Mikel Landa, after his great performance in Ancares: "I see Roglic far ahead, but there's still a lot of Vuelta a España left"

Stage 13 to the Puerto de Ancares at the Vuelta a España proved to be a brutal challenge for the overall classification - the biggest so far. Mikel Landa was second out of all GC contenders and managed to improve his chances of finishing on the podium after a strong performance.

The leader of Soudal - Quick-Step rode a constant pace throughout the ascent and did not crack, unlike the likes of Enric Mas and Sepp Kuss who initially followed Roglic's acceleration. He came in 9 seconds ahead of Carlos Rodriguez, and 23 seconds ahead of Enric Mas.

Speaking to the media after the stage, Landa was very proud of his performance: "I'm very happy, we knew that Roglic was the strongest, so we are satisfied. Today I see him above us, but there's still a lot of Vuelta left and who knows what can happen".

The Basque climber has been having a very consistent race and thus far has had no mishaps. He is fifth in the overall classification but is now only 7 seconds behind Richard Carapaz and 19 seconds behind Enric Mas. He remains 1:59 minutes behind Primoz Roglic and 3:20 behind red jersey Ben O'Connor who continues to struggle.