"The Vuelta a España has always been an exceptional race for me”, Kuss beamed. "I felt super strong all day. It's fantastic to finish like this after all the hard work of my teammates. It's not often that I win a stage, but when it happens, it's a great feeling.”

The 28-year-old referred to the tactics of the Dutch team. After tens of kilometres, Dylan van Baarle, Jan Tratnik and Attila Valter joined Kuss in the lead group of around forty riders. "We wanted to try and put pressure on Remco Evenepoel and Soudal-Quick Step. We knew it was going to be a difficult day to control. Dylan, Jan and Attila rode brilliantly. I have to thank them for all their hard work. For me, it was just a matter of finding out when to make the final gap", Kuss said.

A few minutes behind the American, Roglic and Vingegaard attacked together on the steep final climb, gaining over half a minute on the red jersey wearer Evenepoel. "The legs were much better today. We still have a long way to go, but today was a good day. I enjoyed it”, Roglic said.

Vingegaard, co-leader of Team Jumbo-Visma in the Spanish stage race, was also pleased with his team's tactics and praised his teammate Kuss. "He's a great guy. He deserves this after everything he has done for the team in the past. A great stage win."

"I enjoy riding for both guys, but of course, it's great to win for yourself, too”, Kuss said. "I heard on the radio that our leaders were very strong today. Because we were in the lead group with four riders, I could stay in front. A perfect day."

Sportive director Merijn Zeeman spoke of a dream scenario. "The victory for Sepp and time gains for our leaders. It doesn't get any better than that. I am so proud of the whole team; it was a team effort.”