A day before the tough stage in and around Andorra, the GC teams took it easy and a leading group was given a free pass. Roglic was kept in the front all day and faced no problems on the wet roads to Igualada. Roglic is now in fourth place overall at just over three minutes from the new leader Nicolas Edet, who was in the lead group.

"The idea was to get Primoz to the finish safely," Addy Engels said. “That has worked out well, although it was still dangerous on the wet roads. There were no dangerous guys in the leading group so it was good that the peloton went through the last kilometres in a controlled way. If it was for the win, you have to take part in the battle with all the necessary risks. That was a lucky thing for us. The boys did a great job.”

Tomorrow is the first really tough mountain stage in the Vuelta with no less than five climbs in 94 kilometres. "It is going to be really difficult", Engels continues. “The stage is super short, but very difficult with the succession of those climbs. There will be little time for recovery. They also expect bad weather, so that will also play a role. Although the circumstances are the same for everyone. Everyone has to go flat out tomorrow and then we will see where we stand tomorrow night. We are confident and the team is strong."