The Colombian said that the climb was too steep for him and he didn't have the legs to follow a late move from Simon Yates and Nairo Quintana. He crossed the line 25 seconds back on his compatriot but moved from ninth to sixth as others slipped back on the steep mountain test.
"The stage was very nice but it was really hard. This climb is special because it's so short and too steep," Uran told Cyclingnews. "It was one kilometre to go [when Quintana and Yates attacked] but I didn't follow because this climb is too hard for me. I was going full gas. I finished up at the front with most of the favourites. Quintana arrived ahead of me, but for me, it is OK because this climb is special for me.
"The sensations are good, I feel really good and my team has also been perfect."
The Vuelta a Espana is Uran's chance at healing the disappointment of leaving the Tour de France early. The Colombian abandoned the race at the start of the second week after being injured in a crash on the cobbles of stage 9. With just over a month to recover between the two race, Uran says he has completely recovered from the incident.
"Now, it's OK. It's completely gone, I've recovered well and everything is working," he explained.
A laid back character by nature, Uran does not appear overly concerned with where he is overall at the moment with plenty more challenges to come over the remaining stages. When he was told by Cyclingnews that he'd moved up to sixth, his response was "it's OK." It's still very close at the top despite the finish at La Camperona and just over a minute separates Yates in second and Emanuel Buchmann in 10th place.
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"For me, these riders are very strong. It's one week more, and for me, every rider is important, even down to 10th. They're all important," said Uran.
La Camperona was the first of three summit finishes for the riders with two more to come over the weekend. Uran hopes to hang on to the favourites on Saturday's finish at Las Praeres, before his preferred stage of Lagos de Covadonga on Sunday and the time trial where he believes he can put time into others rather than just hope not to lose it.
"Tomorrow is another is another key stage and then Sunday is also a really hard stage. I am waiting for Sunday, I prefer that stage. After the rest day, there is also a long time trial and I also like this. It suits me well to gain time," said Uran. "Tomorrow, I have the same plan as today, stay in the front on the last climb and try to keep my place. The climb is hard for everyone."
Born in Ireland to a cycling family and later moved to the Isle of Man, so there was no surprise when I got into the sport. Studied sports journalism at university before going on to do a Masters in sports broadcast. After university I spent three months interning at Eurosport, where I covered the Tour de France. In 2012 I started at Procycling Magazine, before becoming the deputy editor of Procycling Week. I then joined Cyclingnews, in December 2013.
