Nairo Quintana (Movistar), who rode brilliantly in the first week of the Vuelta a España, suffered another major blow to his overall contention on stage 15, the Alto de Acebo.

Quintana, the stage 2 winner and post-Andorra race leader, was unable to follow teammate Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) when world champion Alejandro Valverde attacked.

However, Quintana dropped out of a group that included Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) in third overall and Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana ProTeam) in fourth, leaving him 55 seconds behind his Slovenian and Colombian rivals.

Quintana holds fifth place, but lost the lead in the Pau time trial and was put under pressure by Pogacar and Roglic in Los Machucos on stage 13, leaving him increasingly out of contention for a podium finish, let alone the overall win.

"Let's not cry. Today was not my day and there is nothing I can do about it. Today wasn't my day and there's nothing I can do about it. I didn't feel good and I knew I was tired," Quintana, who finished 5:09 behind Roglic, told reporters after the race.

The Colombian blamed the long season and accumulated fatigue.

"It's what tends to happen at this time of year," Quintana, who began the race at the Vuelta a San Juan, claimed, "I've been riding as hard as I can since January.

Quintana was talking about a long-distance attack to get back into contention after Los Machucos, but as he noted, "Today would have been difficult. [but] tomorrow is another day and anything can happen. If something happens and I can go for it, I will."