Simon Yates put in an impressive solo attack to win today's stage. Latching on to Daniel Moreno's charge from the peloton, he soon passed the Spaniard by, powering his way up the last unclassified climb, then tackling a challenging, speedy and technical descent to victory. This is his first stage win in a Grand Tour and will go some way to ease the pain from serving a ban for taking terbutaline which disqualified him from taking part in the Olympics and Tour de France.
It was a tough day for the peloton with some aggressive riding over undulating terrain and some decent climbs. The weather has taken a turn for the better after yesterday's rain and chilly temperatures.The overall GC standings remain unchanged with Darwin Atapuma retaining the red jersey. Three British riders are in the top 10 for GC at this year's Vuelta.
Yates's victory was clearly a popular one among his teammates with Esteban Chaves being one of the first to congratulate him. Yates has felt hard done by for having to serve a ban after his team, Orica Bike Exchange failed to provide a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for taking the drug that led to his earlier disqualification.
