It was the last mountain stage of Vuelta a España with no changes in the podium of the general classification despite UAE’s best efforts.
The stage was extremely intensive and fast with Abel Balderstone spending 3068 kilojoules over 3:19h at a rate of 15.95 kj/kg/h before Bola del Mundo. Jay Vine controlled the situation for his team leader Joao Almeida who was 44 seconds behind Jonas Vingegaard. Tom Pidcock was looking to secure his first Grand Tour podium spot being 39 seconds ahead of Jai Hindley.
The strong breakaway had zero shot with Mikel Landa and Giulio Ciccone being caught with 3.5 km to go by Jay Vine, who did a huge pull until the last 3 kilometres when the steep part started. Almeida did not have enough watts to drop Vingegaard and the other GC riders, with the Dane later putting everything to an end with an acceleration and winning his third La Vuelta stage in this edition, securing a lead before the last sprint stage in Madrid.
Vingegaard on Bola del Mundo did 6.20 w/kg for 37:46. Adjusted for sea level, he did 6.63 w/kg, finishing his grand tour climbing season with another strong performance. Sepp Kuss, Jai Hindley, Tom Pidcock, Joao Almeida, Matthew Riccitello and Jay Vine all performed exceptionally on such a hard stage, all being above 627 aslp.