Only this time, Primoš Roglic (Jumbo Visma) gave something away. As he approached the summit of Los Machucos, just as the road leveled out and it became clear that the day's work was done, the Slovenian allowed the rear wheel of fellow countryman Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) to drift in behind him.

As the finish line approached, Roglic did not attempt to attach himself to Pogachar's rear. Stage 13 of the Vuelta a España was won by Pogachar, and Roglic paid another hefty deposit for the final overall win in Madrid a week later on Sunday.

Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) finished about 0.5 minutes behind, seeping a few more seconds out of their faltering challenge for the Vuelta. Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) fared even worse, losing over a minute. At the finish, they looked exhausted, men who feared they might continue to be beaten until their morale improved.

In Spain, Roglic appears to be following Miguel Indurain's overused template of ruining his opponents in a long time trial and then hitting them with a message in the next summit finish.

And like Miguelon before him, Roglic kept his post-race press conference as low-key as possible, as if every note uttered equated to one watt wasted.

"No, I didn't," Roglic replied when asked if he had expected to push his overall rivals so hard on the summit of Los Machucos. Certainly, I expected to fight to the end. Certainly, I expected to fight to the end.

Valverde is currently the only man within three minutes of Roglic in the overall standings, but that gap is 2:25. Pogachar has moved up to third at 3:01, with Lopez and Quintana trailing at 3:18 and 3:33, respectively.

On the short but dizzyingly steep climb up Los Machucos, Roglic allowed Quintana some early breathing room, but as the Colombian punched out, the Mayo Rojo came to the fore. accelerating on a 20% gradient was difficult, but Roglic made two on either side of the banner with 3 km to go sustained efforts.

The first saw off Lopez and Quintana, the second Valverde. Only Pogachar was able to follow suit, and the Slovenian tandem shared the spoils, passing Pierre Latour (AG2R La Mondiale), who escaped early on.

Roglic was a bit vulnerable when told that the psychological blow of dropping a pure climber on a 20% slope might be more important than the time gained.

"I think both are important, but what matters in cycling is time. It's nice to have the time advantage."

Shortly after Roglic crossed the finish line and was ushered onto the podium, Jumbo Visma's teammate Zep Kus finished, summing up the leader's performance in Los Machucos beautifully.

"It's just a tough climb.

Slovenian cycling made a variety of headlines in 2019, with the country of just over 2 million people enjoying its most remarkable season, led by Roglic and Pogačar. [Pogachar won the Volta ao Algarve and Tour of California, while Roglic won the UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico, and Tour de Romandie, as well as finishing third in the Giro d'Italia.

"It's really great for Slovenian cycling to have both of them in front. They were both on full throttle until the finish," said Roglic, but his 20-year-old compatriot may become a rival rather than an ally in the final week of the Vuelta.

"I think he's a really big talent. He has a great future ahead of him, we're rivals in GC and he's on the podium. He's still my best friend, so I'm happy for him today. "

There are still four mountain stages to go before Madrid, including stage 18 through the Sierra de Guadarrama, which has become something of a Bermuda Triangle for race leaders in Vuelta history. At this point, however, it is hard to imagine Roglic going off the road.

Asked if the vicious gradients of Los Machucos are better suited to the days ahead than the shallow climbs of Santuario del Acebo and Alto de la Cubilla, Roglic replied matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I like all the climbs. As long as I'm usually in good shape, I don't have too much of a problem with any of the climbs."