Primož Roglič won stage 17 of the Vuelta on 13 September to retain 3rd place overall, having already won stage 8. His teammate on Jumbo-Visma, American Sepp Kuss keeps the red jersey ahead of the final stage on 17 September.

The Jumbo-Visma team dictated the pace for most of the 120km stage from Ribadesella to the top of Alto de L'Angliru.

Team Bahrain Victorious came out strong in the penultimate ascent. Wout Poels from the Netherlands crushed most of the group in the steepest part of the hill and Spaniards Enric Mas and Juan Ayuso quickly gave in.

Less than three kilometres to go to the finish line, Roglič stepped up, putting a distance between himself and the rest of the pack. He was later joined by his teammates, Dane Jonas Vingegaard and Kuss, but the latter let up.

"There were no tactics, it was very hard and steep on the last climb. When I attacked, I had my own rhythm and then the climb will tell who is first, second and so on," the 33-year-old Slovenian said.

"I let them dictate the rhythm as long as I felt they were going fast enough. But when the speed dropped, I told myself that I would try my own rhythm," said Roglič about his waiting for the right moment in the race.

Overall, Kuss remains in the lead, 8 seconds ahead of Vingegaard and 1:08 minutes ahead of Roglič.