Felix Gall moves up to second overall at Vuelta

Felix Gall moved into second place overall at the Vuelta a España after taking 25 seconds from Primoz Roglic on the 14th stage.

The Austrian now sits four seconds ahead of the Slovenian, who dropped to third. Gall remains 2 minutes and 6 seconds behind Spanish leader Enric Mas, with both riders finishing together. Germany’s Marco Brenner won the 154.5-kilometer stage from Jaén to Sierra de la Pandera, edging Colombia’s Santiago Buitrago by one second at the end of the long climb.

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I’m quite happy with how things are going

Gall finished 21st on the stage, 4 minutes and 12 seconds behind Brenner, with Mas behind him. Cristian Rodriguez finished third, 11 seconds after the winner, and moved into eighth overall. Seven stages remain, with the final rest day scheduled for Monday.

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I did not want to take too much risk. It was important that I felt balanced

Gall started without key teammate Gregor Mühlberger, who abandoned after a crash the previous day, leaving his team with five domestiques. Gall avoided taking excessive risks and waited until the closing kilometers to attack. His first move, three kilometers from the finish, was answered by his closest rivals. Roglic and fourth-placed Richard Carapaz could not respond to his second attack.

“I did not want to take too much risk. It was important that I felt balanced,” Gall said. “I’m quite happy with how things are going. It could have been worse.” He said the heat had left him exhausted, but added that the top three remained the team’s goal. A difficult week still lies ahead.

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But it looks good for the top three, that is why we came here. We still have this goal.