The young Brit James Knox from Cumbria is now 18th overall in the Vuelta with eight stages to go at the Spanish Grand Tour after finishing 13th on the stage to Los Machucos.
![]() |
News: James Knox Climbing Brilliantly
After a quiet start to the stage which took them through San Mames, the stadium of eight-time La Liga champions Athletic Bilbao, stage 13 exploded and following several skirmishes, 29 riders extricated themselves from the peloton and formed a break which looked capable of going all the way to the line, especially as their maximum advantage went over eight minutes.
Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images
Victorious one day earlier in Bilbao, where he soloed to his tenth Grand Tour stage win, Philippe Gilbert infiltrated the break again, but despite the huge gap the leaders enjoyed, the peloton managed to reel them in, helped also by the six classified climbs that eroded the gap and poured lead into the escapees’ legs by the time they arrived at the bottom of Los Machucos.
This beast of a climb, averaging 9.2% over 6.8 kilometers, made just its second appearance at La Vuelta, and just like in 2017, mercilessly blew the bunch to pieces on its opening slopes which ramped up to 25%. Cumbria’s James Knox started the ascent as part of the red jersey group, but he struggled once the pace went up and the GC favourites started turning the screw, shedding riders out the back.
As the kilometers ticked down, the 23-year-old Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider continued to climb at his own pace and even catch and pass riders who began losing contact with the main group near the top of the climb, with Knox concluding this agonising stage just outside the top 10, in a solid 13th, a result that helped James maintain his place inside the top 20 overall at the last Grand Tour of the season.
“I don’t think there’s a particular tactic to go up Los Machucos, it’s just about survival and not going too deep from the bottom. I have done other climbs comparable to this, but today it was very tough due to that string of climbs we had before the last one. That’s where some teams upped the pace and made us all ride full gas. Once I got dropped, I just remained calm and climbed at a steady tempo, as this was the thing to do. I feel good and I hope I will keep these legs for the final week of the race”, a confident Knox said after picking up his best stage result in a Grand Tour stage.
Cycle Division’s Shop
Send your results as well as club, team & event news here
Other Results on VeloUK (including reports containing results)
- Q&A Feature: Finlay Tarling
- Feature: Prologue Junior Race Team
- Feature Q&A: Max Cushway (2nd U23 Chrono des Nations TT)
- Features, Reports, Results
- News: Scottish Awards Evening
- CX Result: 2023 Scottish Cyclo-Cross Championship
- Crit Result: Full Gas Winter Circuit Series #8
- CX Result: NWCCA League Rd 7
- CX Result: London and South East CX League 9
- CX Result: Shimano Lazer WMCCL R11
- News: TLI Cycling AGM
- CX Result: CCXL Round 10
- CX Result: Western CX League Rd 7
- CX Result: Lincolnshire CX League 10
- CX Result: CXNE Round 8 (Ponteland)
- CX Result: Wessex Cyclocross League Rd 9
- CX Result: South West Cyclocross League 7
- CX Result: Yorkshire Cyclo-Cross League 6
- The Pedal Club with Fred Wright
- CX Result: Eastern Region Cyclocross League
- Track Result: Premier/First Division Manchester Track League
- Products: Santini Adapt Multi Jacket
- Crit Result: Full Gas Winter Circuit Series #7
- CX Result: Scottish Cyclo-Cross League 5
- Q&A: Thomas Portsmouth (Bingoal WB)
- CX Result: NWCCA League Round 6
- CX Result: Shimano Lazer WMCCL Round 10
- CX Result: Eastern Cyclo-Cross League 7
- CX Result: Central CycloCross League 9
- CX Result: Lincolnshire Cyclo Cross League 9
- CX Result: South West CX League 6
- CX Result: Yorkshire Cyclo-Cross League Rd 5
- Track Result: Premier/First Divisions Manchester Track League
- CX Result: Notts & Derby CX League Rd 5
- Q&A: Quiz time with Gemma Mitchell
- Team News: Finn Mason joins U23 Saint Piran Team
- Team News: Wightlink-Wight Mountain CRT
- Team News: Saint Piran launches Women’s Elite MTB Team
- Team News: New for Saint Piran – Under 23 Team
- Team News: Harry Birchill stays with Saint Piran
- Q&A: World Grand Fondo Champion Mary Wilkinson!
- CX Result: CXNE League Round 6
- CX Result: Central Cyclocross League Rd 8
- CX Result: Shimano Lazer WMCCL Rd 9
Other News on VeloUK
- News: Scottish Awards Evening
- News: TLI Cycling AGM
- The Pedal Club with Fred Wright
- Team News: Finn Mason joins U23 Saint Piran Team
- Team News: Wightlink-Wight Mountain CRT
- Team News: Saint Piran launches Women’s Elite MTB Team
- Team News: New for Saint Piran – Under 23 Team
- Team News: Harry Birchill stays with Saint Piran
- National Trophy CX – Round 4 Startlist
- Team News: Class of GB 2023/2024
- Feature: Q&A with Cormac Nisbet
- Team News: Wightlink-Wight Mountain CRT
- Team News: Tofauti Everyone Active & dsm-firmenich
- BIKES: The Ribble Cycles Edit
- Q&A Feature: Finlay Tarling
- BMCR News: 2023 Stallard Series
- Obituary: Barrie Mitchell
- Feature: Prologue Junior Race Team
- Team News: RFDA cycling team finishes
- Team News: Harry Tanfield signs for Saint Piran
- News: GB for CX Europeans
- Manchester Regional Track League News:
- News: cyclo-cross commission at Derby
- Startlist: National Trophy Cyclocross Round 3 (Derby)
- Team News: Two More Years at Ineos for Geraint Thomas
- News: The Pedal Club Lunch October
- Startlist: RTTC National Hill Climb Championship
- Perfs Pedal: A Difficult Decision
- Startlist: Day 2 Round 2 National Trophy Cyclocross
- Startlist: Day 1 Round 2 National Trophy Cyclocross
- Coming Soon: Hill Climb Championships
- 2023 UCI World Masters Track Cycling Championships Day 4
- 93rd VeloViewer Monsal Hill Climb Event Preview
- Dedication to the late Steve Knight
- Saint Piran’s Remarkable Journey
- GB Riders for European Road Championships
- News: Ribble Launches Stone into Gravel
- Report: Wightlink-Wight Mountain CRT 2023
- News: East Cleveland Classic Rescheduled
- ENTRIES NEEDED: Severn Valley GP