In thick fog, top favorite Primož Roglič from the Dutch team Jumbo-Visma also mastered the penultimate difficult mountain stage of the 76th Tour of Spain with flying colors and is well on the way to his third overall win in a row.
The Slovenian crossed the finish line in second place on Thursday on the 1770 meter high Altu d'El Gamoniteiru and is now 2:30 minutes ahead of Spaniard Enric Mas (Movistar), from whom he again lost seconds.
The stage was won by the Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez, who also consolidated his third place overall.
Lopez, nicknamed "Superman", attacked on the final climb over 14.8 km and 1400 meters in altitude with an average of 9.8 percent gradient (17 percent at the top) and saved 14 seconds on Roglic at the finish.
For the Movistar rider it was the third Vuelta stage win in his career.
The contenders for the podium can take a breather on Friday.
On the 191.2 kilometers from Tapia to Monforte de Lemos there are only three mountain classifications waiting at the beginning, after which the sprinters could form.
The third major national tour of the year after the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France ends on Sunday with an individual time trial in Santiago de Compostela.
Roglič has just become the Olympic champion in this category in Tokyo.
The 31-year-old could win the Vuelta for the third time in a row as only the third professional after the Swiss Tony Rominger (1992 to 1994) and the Spaniard Roberto Heras (2003 to 2005).
With four wins, Heras is the record winner of the youngest of the three major national tours.
On the tour in June, Roglič got out early as a result of a serious fall.
The Gamoniteiru, located on the same massif as the legendary Angliru, was part of the program of the Vuelta for the first time.
The section with an altitude of almost 4500 meters was the last great test of strength of the 76th Tour of Spain.
Moderately difficult sections follow on Friday and Saturday.