Nacer Bouhanni delivered an excellent performance when he stayed with the GC riders on the tough climb in the final of stage 13 of the Vuelta a Espana. However, FDJ were left with mixed emotions as both Kenny Elissonde and Murilo Fischer anbandoned the race.

Going into stage 13 of the Vuelta a Espana, not many had mentioned Nacer Bouhanni as a potential winner of the race. However, the Frenchman was in a determined mood and he asked his teammates to bring back the early break.

Johan Le Bon, Cedric Pineau and Anthony Roux did an excellent work to set up their captain for the difficult finale. While some GC riders fell off the pace, Bouhanni stayed with the main favourites and was only narrowly beaten by Alejandro Valverde in the sprint for fourth.

The performance sets Bouhanni perfectly up for the World Championships where he hopes to be given a leadership role on the French team.

However, the stage ended badly for FDJ who lost both Murilo Fischer and Kenny Elissonde. Both had crashed in recent days but it was bad legs that forced them out of the race.

"Kenny's withdrawal was unexpected," said sports director Franck Pineau. "He had the misfortune of having bad legs. A pity, the third week was perfect for his climbing skills."