Tinkoff-Saxo enjoyed a largely calm day in the Vuelta a Espana and managed to keep Alberto Contador safe when things got hectic in the finale. The race leader expects tomorrow's stage to be a lot harder and more stressful affair while he prepares himself for the three upcoming mountain stages.

Alberto Contador resolved the problems posed by today's stage smoothly and especially he avoided the crash in the last kilometers, even passing the finish line in front of his rivals although that did not have much significance.

“In the end there was a crash in the last kilometer, but we avoided it and that’s all, one more day. Now I have to rest because we go into four really hard days,” he said.

As expected, everybody got the same time, but the most important was to stay ahead.

“I've been ahead, my team pulled really hard and I was very well-placed. With a crash, yes, I suppose to be given the same time as my rivals," Contador said.

Tomorrow the mountains return for a relatively dangerous finish. Alberto Contador is aware that the decisive stages approach.

“It will be a day when we must stay vigilant, especially in the final part. I think tomorrow will be a busy day, the opposite of today's calm atmosphere. We must be attentive all the way till the end."

"I think it was a good day for us," sports director Steven De Jongh said. "There was one rider in the front throughout the day and all we had to do was to take care of Alberto. There was a big crash in the finale. We didn't see what happened but when we passed by in the car there were still riders on the ground. Alberto wasn't involved and was safe but I hope nobody suffered any serious injuries."

“In case of roundabouts in the finale and curves like today, Alberto [Contador] prefers to get his team-mates to stretch the peloton," sports director Philippe Mauduit added. "He feels safer this way. Once he passed the last roundabout, he stood up and let the sprinters go.”

" At some point, a dog entered the parcours and wanted to bite Tosatto," Daniele Bennati said. "Fortunately, it didn't succeed. Seriously, it was a calm day, we rode calmy all day.

"In the two last laps, as expected, the sprinters took over and we stayed in the front. Fortunately, Alberto stayed out of the big crash and for us that was the most important thing".