Headwinds and high temperatures appear to have sucked the life out of the first three stages of the Vuelta. Would it spark into spiciness on today’s summit finish in Alfaguara? Yes, but only on the slopes of the final climb where there were two races for the line. Ben King won the stage from a long-range attack ahead of two of his eight former breakaway companions, Nikita Stalnov (Astana) and Pierre Rolland (EF All the Words), sprinting away in the final 150 metres from the former to record his maiden WoldTour victory. Behind, the GC was stirred rather than shaken with Michal Kwiatkowski just managing to hang onto the leader’s jersey.
