Sam Bennett may not have had any podium celebration today at La Vuelta - because his group was too far down on the summit finish - but he was still determined to make the best of it.
With the crowds gone due to the misty and wet weather and the police and race vehicles on the road where the media and fans would normally be looking on, Bennett still took to podium stage and waved to the empty space.
The two Vuelta workers who were dismantling the stage were the only people he had for company, both of whom really appreciated the mock celebration Bennett put on for himself as they worked away in the very wet and cold conditions.
Bennett, and his Irish Bora-hansgrohe team mate Ryan Mullen, finished in the last group on the road some 36:18, down on stage winner Jay Vine (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
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The 181km stage ended with a very tough summit finish at Ascensión al Pico Jano. San Miguel de Aguayo. The heavies opened on the climb and that rain, combined with the misty and cold conditions, made for a brutal finale. It meant the crowds - such as they were - didn't hang around at the summit and the presentation was cut short to get everyone in out of the cold.
Remco Evenepoel (QuickStep Alpha Vinyl) was 2nd today at 15 seconds, with Enric Mas (Movistar) in tow; Evenepoel taking the race lead for his efforts. Most of the main favourites - including defending champion Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) - finished in the same group some 1:37 down.
It meant Evenepoel put 1:22 into all of his rivals for the general classification, apart from Mas, after he piled on the pressure with 8.6km remaining and had shaken off everyone, except for Mas, within 1km.
