A saw tooth profile and stage surely marked with big red breakaway asterisks in everyone’s road book produced a brutal, crazy day of high-paced racing. BMC put three riders in the break and Allesandro De Marchi brought home their second Vuelta victory and his third with a gutsy ride that owed as much to his head as his legs – finally dropping Jhonatan Restrepo (Katusha-Alpecin) on the last incline to solo home. Despite a feisty Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) stomping his way into the virtual red jersey and a flurry of action in the favourites group on the run to the line, the stage ended with no change to the GC podium.
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