It was the first stage with an mountaintop finish of this Vuelta. Three riders got a big lead on the peloton and were allowed to compete for the stage victory. Behind them rode the group of favourites, which was split up on the last climb of the day. Roglic was well assisted by his teammates. The leader of Team Jumbo-Visma finally conceded 12 seconds to López, but took time on his other competitors for the GC.

A strong riding Sepp Kuss crossed the finish line in ninth place. “In the beginning it went fairly easily. Nobody in the peloton felt the need to take the initiative and in addition, the leading group was very strong. Heavy days are coming, so you can't give everything every day. I feel good and it was great that I could help Primoz. Hopefully I can continue this for the rest of the Vuelta."

"I am happy with how I rode today," Roglic said. “Fortunately I got through the first few days well. The whole team was very strong. When Valverde went and dropped Quintana, I was able to follow. We know how strong he is. He has already proven that in the past. When he won this race ten years ago, I was still a ski jumper."