Remco Evenepoel's 2023 Vuelta a España defense collapsed Friday after he was dropped by a big group early into Stage 13, won by Jonas Vingegaard on a superb day for Jumbo-Visma.

The Belgian Soudal-QuickStep rider started the day third but trudged to the finish over 27 minutes behind Vingegaard, after losing contact on the climb toward the Col d'Aubisque summit with nearly 90 kilometers remaining.

Sepp Kuss kept the red jersey, as he came in second, with Primoz Roglic completing a Jumbo-Visma podium in third - all three riders now have won a stage each.

Roglic trails Kuss by 1 minute, 37 seconds overall, with Vingegaard third, 1 minute, 44 seconds behind the leader.

"I couldn't choose a better day, as today is the birthday of my daughter, and I wanted to win for her so bad today," Vingegaard told Eurosport. "Our plan was to see if we could take some time on the opponents today. That happened, and I'm just so happy and proud to do it today, this one is for my daughter Frida. It went even better than the plan."

Evenepoel also pulled out of the Giro d'Italia in May, which he was leading, after testing positive for COVID, just hours after winning the Stage 9 individual time trial.

The 23-year-old took the red jersey early in the Vuelta but decided to lose it in Stage 6, conceding the lead to Lenny Martinez.

However, he showed signs of weakness, as he also lost time to his main general classification rivals.

Kuss took the red jersey in Stage 8 and has maintained it since, even though back-to-back Tour de France winner Vingegaard and three-time Vuelta champion and Giro winner Roglic are Jumbo-Visma's leaders.

The Dutch team is aiming to become the first to win all three Grand Tours in a single season, and Evenepoel's collapse has given them a fantastic chance.

Stage 13 always appeared key in the general classification battle, featuring over 4,000 meters of climbing in the Pyrenees.

It is one of the toughest stages of any of the Grand Tours, despite its shorter length of 135 kilometers between Formigal and regular iconic Tour de France summit Col du Tourmalet.

Evenepoel was dropped relatively early, along with UAE Team Emirates rider Joao Almeida, who came in nearly seven minutes behind the Danish stage winner. Martinez also fell away with 20 kilometers to go.

Vingegaard attacked with eight kilometers to go, and nobody could catch him, with Kuss leaving Enric Mas behind after with a superb burst, with Roglic coming in third.

Marc Soler, who started the day 26 seconds behind Kuss in second place, is sixth now, over three minutes behind, trailing Spanish compatriots Juan Ayuso and Mas, fourth and fifth respectively.

In Stage 14 on Saturday, riders face another tricky stint in the mountains between Sauveterre de Bearn and Larra-Belagua.