.
The general classification is unlikely to see significant changes, although it will be a nervous day trying to simultaneously save energy and stay out of trouble for race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) who holds the red jersey by 31 seconds to Nicolas Roche (Saxo-Tinkoff), with Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) at 46 seconds.
Stage 13 covers 169km through Catalunya, a wealthy and fiercely independent region of Spain, finishing on the Western outskirts of Barcelona.
Beginning in the city of Valls, famous for its cultural tradition of creating castells (human pyramids), and finishing in Castelldefels, the big sprinters will need to stand on their teammates’ shoulders if they want to prevent a plucky breakaway from stealing the prize.
This is the land of Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, and Antoni Gaudi, but there will be no time for fantastical surrealism today: this will be hard racing.
The course has a lumpy profile as it winds inland to the category 3 Coll de la Torreta, then speeds East towards Cantallops. The route then dives back to the coast, for a first pass of Castelldefels, an intermediate sprint, and then the day’s major climb.
The Alto de Rat Penat covers just over 4km at an average gradient of 10.6%, but as with most climbs of the Vuelta, it gets seriously steep, peaking at 16%.
This will surely test many of the sprinters, and should provide a great launching pad for opportunists willing to chance their legs on the gradual 50km descent as the race loops back to the finish in Castelldefels.
This is the last chance for the sprinters before the Vuelta enters the Pyrenees, so any breakaways will have their work cut out to succeed.
On paper, it’s another good stage for Michael Matthews of Orica-GreenEdge, who climbs well for a man with his speed. Matthews suffered an untimely puncture in stage 12, costing him the chance to contest the finish, so he should be fired up.
However, with a few days of brutal Pyrenean climbs ahead, all of the fast men will be desperate, so expect a street fight.
Live blogging will start at midnight.
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