Vuelta a España: What Odd Christian Eiking, Rafał Majka, Enric Mas and more said after stage 15

Rafał Majka scored a stunning solo win at the Vuelta a España on Sunday, riding clear at 87 kilometers to go and never looking back.

Behind him, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux put in a huge ride at the front of the peloton to protect Odd Christian Eiking’s red jersey and deter attacks. Adam Yates dashed out of the GC group in the final few kilometers to grab 15 seconds back in the hunt for the maillot rojo, but other than that, the classification remained unchanged heading into Monday’s rest day.

Here’s what the stars said after another day in the mountains at the Vuelta a España:

Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux): GC leader, 6th on stage

Odd Christian Eiking rode the Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert train through Sunday’s stage as his team massed at the front through the long, hot day in the saddle. Eiking had the strength to finish the work of his teammates in the final, marking out closest threats Guillaume Martin and Primož Roglič after Yates’ late attack.

“I know all the riders in my team are very strong, it’s just we’ve never been in this situation before. I see now we should have been in this situation many times before!

“I looked at my two closest rivals, Guillaume Martin and Promoz Roglic, to not let them go in the final. It was a downhill finish, so once we passed the top, I knew I was pretty safe.”

Jan Hirt (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux domestique): 45th on stage, 52nd on GC

Jan Hirt has been a key worker in the Intermarché-Wanty team in the past week. Hirt, Louis Meintjes and Simone Petilli all worked relentlessly through Sunday’s stage and kept the race under control on the final climb as the GC contenders began to stir.

“We raced really well, we used our big guys in the beginning, and we started to close on the climbs, we had a rider in the break, so we had a good tactic today. It gives a lot of motivation to have the red jersey and that gives us extra power.”

Rafał Majka (UAE Team Emirates): Stage winner, 18th on GC

Rafał Majka earned his first win in four seasons the hard way Sunday. The 31-year-old dropped escape companion Fabio Aru at 87km to go and time trialed over three mountain passes to score a victory that never looked in doubt.

Majka amassed three Tour de France stage wins, two KoM jerseys and a podium finish at the 2015 Vuelta early in his career before becoming superdomestique at Bora-Hansgrohe in 2017.

“I had a bad start of the season and it’s not been easy for me and my family, especially when my father died and I wanted to do it today for him and my kids, and for my team.”

Matxín Joxean Fernández (Sport director, UAE Team Emirates)

“Winning with a rider like Majka is important, because we know what a big champion he is, and for him to sacrifice everything for the Pogačar in the Tour, it’s important for his morale and for the whole team.”

Enric Mas (Movistar): 10th on stage, 4th on GC

Enric Mas marked out the final attacks to finish on the same time as all his main GC rivals Sunday. The young Spaniard still sits just 35 seconds back on Primož Roglič, and has teammate Miguel Ángel López less than one minute behind him on the classification.

“Overall, we are feeling pretty good. We have to congratulate Intermarché-Wanty because they really did a great race, taking control of the race, and setting the tempo just as they wanted.”