Already third behind Alberto Contador and Nairo Quintana in the Route du Sud, Pierre-Roger Latour (Ag2r) confirmed his status as the next big French climber when he finished third in the Vuelta a Burgos queen stage and fifth overall in the Spanish race. With a late attack, he had even made a strong bid for the stage victory before being passed by Daniel Moreno and Rein Taaramae in the finale.

"When the Burgos rider (David Belda) attacked late in the race, I thought that Movistar would chase him down," he said. "I tried my luck in the end. When Moreno caught me 500 meters line, he was going 5hph faster than me and it was impossible to follow him. Luckily, I could hang onto Taaramae. The team did a great job and because of that I could not allow myself to give up. Fifth in the Tour de Burgos is a good performance. I had a great week."