For the second day in a row Tom Dumoulin managed to limit his losses and moves to fourth overall. Joaqium Rodriguez won stage 15 and Fabio Aru maintains the overall lead.

Stage 15 in the Vuelta a España took the peloton from Comillas to Sotres Cabrales and covered 175.8km and two 2 GPMs with a mountaintop finish on the 1st category climb, the Alto de Sotres.

Nine riders formed the break of the day, as Movistar Team took the initiative to control the pace at the bunch. The breakaway group started the final climb of 12km with an advantage of 1’10”, while Tom Dumoulin could build on the strong support of Lawson Craddock again at the bunch.

The GC contenders made it into a real battle. Astana and Movistar set the pace on the gradual climb that ended with a steep final 3km. Joaquim Rodriguez (Team Katusha) was the best climber today and won stage 15. Tom Dumoulin rode his own pace up to 12th and moves to 4th overall. Fabio Aru (Astana Pro Team) maintains the overall lead. Dumoulin is now down 1 minute and 25 seconds in the GC. 

"It went better than yesterday," he told De Telegraaf. "I have again lost some time but that was to be expected. It was pretty good.

"It might have been a good idea to stay with the best a little longer, but I was too far behind when a split appeared in the group. I did not sprint to close the gap, but rode at my own pace.

"They are afraid of my time trial. When teammates dropped back after their work and saw me, they immediately yelled in the radio where I was.

"Tomorrow I have to limit the damage. After the stage to Andorra, it is the hardest in this Vuelta."