The decisive feature of stage thirteen had always looked like being the short and steep unclassified climb that was situated inside the final 2.5km. Gianluca Brambilla (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) attacked as soon as they leading group reached the ramp, with Dani Navarro (Cofids) following suit. Navarro soon overhauled and dropped the Italian, before storming up the hill and holding off the chasers on the descent to the finish. It was a memorable and well deserved first Grand Tour stage win for the former domestique. Navarro had tried similar attacks on the Alto de San Miguel de Aralar at the conclusion of stage eleven, but had been unable to truly break costless of the peloton on that occasion.

Holding off the chasing group was no easy feat as a succession of attacks ensured the pace was very high behind Navarro. Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) was the next to attack, but his move was well marshalled by Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) with the other favourites on his wheel. After that it was Martin's turn to be the chaser, closing down Chris Froome's (Team Sky) strong counterattack. There followed another attack by Martin, but this time it was Wilco Kelderman (Belkin Pro Cycling) who covered the move. As the Irishman was being caught Daniel Moreno (Katusha Team) kicked clear on the opposite of the road, followed by Kelderman, however neither pursuer could catch the impressive Navarro before the line, and had to settle for second and third place finishes respectively.

On a parcours that had seemed conducive to a successful breakaway, many riders were keen to be involved when that break formed. A large group of riders tried to get clear early in the stage, but Movistar seemed unhappy with it and set a high pace behind. After a period of rapid pursuit by the peloton, the dust finally settled and the following eleven riders were in the clear, Jasper Stuyven (Trek Factory Racing), Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Jay Thomson (MTN-Qhubeka), Stef Clement (Belkin), Peter Sagan (Cannondale), Danilo Wyss (BMC), Paolo Longo Borghini (Cannondale), Luis Leon Sanchez (Caja Rural), Damien Gaudin (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Vegard Breen (Lotto-Belisol).

However the break was never given much leeway as the peloton, Orica GreenEDGE in particular, were keen to keep them under control, with the gap hovering around the 2-3 minute range for much of the day. As a result a number of the breakaway riders dropped out of the group, leaving just five in front; Lutsenko, Gaudin, Wyss, Sanchez and Cunego.

With 15km to go Lutsenko attacked his companions, but the peloton was moving fast behind with Garmin-Sharp, Katusha and FDJ relieving Orica GreenEDGE on the front for a while. The escapees had all been successfully corralled by the time the race reached the steep hill, leaving teams to jostle for position ahead of the ramp. From there everything fell the way of Dani Navarro and his Cofidis team.

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About the author
Kevin Connaghan
Sports writer covering cycling, NFL and Michigan football, as well as a general sports fan