Lopez, fourth overall and looking for a podium finish in Madrid, accelerated twice to break away after Astana made a furious pace midway up the endless slopes of La Cubilla.
Astana's lead group pulled away from Nairo Quintana (Movistar), fifth overall, and Lopez's second attack put Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), second overall, in a tight spot.
However, neither of Lopez's charges were able to shake Tadey Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) in third place, which he was really aiming for.
Instead, Lopez and Pogacar finished together, with Roglic, back in the lineup, close behind, leaving a 17-second gap between Lopez and Pogacar unchanged.
Still, for Lopez, after losing time at Los Machucos and again at El Acebo, he was back in contention at La Cubilla.
"I tried, but it didn't work out. I had to try again to get on the podium on the way to Madrid," Lopez said after the race. I felt better than yesterday and there are still some good stages left." [Lopez's teammate Jacob Fuglsang also took a stage win.
Asked what he thought Lopez could accomplish in the coming days, Dane noted that he had yet to see how the GC favorites fared.
"But as I understand it, the Movistar captains [leaders] may be paying the price for doing the Tour and Vuelta one after the other," Hugsang said.
"I'm going to do my best for Miguel Angel in the third week. It's going to be interesting."
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