The longer of the Vuelta's two individual time trials takes place just a handful of kilometres away from last year's test at Tarazona. On a similarly hilly course over a slightly longer distance, Fabian Cancellara and Tony Martin were head and shoulders clear of the rest of the field, who were led by diminutive Italian climber Domenico Pozzovivo. He finished a second faster than Vincenzo Nibali, who temporarily took the red jersey from Chris Horner.
The cat 3 climb will suit the power riders such as Martin and Cancellara and also the climbers. However, the second half of the test is more technical and will offer an advantage to the time trial specialists, who could now feature Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome among their number.
Sean Kelly says: "It's like last year's stage where the climb in the middle suits power riders. I'm not sure how Pozzovivo finished third last year. When his time came up, we all said it couldn't be right. It was unbelievable. It's not a course that should really suit climbers."
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