Despite a powerful attack with 2 km to go Joaquím Rodriguez failed to catch Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) who managed to take the stage and leader's jersey with 36'' over Rodriguez while Nairo Quintana (Movistar) took third, crossing the finishing line alongside the Katusha Team's leader.

Rodriguez is still second on general classification, 10'' behind from the Garmin-Sharp rider and remains optimistic about his chances.

"I'm happy about this second place,” said the Catalan rider. “During the stage I proved to be in a great shape and I had a good feeling. Unfortunately I couldn't win, we were really surprised by the action of Martin, otherwise the team could have kept another pace on the last mountain, or I could have launched my attack a little earlier. Anyway, the gap is still narrow, there are still three more stages and everything can happen."