Jasper Stuyven continued his excellent grand tour debut when he took another top 10 result in today's stage of the Vuelta a Espana. The Belgian had been perfectly supported by Yaroslav Popovych and felt obliged to pay back his teammate.

Down to five riders it was difficult for Trek Factory Racing to catch the right breakaway, and in the end the three men that did form the day’s escape was a fruitless endeavor: Too many teams were in the hunt for a stage win and decided to play their cards in the tough finale.

Trek Factory Racing was happy to oblige, pinning its hopes on Jasper Stuyven, 22, who has been a quiet revelation for the team in this year’s Vuelta.  Stuyven again proved his potential as he arrived to the finish with a decimated peloton to sprint to 8th place.

From the drop of the flag it was apparent certain teams wanted a breakaway that was easy to control, and they got their wish when a trio formed the day’s escape at kilometer 25. For most of its 180 kilometers stage 19 played out in a long, slow game of pursuit with an inevitable catch near the end.

The medium mountain stage included two category two-rated climbs; the second crested 15.5 kilometers from the finish and became the key obstacle of the race. The three escapees were caught at the bottom and Team Sky led a brisk pace to the top of the five-kilometer hill, enough to cull the peloton to 55.

When the tally was taken after the twisty, tricky descent, and with only 11 kilometers remaining, Jasper Stuyven was there. The fight began for stage primacy, and the hope Stuyven could better his earlier fourth place finishes looked promising. 

“Everyone knew the last climb was really hard and I was not sure if I would be able to make it over, too, because honestly I am starting to feel my legs after three weeks," he said. "But Popo [Yaroslav Popovych] was there to help and I think at the bottom of the climb I was in the top five [positions]. Then I could not disappoint Popo after all his work!  It was hard to hang on, and I felt really dead, and I am lucky it was not 2-300meters longer or I don’t think I would have made it over.”

But Adam Hansen (Lotto-Belisol) stole the sprinters’ show with a late attack. He held a small advantage to the line to take a dramatic victory leaving the sprinters, who arrived five second later, the minor places. Jasper Stuyven placed 8th.

“After I made it over the climb I moved to the front, but it was hard to go on my own at the end, and when Hansen was gone…you know if Hansen goes that it will be hard; he has a real strong finish," he said. "The Orica guys had to come from behind, Giant had no one left, and I thought BMC might do something because they still had 4 or 5 guys, but they did not come to the front as one group. It seemed everyone did their own thing I guess.

"I tried to do my sprint but it was hard because there were a lot of guys there who never do a sprint that were in the mix and that made it a little bit dangerous. It was quite different than a normal bunch sprint, but I tried my best, and I am happy with another top 10. I think after such a hard finale it shows that still my legs are not that bad.”

Tomorrow sees the last road stage with one more grueling mountain summit finish, before the three-week race culminates Sunday with a short 9.7-kilometer race against the clock - a stage Trek Factory Racing has been targeting since the start.

Trek Factory Racing, like many other teams in this year’s Vuelta and not uncommon in a long Grand Tour race, is down to five riders with the non-start of Bob Jungels today. 

Jungels has been struggling for days with a severe saddle sore and the team’s doctor finally decided that pushing further could jeopardize the rest of his season, including the World Championships. It’s disappointing for Jungels to not complete his first ever Grand Tour, but there is no doubt the young 21-year-old Luxembourger will have many more in his future.