Floris de Tier finisht sixth in the seventh stage of the Vuelta. The 25-year-old Belgian spent almost five hours in the escape. Only fifteen kilometres before the end De Tier had to let go of some of his fellow escapees. As a result, he finished in sixth place.

According to sports director Sierk Jan de Haan, the sixth place is a nice result for a young debutant like De Tier: "Considering the experienced boys he accompanied in the lead group, the sixth place possibly is the most feasible. Everyone wanted to win of course. The Tier was well positioned until the last climb."

On that climb the headgroup fell apart and De Tier had to let go of a few of his of co-escapees. "It's not a shame to become sixth", De Haan said. "This gives him a lot of morale for this Vuelta. During difficult moments he can think of this day. Floris is still important for the team and for Steven Kruijswijk."

At first, De Tier himself was not quite sure whether the lead group would last until the end. "I did not do too much riding in front in the first kilometres. I kept a sprint for Lobato in mind. When it became clear that we had left, I went full throttle with the sixth place as a result. If you are so close, you want to win. I was lacking some pace at the last climb to be able to compete with the final top five. From this I conclude that I can only get better. All in all, I look back on this ride with a good feeling", said De Tier, who is suffering less and less from his crash in the team-time trial.