Stage 17 of the Vuelta a España saw a return of the legendary Altu de L'Angliru, one of cycling's most famous climbs, and provided the penultimate mountain test for Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) to try and navigate in the hopes of winning his first Grand Tour.
It was a brutal day of racing up the Vuelta's most famous climb and Chris Auld was there for Cyclingnews to capture the day’s action. This special feature is a selection of his images from a dramatic stage in the Asturias region.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-SuickStep) kicked off the action right from the flag and the defending champion would get far into the day's route, aided by Mattia Cattaneo and only caught in the final 6km of the final climb.
Once Evenepoel was reeled in, the attention turned to Jumbo-Visma's trio of Kuss, Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard, with the question of whether or not the latter two would attack Kuss' lead still unanswered.
The three would find themselves alone after Bahrain Victorious had worked tirelessly to move Mikel Landa up to fifth overall and Kuss would start to struggle first, relaying something to the team radio as he could no longer match the pace and watching his teammates disappear into the mist.
Roglič won the stage with Vingegaard in his wheel, but Kuss held onto the red jersey, albeit only just, and he entered today's final mountain stage just 8 seconds ahead of Vingegaard.
With no threat of anyone behind challenging any of their podium spots, will Vingegaard and Roglič let their loyal super-domestique achieve the ultimate Grand Tour success? Or will they attack Kuss in pursuit of their own glory?
Jonas Vingegaard at the start of stage 17
Defending Vuelta champion Remco Evenepoel and Louis Vervaeke at the team presentation in Ribadesella
All smiles for Primož Roglič ahead of stage 17
Media spoke to Jonas Vingegaard in anticipation of the brutal mountain stage
Onlookers watch the best riders in the world across the open water
Kenny Elissonde leads teammate Julien Bernard and TotalEnergies' Paul Ourselin through the crowds
Evident pain on the face of Daniel Navarro behind Ourselin
Geraint Thomas enters the mist up the Angliru with only the crowds for company
Primož Roglič on his way to victory on stage 17 with Jonas Vingegaard in his wheel
The Jumbo-Visma duo dropped everyone, including race leader and teammate Sepp Kuss on the slopes of the Angliru and finished 1-2 on the stage
Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) in fantastic form with his head down searching for more from his legs after a tough day of working for Mikel Landa's GC ambitions
Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) tackles the mythical Altu de L'Angliru at his second Vuelta a España appearance
Sepp Kuss fighting to hang onto the leader's red jersey after being dropped by Roglič and Vingegaard
Joao Almedia (UAE Team Emirates) crossed the line in sixth after fighting the Angliru's brutal inclines
Two of the best young GC riders in the world, Cian Uijtedbroeks (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) combine to finish seventh and eighth on the stage
Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) giving everything to limit his losses
His Bora-Hansgrohe teammates rolled in much further down the mountain such as Lennard Kämna here not fighting for the GC
Evenepoel was greeted by the crowd's applause after another long day in the breakaway
The young Belgian was caught on the final climb but has bounced back well since his GC challenge ended on stage 13 with a win the day after and solid control of the King of the Mountains classification
Asturias once again provides the battleground for drama at the Vuelta a España
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