Injuries and illness have made it a bad season for Daniel Navarro but today he turned it all around when he won stage 13 of the Vuelta a Espana. The Spaniard hopes that it is a sign that he has now turned things around and now targets an overall top 10 finish.

Daniel Navarro left the Tour de France in dramatic fashion when the Spaniard stepped into his team car at the midpoint of the racing, suffering from a heatstroke. The withdrawal came as culmination of a very bad period for the former luxury domestique who had suffered from health issues since he crashed in last year's Vuelta a Burgos.

Having climbed strongly all race, he turned it all around when he won today's tough stage of the Vuelta a Espana. The Cofidis leader hopes that it is a sign that his bad fortunes have changed.

"Absolutely. Look, the truth is that I’ve worked hard since the end of October to reach what I’ve achieved today," he said. "Last year my season ended with a nasty crash at the Tour of Burgos [in early August].

"This year I started well with 8th at the Vuelta a Andalucia. I felt I was ready for the Tour de France as I came 9th at the Dauphiné but at the Tour I’ve suffered from the rain and the cold, also from the pressure and I was nervous because of my birthday, then the heat came and I went home.

"Mentally, it was very hard to be at home during the Tour. I went to recce some stages of the Vuelta. Despite the few days of competition I had, I came to the Vuelta with the aim of winning a stage.

"It is the biggest win of my career. The level of this Vuelta is the highest of the history. I’m proud to have won a stage already, even though I firstly had in mind the three stages in the Asturias [his region], but my desire of winning remains intact.

"Whatever can happen in the next few days will be a gift. As professional cyclists, we don’t have many opportunities. We must make the best of them. Now I’m 12th on GC, it would be fantastic to finish in the top 10.

"I’ve worked for important captains like Heras, Vinokourov, Klöden, Beloki, Contador… [he didn’t mention Lance Armstrong but although he was a team-mate of his in 2009, they never took part in the same race as team-mates]. I was already a bit old when I decided that I wouldn’t be a domestique for ever. I’ve done well changing role to target new goals and have different illusions."

Navarro publicly criticized he friend Alberto Contador when the race leader chased him down on the final climb two days ago. The pair have put the issue behind them.

"Yes we did [talked about it]. I wanted to win the stage and he wanted to drop Chris Froome off. I was disappointed when I saw him coming across but we race for different teams and everyone pursues his goals."