"Getting here safely was the most important thing today”, sports director Marc Reef said. "We wanted to stay out of trouble and ride towards the safety zone at the front of the peloton. Accidents happen", he said, referring to a crash in the peloton in the final kilometres. "It's important to stay sharp and alert on stages like this. We got through today's stage with a good feeling. We are one day closer to our big goal. On to tomorrow's stage.”

"It's never as easy as it seems”, general classification leader Sepp Kuss added. "Luckily, we all escaped trouble and made it to the finish in one piece. This brings us another day closer to our goal. Tomorrow's stage is a bit like a classic. It will be a tough day with a high pace all day. We have to be on our guard again tomorrow.”

The penultimate stage of the Vuelta contains a fair amount of climbing. Reef: "It's the stage with the most metres of climbing in this Vuelta. It won't be easy to control this stage. It goes up and down all day long. There are no very steep climbs. So the pace will be high. A lot of teams will be going for all or nothing. We are all healthy and ready for the final battle of this intense Vuelta.”