No one could follow Huang Chong's attack, and no one dared to.
He launched his attack at the 3km-to-go mark on Hazallanas Mountain. Although the gradient eased closer to the summit, the average gradient for this particular kilometer was still a staggering 9.2%.
After the energy spent on the preceding climb, all the riders in the peloton were extremely fatigued. It took their utmost effort just to ensure they didn't completely blow up.
Therefore, when Huang Chong made his move, O'Connor and Mas had no choice but to let him go.
Although none of them would admit it, especially not to the media, deep down they all knew: if the rest of the race proceeded normally, their chances of turning things around and winning the general classification of this Vuelta a España were slim to none.
Of course, there were still two weeks of racing to go, and no one could say whether some unforeseen accident might occur.
