Warren Barguil again climbed with the best in today's stage of the Vuelta a Espana and even tried his hand with an early attack. The Frenchman is still getting better and is looking forward to the steeper climbs later in the race.

Warren Barguil was looking keen to test his legs on the final ascent of the 11th stage of La Vuelta today as he attacked the lead group on the final climb of the day. The move lasted for around one kilometre before he sat up to return to the chase group, realising his efforts were fruitless.

He eventually went on to finish 12th on the stage after losing touch with the favourites inside the final two kilometres when the big attacks started, losing less than a minute to the stage winner. As a result of today’s strong ride, Barguil jumps up a few places in the overall classification.

The stage once again got off to a rapid start with over 50km being covered in the first hour of racing. This saw large groups coming and going off the front of the peloton so the team had to stay attentive and keep Barguil in a good position. The nervousness also led to a  crash in the peloton, which led to the abandonment of some riders, but Team Giant-Shimano were largely unaffected and could race on.

A break of five riders finally established itself but their gap never ballooned as the pace was kept uncomfortably high throughout and as the race hit the lower slopes of the day’s final climb, over ten kilometres of ascent peaking at 14% gradients in the final kilometres, the race was back together.

The team once again placed Barguil well at the base of the climb and with the pace high from the off he was quickly alone in the front group of GC favourites. This group was whittled down to between 15-20 riders before Warren made his move with six kilometres to race. He was joined by one other but they did not pull out much of an advantage and Barguil soon sat up to rejoin for the lead group once more.

As the kilometres ticked by the attacks became more frequent and as the riders hit the steepest sections the front pack splintered and Barguil set about making his own pace to the finish. He did not concede much time to the leaders, eventually coming across the line 49″ down on stage winner Fabio Aru (Astana), and 43″ back on overall race leader Alberto Contador (Tinkoff – Saxo) who maintains his lead on GC.

Barguil now jumps up to 13th overall while John Degenkolb will spend another day in green tomorrow with his sprint competitors not featuring in the stage. Tomorrow will be another good opportunity for a bunch sprint and Degenkolb will be keen to get back to speed here and extend his lead in the points competition.

Team Giant-Shimano coach Lionel Marie said after the stage: “Today was perfect in terms of how the guys stuck to the plan. Early on things were pretty hectic but everyone stayed calm and regrouped well. Then when the break was up the road it was just a case again of supporting Warren as today was all about being a GC day.

“They dropped him off in a great position at the bottom of the final climb once again and from there he did a strong ride to finish amongst the favourites.”

On seeing Warren had moved up two places, Marie said: “That is good. It is good for the confidence and he continues to get stronger here.”

“I attacked on the climb because I didn’t find the pace too hard but there was quite a lot of wind and Gesink was pulling hard so I waited for the group behind,” added Warren. “I got stuck with two k to go, I was not far from getting back on the group but I dropped back and couldn’t follow the attacks.

"After I attacked, I’ve realized there was too much wind to keep riding alone so I stopped my effort, it wasn’t worth it. Movistar controlled really well. I struggled a bit but I haven’t missed much for staying with the best climbers. I finish 45 seconds behind them, it’s not too bad.

"I’m not at my best yet but I’m getting better and that’s what matters for now. In this final climb, I preferred the steep sections. I think a steep climb like in the second last stage (Puerto de Ancares) will suit me and I hope to do well there.

“In the end I lost some time but I’ve moved up a bit and there’s still a lot of racing left. I’m still getting better each day and am recovering well from the hard efforts. Hopefully I will have good days on the real difficult stages to come, but I am still attaining my objective here at the Vuelta and I am focused and motivated for this.”

Road captain, Johannes Fröhlinger gave his input: “Overall it was a good day for us, but a few of the guys had a bad day with bad sensations – a rest day followed by a TT can bring you out of the rhythm.

“Warren was very strong though and that is the most important today. He looks better and better. It is only his second Grand Tour but he gives hope that he will be stronger still in the final week.”