It was a great performance by Omar Fraile (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) who managed to improve his lead in the King of the Mountain classification at the Vuelta a Espana.

Omar Fraile was present in the day’s escape that took place early in the stage and was able to earn points during the climbs. The escape went, yet again, all the way to the finish line with Fraile who finished in 6th place.

Fraile is the leader of the King of the Mountain classification with a total of 82 points. Out of the 5 remaining stages, 4 of them have point-incurring climbs. The maximum number of points that Omar Fraile’s rivals can earn is 64, divided up as follows:

Stage 18 – Two 3rd category climbs and one 1st category climb (16 points at stake)

Stage 19 – One 3rd category climb and one 2nd category climb (8 points at stake)

Stage 20 – Four 1st category climbs (40 points at stake)

This means that the only riders who could possibly take the jersey from Fraile are Frank Schleck (currently on 30 points), Rubén Plaza (27), Mikel Landa (25) and Rodolfo Torres (22). Should none of them earn any points during stage 18, Omar Fraile would be the virtual winner of the King of the Mountain Award.

Omar Fraile had this to say following the stage:

“I had a very bad day, it was tough, I had a cold and I think I even had a bit of fever, my legs were sore, luckily I was able to carry on and managed to make it into the escape and earn more points, but it was tough. I scored points, but I feel really bad for the team, it was a stage were we might have had a chance to win, but my legs just weren’t responding anymore. In the end I finished 6th, which isn’t bad.

"This Vuelta is very hard for me. I had stomach problems for a few days but eventually I am rewarded for my efforts. I’ve had a very bad night. I could hardly pedal, even on the flat. I knew that without being at 100% I could go get the points I needed before the rest day.

"I’m almost there, it’s fantastic. This polka dot jersey was not a target at the start of the Vuelta, it came along the way. The team don’t have a stage win but this distinctive jersey is an honour.

"We’ve taken an important step regarding the jersey, we’ll have to really be on our game in stage 18, but we would have to be in the escape three days in a row and with our current fatigue it seems really difficult, so we have to make sure not to let our guard down.

"Now we have a rest day and then a time-trial, I’m going to need two more or less relaxed days just to try to recover so I can finish the Vuelta in the best possible way”.