"A nervous day because everyone was afraid to lose position in the wind. On the map this morning the stage looked easy."

Those were the words of Astana's Diego Rosa after stage five at the Vuelta a España. Rosa worked for teammates Mikel Landa and Fabio Aru on Wednesday, guarding against strong crosswinds that stretched the peloton into a long, snaking line through dry, brown hills.

With a flat profile and a mass sprint finish expected, teams looking to build a fast train in the final 10k worked to catch the day's breakaway and fly through traffic islands under bright and sunny skies.

Aru and Landa remain 10th and 11th in General Classification, both less than a minute behind new race leader Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands.

Rosa finished 17 seconds behind stage winner Caleb Ewan of Australia.