The favorites could not hide forever. To get rid of the indefatigable Tom Dumoulin (Giant - Alpecin), the climbing favorites for the general classification had to resolve to attack. And it was on the steep slopes to the top of Sostres where Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) succeeded in slipping away and winning in classic solo style. Purito crossed the line fourteen seconds ahead of Fabio Aru (Astana), and so for the moment still trails the Italian in the overall classification by a single second.

Once again, the IAM Cycling team didn’t quite live up to its ambitions. In spite of having Sylvain Chavanel ensconced in an early break, they did not have a rider in the break that proved to be the main escape of the day, nor did they have a rider strong enough to be represented in the lead group on the final climb, though they did spend a hard day in the bunch up till that point. As ever, the team is hoping for better days to come. 

Learning is not always a gentle process. Sometimes you endure some rough patches in order to gain the knowledge and strength for future use. That certainly is the conclusion that Simon Pellaud has drawn from his time on the race; at the age of 23 he is discovering the variances of a grand tour. 

“Once again, the day was very nervous,” the young Swiss rider explained. “We had the wind blowing at an angle from the back more or less, which meant that we were riding very fast indeed. I did not really understand Movistar’s tactics that did not allow the group of six riders that also had Sylvain Chavanel among them to get away. But then they let another group of nine guys go ahead. It hurts the team not to be seen at the front of the race.

"For my part, I could not afford to waste too much energy trying to get into breakaways because the hardest days are still to come. My goal for this fifteenth stage was to save as much of my energy as I could from the base of the climbs to help me retain some energy for Monday’s stage, which will in my opinion be the most complicated and difficult of this year’s Vuelta. But actually, every stage I suffer most until the break eventually forms, which is essentially the first hour or two of racing. Once we are on the cols, then the racing is much milder.”

Simon Pellaud’s analysis of the upcoming stage will be hard to verify once on the roads that face the group on Monday. With no fewer than seven major climbs, and with gradients that will drain the blood from the face of those less interested in climbing, even those riders planning on spending the day in the gruppetto will be having anxiety attacks at the thought. 

“The last three kilometers of the final climb have sections with a slope of around 30%,” confided directeur sportif Mario Chiesa. “And this will come after the peloton has already covered six categorized climbs. This will be complicated by the fact that Monday’s stage already starts going uphill from kilometer one. I’m sure the race will start with a bang.

"As far as I’m concerned, the riders who will succeed in getting in the breakaway will have a good chance to reach the finish before being reeled in by the pack. This will be a very difficult stage to control. Of course, it will be up to how Astana and Movistar ride. But it will not be easy for them in light of the efforts that they have made in recent days.

"This is probably one of the most complicated stages of this Vuelta. And I also think that after crossing the line at the top of the Ermita de Alba, we will see some changes in the general classification. We could definitely see someone new wearing the red jersey.”