Team LottoNL-Jumbo is heading with confidence to the next three mountain stages in the Vuelta a España. In the twelfth stage, Steven Kruijswijk and George Bennett finished without problems in the company of Sepp Kuss and Floris De Tier. They finished in the peloton at 11 minutes from stage winner Alexandre Geniez.

In the general classification, Steven Kruijswijk sits tenth and George Bennett eleventh.

"It was a difficult stage, but we got through the day well. So that's good," Sports Director Grischa Niermann said. "A strong leading group established itself from the start and battled for the victory. Our goal today was to assist our GC riders as well as possible. 

"Sepp and Floris rode an excellent stage. We were a little surprised that Mitchelton-Scott gave so much time to Herrada, the new race leader, but that is not a real disaster with the upcoming stages."

The next three days will be very important in the battle for the overall victory. The peloton has to face three tough mountain stages, all summit finishes.

"The GC will be made in the coming days," Niermann continued. "There are three tough mountain stages and the final climbs are very steep. Our guys are in a good shape and they feel good. We are looking forward to it."