In the fourteenth stage of the Vuelta a España, Steven Kruijswijk became sixteenth. He did so by finishing one minute later than today’s winner, Rafal Majka. Kruijswijk lasted long on the last climb of the day to the Sierra de La Pandera. Only when the favourites got to battle at the end he had to give in.

Although Kruijswijk did not cross the finish line amongst the group of favourites, he could quickly relativise. "That group went too fast for me. I have to be satisfied with this result. This is my place now and I keep fighting until the end." The feeling was certainly good according to the Dutchman, especially in comparison to the first week. "Last week I lost the same amount of time in three kilometres climbing compared to the nine uphill kilometres of today. That’s an improvement. I'm not racing with that group yet, but the Vuelta is not over yet", Kruijswijk said.

The coming week, Kruijswijk can count on the support of Antwan Tolhoek, who is beginning to find his way. The crash on the first day of the Vuelta does not bother him anymore. "I felt my painful shoulder today, but it didn't make me race any slower." On the contrary, it seemed, because the 23-year-old Dutch rider was able to support his leader for a long time. "I had good legs today. It really went well", he said afterwards.