The Belarusian rider Vasil Kiryienka had formed part of a 15-man break early in the stage, but shed his rivals 45km from home and then pressed on alone for his first Team Sky victory. The 32-year-old dropped like a stone to distance his pursuers on the Alto del Caracol and then powered up the Peña Cabarga to take his victory by 28 seconds.

The Peña Cabarga is fast becoming a lucky location for Team Sky, having played host to an equally impressive Vuelta triumph from Chris Froome two years ago. Chris Anker Sørensen (Saxo-Tinkoff) took second place on the day, 50 seconds ahead of the third-placed Adam Hansen (Lotto-Belisol), with Chris Horner (RadioShack-Leopard) winning the battle of the general classification contenders by putting 25 seconds into Vincenzo Nibali (Astana).

Those results ensured Nibali retained his grip on the leader’s jersey, but his advantage over Horner has dropped to just three seconds with three nail-biting stages remaining. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) meanwhile, sits 1min 10sec back after gaining four seconds on Nibali. The day belonged to Kiryianka, however, and immediately after stage he explained how events had panned out.

“Once I’d gone away I knew I had to keep calm on the straight bits of the descent and then try to build time by sprinting out of the corners. I’ve got an aerodynamic position and can descend pretty well, and I was pleased to see how big the gap had got once I’d made it on to the flats.”

“Then it was a matter of taking food on board, controlling my effort, and making sure I had enough left in the tank for that final climb. Once the road ramped up again it was a matter of riding just below threshold and then judging my efforts over the steeper sections of the climb. It was hard to concentrate at times because the crowds were so loud and they really spurred me on.

“It was an incredible feeling when I wrapped up the victory and I was so pleased to be able to pay the team back for all the faith they have shown in me this year, and all the work they’ve put in. It’s a perfect result for the team because we’ve been working so hard to get that elusive win in this last week or so. Our morale has always stayed high but this will have boosted the mood even further. We’ve come close in the sprints, in the mountains, and now we’ve won from a breakaway, so we’re all really happy,” he said to the Sky webpage.