In 2014 I did my first Vuelta and managed to get a second place, but this is the biggest win of my career, no doubt.
It was very hard before the final climb, and we were a bit alone out there. Into the headwind we knew it would be tough, especially with lots of guys chasing behind. In the end it was a great stage for me, and I want to thank my teammates.
I crashed at the Tour de France, and it was hard, but the team supported me, and I at home carried on training, restarted quietly and have been feeling better and better, and here I am.
My sensations were better than they have been for the past few days, and I'm pretty happy with how it went. We still have quite a bit of work to do. I'm reasonably happy with how it is going. The crowd was really impressive, and I'm happy that I could do something for them.
We will see where I am and how I feel. I was better today, but I need to recuperate and see if there are some better days for me.
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It's a long race. We can't be thrilled, but it is good. The most important thing is to recover for the days to come.
Merhawi Kudus (Dimension Data) - second on the stage
Generally it was tough race. With the uphill finish it was quite hard to be in the break at the start. The last climb was steep and hard, especially after riding for four hours into a headwind and chasing the guys at the front. It was a super hard race.
There was a lot of attacking before the climbs, most of which climb not steep enough for me, and there were teams who could play with two – if I followed the first guy then the other guy could attack.
I'm really happy with second place, still. There are lots of opportunities to come. I'm really happy.
Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) - one of three Orica GC riders
Everyone was more concerned about the GC, and no one was really that committed to chasing the break. Sky were riding but more to keep a nice tempo. The final climb was difficult, as we expected. Those short steep stages that the Vuelta throws up are always very difficult – really a maximal effort. For our guys it was OK – I was little bit behind but it was OK.
We're here for GC, and the race was not about today but the three weeks. You have to save energy when you can so it was [Sky's] responsibility. We didn't have much ambition to win the stage today – we're just looking out for those three weeks.
