Stage 12 would be the first high mountain and therefore bring clarity to the overall situation, which included a climb of the Col d'Aubisque. Sean Kelly survived with the elite riders and was therefore able to win the stage by out sprinting Anderson and Van de Velde at the finish. Zoetemelk, Vallet and Hinault also came across in good order with Hinault leading 2nd place Anderson by 2:03, Zoetemelk by 4:26 and everybody else by well over 5:00. Stage 13 included the Col d'Aspin and was won by Swiss rider Beat Breu who soloed across the finish ahead of the GC riders by 0:35 starting with Robert Alban in 2nd. Hinault kept Zoetemelk close all day and crossed five seconds ahead of him as Anderson and Van der Velde were each dropped and lost about a minute apiece.