No matter what words were spoken at the finish of stage 17 of this year's Vuelta a España in Guadalajara, the riders were united in saying that it was the most exceptional stage of any Grand Tour.

The wind was gusting at the start in Aranda de Duero, and it looked like an echelon formation might form at some point. The entire stage was exposed and undulating, with 2000m of climbing.

No one expected the stage to break into a 40-man breakaway group at 3km and develop into a 216km chase to the finish in Guadalajara. [The average speed of 50.626 km/h is the third fastest in the history of the Vuelta a España, with two stages in 2001 at 55.276 km/h and 1963 at 51.566 km/h even faster. However, all three are faster than the fastest stage of the Tour de France, 50.4 km/h in 1999.

Primoš Roglic's lead was on a thin string this day. Nairo Quintana (Movistar), who has the climbing ability, reduced the time on his rivals more than on previous mountain stages and moved into second place overall. And 40 riders effectively took over the entire Grand Tour, creating a one-day classic of sorts. Speed was just one of multiple factors that made stage 17 of the 2019 Vuelta so different.

"Right from the start there was a crosswind, the road was wide, and the first move popped out," said Ian Stannard (Team Ineos), two-time Het Nieuwsblad winner and Paris-Roubaix podium finisher. He was in the lead group until the last few kilometers.

"Someone went into the gutter and 30 people cleared. That was it. I'm surprised Jumbo Visma didn't ride, but there we are."

"I'm not sure how much of a surprise it was that Jumbo Visma didn't ride, but there we are.

Unusually for such a large group, cooperation was good. The presence of Detunink Quickstep with six out of seven people made a difference.

Ineos with Stannard, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Wout Poels, and Owain Doull; Movistar with four, including Quintana; Team Sunweb with five; and classics like Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Dimension Data). So did the racers.

"There were a lot of big racers, enjoying a flat day and a little wind. 'You have to commit in these conditions, otherwise you're going to be flopping around in the ditches.'

"Everyone rode well. Ineos went for the stage win. We came up a little short in the final, but that's all that matters."

Stannard, a 10-time Grand Tour veteran, said he had never experienced a day like stage 17 of the Vuelta in his career, echoing the words of stage winner Philippe Gilbert. [In Qatar, there are some pretty hard days in stage races, but not 220 km. There is no time to breathe." Now he's pretty much nailed it.

Dour also told reporters it was a crazy day.

"It was a windy day with gusts of 50 km/h, and when [the race director's] car started [to start the stage], everyone literally sprinted for the car. [The difference was 15, 30, a minute, a minute and a half, and I thought, "I'm out of the running here," and it was five or six minutes," Dool said.

"There were 40 of us at the start, but by the end there were 20.

A key force in the move was Deceuninck-QuickStep's Tim DeClercq, who was later praised by stage winner Gilbert for his tireless efforts in the 40-man move.

"I said in the meeting that if it's this windy, it's best to start with guns and full acceleration. Some teams said it was too fast because it was 220 kilometers." [But in the end it was a really, really hard stage.

"It was a historic stage, a 220km time trial with all but one GC rider behind us.

But the Belgian proudly pointed out that windy, flat, and exposed days are the kind of conditions that Dečuninck-Quickstep excels at.

"Echelon is in the DNA of this team," said Gilbert, "and Qatar was the stage race most specialized for windy days. Even in De Panne, we made a big difference with the Echelon.

"I like that in cycling, it's not only about strength, but also about technique. Today was no different.