Jens Keukeleire exploits a rare non-summit finish

With Steven Kruijswijk having ridden into a bollard earlier in the race, I was confident in my spelling for the rest of this Vuelta. Then along comes Jens Keukeleire to win what you could probably just about describe as a bunch sprint.

I’ve worked it out though. Keukeleire – if in doubt, it’s an E. It may not feel like it’s an E, but it is.

Keukeleire is Belgian and therefore almost inevitably more of a classics rider. This ended up being kind of like a classics finish though: disorganised and without the strongest sprinters.

As far as the general classification goes, nothing happened.

Stage 13

The longest stage of the race and hillier than it looks. Not entirely sure how this one’s going to go – although you can probably say that about any Vuelta stage that doesn’t finish atop a mountain.

Today’s stage term is ‘flysch’ – a term of Suisse origin which refers to geological formations made up of thin, alternating layers of compact sandstone and clay.