“I had to survive the two climbs, but it went remarkably well. I had a good opportunity as several sprinters had already been released. The men brought me forward well, but I was just too much in jeopardy”, Teunissen said.

The rider exited the last turn smoothly but lost his position. “In the end, I had to sprint to move forward. Then you know it’s going to be difficult. I needed some luck with positioning and it went quite well.”

Tomorrow is the last mountain stage of this grand tour. “I need to survive that as well”, Teunissen says. “Since Primoz left the race, we have been trying to make the best of it. That’s going very well. We will come up with another plan for tomorrow’s ride.”

For Teunissen, this Vuelta is a rollercoaster. The Dutchman rode in the red leader’s jersey in his own country but also suffered some setbacks. “I got sick and crashed. It was very tough. But things are improving and I will get through it.”