At the Vuelta a Espana, Omar Fraile (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) increased his lead in the King of the Mountain classification, also winning the Most Combative Rider Award for the stage, and Jose Gonçalves continues to be in great shape, holding his own in the mountain pass along with the best riders and crossing the finish-line in 14th place.

Omar Fraile has a 5-point advantage over the riders in 2nd and 3rd place in the King of the Mountain classification - Dumoulin, the current leader of the general classification, and Lindeman, who both have 13 points, compared to Fraile's 18.

In the Team Classification, the Caja Rural-Seguros RGA team is currently in 5th place, which is very commendable and shows just how well they have been doing throughout the Vuelta.

Omar Fraile, one of the day’s most prominent riders and the leader of the King of the Mountain classification, had this to say after being on the podium twice after today’s stage (also the stage’s Most Combative Rider):

“I felt good, my legs were doing very well, I had been wanting to escape since this morning, I wasn’t sure I would make it and there were points to be earned for the King of the Mountain classification. We saw we had no options to make it from the very beginning, so I concentrated on earning points for the King of the Mountain classification.

"It was a really difficult stage with the heat and the peloton who never let us any advantage. We knew that a five minute lead was not enough to go all the way. I fought to take points for the mountain.

"Now I'm really into the battle for the polka-dot. I would love to win it. But as I've said since the start, the first step is to get to Andorra and then we'll know better what it is possible to do.

"Let’s see how the next stage goes, then we have a rest day. Five more points which were really tough to earn, but it was worth it, they attacked right from the beginning of the climb and I kept an eye on my on-board computer and I knew they wouldn’t be able to keep up that rhythm, so I had to make constant adjustments and it worked out well.

"That makes 9 times on the podium so far, although the first day and today both have special meaning due to how much work went into them. The team is doing really well, participating in great escapes, we are getting it right and we hope to keep this up for the remainder of the Vuelta. We are currently 5th in the Team Classification and that’s also a wonderful thing, a clear indication that we’re doing very well and that we’re strong”.