On the circuit with the Wall of Aia which also featured at the end of the fifth stage, Thibaut Pinot reached his goal in the final time trial of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco as he secured the top 10 result he was looking. Before returning to France, the Frenchman admitted that he had finished in the right place.

Tom Dumoulin won the time trial on a course that was made for climbers which was proved by the fact that Joaquim Rodriguez finished second and took the leader's jersey off Sergio Henao's shoulders.

"Thibaut did a good time trial," his manager said. "He rode within the limits of his current resources in a race where the course did not suit him, with a team that had much bad luck. Since the start in Bilbao, Thibaut has worked hard. He finished the time trial in 20th, 30 seconds behind Quintana (7th) and that is a good result."

Pinot will now devote himself to the next major objective, the Tour de Romandie at the end of the month. But first he needs a few days of (active) rest.