Vincenzo Nibali (Astana)had unexpected difficulties on today's 16th stage of the Vuelta a Espana when the race leader was overtaken by several riders inside the final 2km of the stage. Knowing that the Asturian mountains suit him better than today's explosive finish, he remains confident that he may win the race overall.

Vincezo Nibali appeared to almost have locked the Vuelta a Espana win up when he matched Chris Horner's acceleration on the Collada de la Gallina on Saturday with apparent ease. However, that victory has now come in serious doubt after he was left struggling on today's final climb, Aramon Formigal.

Having used his team to control an extremely aggressive race, Nibali appeared to have everything under control. The final climb was not overly difficult and with a headwind, few expected big time gaps to open up.

Hence, many were surprised when Nibali was unable to respond to an attack from Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and a subsequent acceleration from main rival Chris Horner (Radioshack). Things only got worse towards the end when he was overtaken by several riders. He lost 22 seconds to Horner but remains in the red leader's jersey, the American sitting 28 seconds back on GC.

With the stage coming at the end of some hard days in the Pyrenees, Nibali claims to have paid the price for the accumulated fatigue of defending his lead. Today's explosive finish didn't suit him well and he is now looking forward to the longer, steeper Asturian mountains that suit him better.

“It’s been a difficult stage finish for me. I’ve suffered because of the head wind. I’ve lost a lot in the last two kilometers. I was expecting better but for three days, my team has been working flat out. Controlling the race has taken a lot of energy. The red jersey has become a weight on my shoulders. I feel it since the first day."

"It’s a very hard Vuelta. But I remain optimistic. The coming climbs suit me better than today’s. They’re harder.”

The riders will enjoy a rest day tomorrow before getting back in action with a flat stage on Wednesday. Starting at 15.00 CEST you can follow that stage on CyclingQuotes.com/live.