Mikel Landa (Astana) bounced back from two disappointing stages by claiming the win in the queen stage of the Vuelta a Espana. Having put his earphones back into his ears after the stage, he admitted that he had decided to take his won chance despite potentially having had to ride for teammate Fabio Aru.

“I took it [my freedom]," he told Spanish television after the stage. "What's for sure is that I dreamt of it. I had bad days in this Vuelta and today I had my chance so I had to give it my all to take advantage of this moment.

"To be honest it was a little up and down for me. There were quite a lot of riders so it was difficult to cooperate. My team were pulling hard behind us and I knew the gap at the bottom of the last climb would be small. I didn't want that to happen so I went."

"I was maybe a little bit too anxious to do well and be at my best and I got nervous when I realised I could not make it," he added when asked about his poor showing in the first part of the race. "Now I can relax. I had my reward and I can now focus on helping Fabio Aru keep the red jersey. It's now my mission."