"We have a strong team now, extremely competitive but Madrid is a long distance in the future and there will be more work to do before we get there."

Those were the words of Astana's Dario Cataldo after stage twelve at the Vuelta a España. Cataldo and the rest of his teammates worked only when absolutely necessary on Thursday to help chase down the day's breakaway near the end of the flat stage and then get out of the way for the sprinters.

With Fabio Aru now in the race leader's Red Jersey, Cataldo and Astana Pro Team are careful to watch competitors close in General Classification. Joaquim Rodriguez of Spain is 27 seconds back, Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands is 3 seconds more.

Also riding in support are Andrey Zeits, Luis Leon Sanchez, Diego Rosa, Mikel Landa and Alessandro Vanotti. With nine stages remaining, seven are either uphill finishes or significant climbing throughout the day.There is a mostly flat 38km individual time trial on stage seventeen.

Aru, Rosa, Sanchez, Cataldo, Zeits and Landa all finished in the same time as stagewinner Danny Van Poppel of the Netherlands.

“Tom Dumoulin is not the only rival," Aru said. "We have Purito, the pair of Movistar with Alejandro and Quintana. Now we have to stay focused and not underestimate anyone. Dumoulin is very strong, you never know what he can do, but the mountain stages are better for me.

"There is never an easy day in la Vuelta. In all stage races every day is important. Today was not totally flat. Although we had a sprint, it was quite stressful. Another step and we are already thinking of tomorrow. I slept well, I rested. I just think about the end of la Vuelta.

“It was calm, but not that calm. It was a very fast finale, Giant were working very hard to try and get the break back. But I was well-supported by my teammates throughout.”

"Froome is going to be missed in this Vuelta. He rode a very hard stage with a broken foot. I wish him a prompt recovery.

“His abandon is the bad news of the day. The race will be less spectacular without him, but with a fractured foot it was never going to be possible for him to continue. I know he will have a hard time accepting he had to abandon, and I wish him a speedy recovery.

“The Pyrenees were very demanding, and we all noticed the effects of today. It’s the 12th stage, too, so by this point in the race we’re tired. But we’re very satisfied with what we’ve achieved, too. The next few stages are difficult, but more so the ones at the weekend. In any case, we have to take this on the day by day.”