On the final ascent of the Ermita de Santa Lucia with slopes of up to 20% two races take place: in front there is a patrol of 17 runners, fleeing the first pass of the four faced in the day, which crumbles under the action of strength of the Kazakh from Astana, Alexey Lutsenko who makes the feat by seizing the most beautiful victory of his young career alone. Behind, more than six minutes into the lead on the 3,4km ascent is the group of the best battling it out for the Vuelta. And the pace immediately unleashed by Team Sky with Gianni Moscon, the Italian at the service of Chris Froome, is impressive: an action that exhausts the resistance of many riders who do not keep their wheels when Froome's deadly final smoothie in the red jersey starts . Only Chaves and a proud Contador resisted the Briton's sprint, who after taming his stomach ache wants at all costs to be a protagonist in his latest Vuelta. Aru defends himself better than Nibali, Bardet does worse than them. The Sardinian arrives with Adam Yates conceding 11 seconds to Froome.
Lo Squalo, who doesn't like dry and short climbs like the Ermita de Santa Lucia, loses 26. Bardet, who arrived together with Pozzovivo, arrives 5'20” behind Lutsenko and 1'49” after Froome. A stage that does not upset the standings but which certainly begins to lengthen it in favor of Froome who now leads it with 10" on Teejay Van Garderen, third is Chaves at 11". Nibali slipped to sixth place at 36”, followed by Aru seventh at 49” from the red jersey. On a day not favorable to Aru and Nibali, the Italian pedal can still "console himself" with Trentin still in the green jersey of leader of the points classification, and with Davide Milella, who passing first on the first two cols of the day, strengthened his climbers leader white polka dot blue jersey. In the stage of Contador's relaunch, Trek-Segafredo lost John Degenkolb, who was forced to abandon the Vuelta. the stage race that revealed him in 2012 as one of the greatest sprinters around.
