The deficit is 22 points. Van Aert has 30 in the mountains classification against 52 for Buitrago, after Enric Mas widened his lead in the red jersey on Calar Alto and Jakob Omrzel took his first Grand Tour stage win.

That gap sounds manageable, and Van Aert is playing it that way. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider is already in commanding control of the green jersey by 77 points from teammate Matthew Brennan, and any run at Buitrago’s polka-dot lead would come without disturbing his primary target.

The 31-year-old explained the stage 12 strategy after crossing the line, describing a breakaway that let him work both jerseys at once.

“It was a very good day. I was part of a large group, which allowed me to efficiently pick up points in the intermediate sprint and also earn points toward the mountains jersey,” he told Dutch outlet In de Leiderstrui.

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“I feel like my form is really improving. I often feel better when fatigue sets in among the peloton, and that trend is continuing.”

Visma sports director Maarten Wynants said the plan was built around the Belgian.

“Wout had the freedom to go on the attack; the others were instructed to save their energy for the tough finale.”

Buitrago on alert

Bahrain-Victorious climber Santiago Buitrago has already registered the threat. After stage 11, when Van Aert first went for mountain points and cut the deficit to 12, the Colombian told Domestique Cycling that he had not seen it coming.

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“I was a bit surprised to see Wout going for the mountain points. I thought I’d be able to contest the prize without any trouble. But never mind. That just makes for a more exciting spectacle.”

“We know what a quality rider Wout is and there are still plenty of points up for grabs. So we’ve got to be careful, be very smart, know where to make our moves and pick up as many points as possible.”

Van Aert himself has kept the door propped open.

“I’m in a pretty good position in that classification. And if I can pick up points as easily as I did today, I’m not going to leave them there,” he said after stage 11.

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Race reshaped without Pogacar

The wider picture matters. Pre-race favorite Tadej Pogacar abandoned the Vuelta on stage 8 after a heavy crash 33 kilometers from the finish. His exit opened up the general classification and thinned out the other jersey competitions, giving Visma the room to let Van Aert alternate between green and polka-dot ambitions.

Enric Mas now leads the general classification by 1:45 from Primoz Roglic, with Felix Gall a further 21 seconds back and Richard Carapaz at 3:53.

Stage 13 covers 192.8 kilometers from Almuñécar to Loja, with most of its 3,404 meters of climbing packed into the first 84 kilometers before a flatter run-in. The bigger mountains points are stored for the third week, when the race heads north to its highest categories. That is where Van Aert says he will make his call.

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