Vuelta a España: What Egan Bernal, Miguel Ángel López and the GC players said after stage 14

Romain Bardet scored a stunning solo win on stage 14 of the Vuelta a España on Saturday, but some 10 minutes behind him, the GC players hit a deadlock.

A strong headwind on the grinding climb to Pico Villuercas and another day of searing sun left the GC contenders to sit and simmer as the breakaway battled for the stage.

It wasn’t until the final kilometers that the main favorites came to the fore. Miguel Ángel López darted out of the bunch to take a slim advantage over his closest rivals on GC only to see Primož Roglič launch a chase in the final 500 meters that left him with just a four-second gain from the move.

Odd Christian Eiking retained his red jersey for one more day, but it may not be so easy Sunday as another mountain stage looms ahead of Monday’s rest day.

Miguel Ángel López (Movistar): 16th on stage, 4th on GC

Miguel Ángel López made a late attack out of the GC group on the climb to the finish line Saturday. López’s advantage over the bunch was kept under control by Jumbo-Visma before Primož Roglič pushed hard in the final 500 meters to minimize the Colombian’s lead, leaving him to gain just four seconds at the finish line.

“I don’t know if we rode conservatively today, but everyone is starting to feel tired. There have been some days, including the past few days, when the first part of the stages have been full-gas. Sometimes the breaks aren’t going until 70, 80 or even 100km. And all the heat just compounds the fatigue, even though the weather conditions are same for everyone. We’re happy that tomorrow is another hard day, and we have some beautiful stages still to come.”

Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers): 19th on stage, 7th on GC

Egan Bernal showed better legs after losing handfuls of time in earlier summit finishes.

“I don’t have fear, I am just realistic. When you don’t have it, you don’t have it. Today I felt pretty good, and we’ll see tomorrow. It’s going to be a different kind of stage tomorrow, and then the upcoming stages are very hard, so let’s see. Today was my best day so far.”

Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert): 30th on stage, GC leader

Odd Christian Eiking survived a wave of pressure on the final climb to hang on to his red jersey for a fifth day. The Norweigan withheld a surge from nearest rival Guillaume Martin and his Cofidis teammates in the summit finish before clinging to the back of the GC group to finish level on time with his French foe.

“It [retaining the race leads] depends on how the race will be tomorrow. Suddenly, my legs feel quite good, so it could be possible to keep the jersey.”

Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious): 20th on stage, 6th on GC

Jack Haig marked Primož Roglič when the Slovenian accelerated in the final 500 meters to finish on the same time as the Slovenian defending champ and continue his breakout ride at this year’s Vuelta.