In the short stage with five climbs, just like yesterday, the pace was high from the start. An early breakaway was caught before the foot of the Angliru, after which Team Jumbo-Visma increased the pace with first Robert Gesink and then Jonas Vingegaard. In the last three kilometres, with percentage increases above twenty, Roglic was suffering, but limited his time loss partly due to an outstanding Sepp Kuss.

“It was too hard a climb for a sprinter”, Roglic joked. “I didn’t have my best day, but in the end I can’t be dissatisfied with the result. I am still in a good position overall and I am very happy with that. Of course I would have liked to gain time rather than losing it, but it is what it is. The team was again very strong and very impressive. They are all riding at a very high level. I feel sorry for Sepp, because he certainly could have won the stage. But I also want to thank him for the support in the last kilometres. Without him I would have lost more time. Now we will first enjoy the rest day and then we will focus on the time trial. We will continue to give everything to win the Vuelta. Everything is still possible in the third week.”

Sports director Grischa Niermann concurred. “We have shown that we are the strongest team in the Vuelta. We may have lost the leader’s jersey, but definitely not the Vuelta. Despite Primoz’s bad day, I am happy with the result and the way we rode as a team. Everyone knows what their job is and everyone has done that very well. We are already looking forward to Tuesday’s time trial. It’s a quite long time trial and it’s straightforward with a steep one and a half kilometre climb at the end. It is a time trial that should suit Primoz, but we will make up the balance after the time trial.”