Samuel Sanchez was one of the big losers in today's stage of the Vuelta a Espana and even though he fought hard to limit his losses, he slipped from sixth to seventh in the GC. The Spaniard admitted that the explosive climb didn't suit him well and hopes to bounce back in tomorrow's stage which starts in his home town.

BMC Racing Team's Samuel Sánchez rode to limit his losses on the most difficult finish so far Saturday at the Vuelta a España. On the leg-breaking climb to the finish that featured sections as steep as 20 percent, Sánchez found himself losing contact with the group of overall contenders early on.

BMC Racing Team Sport Director Valerio Piva said several teammates did what they could to help the 2008 Olympic road race champion.

"We supported Samuel, especially Manuel Quinziato, Dominik Nerz and Rohan Dennis," he said. "They brought Samuel into good position for the last climb, which was unbelievably hard. It was honestly too hard of a climb for him."

Sánchez finished 28th on a day, 4:17 back, and slipped one spot – to seventh – in the overall standings. He conceded 94 seconds to race leader Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo), whom he now trails by 3:26.

"Today was a really hard stage made harder by the warm temperatures and high pace from Omega Pharma-Quick Step on the first category climb," Sánchez said. "This final uphill did not suit my strengths, so I did what I could to defend my position."

Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) emerged from a large breakaway to take the stage win about two-and-a-half minutes ahead of the group containing the top four riders in the overall standings. Piva said Sánchez should bounce back on another tough stage Sunday, which begins in Sánchez's hometown of Oviedo.

"Samuel also knows the finish well," Piva said. "He is very motivated, so we will try again tomorrow."