Conti soloes to stage 13 win on day of rest for GC favourites

The longest leg of the race also proved the most uneventful to date as a dozen riders broke clear 20 kilometres into the 213km stage from Bilbao to build up a commanding lead over four categorised climbs ahead of two circuits around the town of Urdax-Dantxarinea, near the border with France.

Conti, the 23-year-old diminutive climber from Lampre-Merida, made his move with 18.5km remaining – attacking after the break had split in two on the undulating roads of the Basque Country.

Danilo Wyss (BMC), Sergey Lagutin (Katusha), Vegard Stake Laengen (IAM Cycling), Yves Lampaert (Etixx-QuickStep) and Michael Gogl (Tinkoff) chased in vain as Conti opened up a gap of one minute over his fellow escapees.

Conti had time to savour the atmosphere and milk the applause as he came home to secure the biggest win of his career. Wyss beat Lagutin and Lampaert for second place as the chasers crossed the line 55 seconds in arrears.

The rest of the break – Cesare Benedetti (Bora-Argon18), Jelle Wallays (Lotto Soudal), Gatis Smukulis (Astana), Stephane Rossetto (Cofidis), Tom Stamsnijder (Giant-Alpecin) and Romain Cardis (Direct Energie) – arrived in dribs and drabs, but it was quite some time before the peloton followed suit: 33 minutes and 54 seconds to be precise.

With demanding back-to-back stages in the Pyrenees on the horizon in what could prove to be a decisive weekend in the battle for the red jersey, race leader Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and rivals were content to take an impromptu day off – despite a profile that nevertheless included almost 4,000 vertical metres of climbing.

Conti’s triumph aside, Russian veteran Lagutin – winner of stage seven last week at La Camperona – pulled off the day’s biggest coup by leading the break over all four categorised summits and to the blue polka dot jersey.

The advantage of the break hovered around the 20-minute mark before the pace upped following an attack by Rossetto with 30km remaining. Belgian Wallays and Poland’s Gogl countered to open a small gap before the rangy figure of Norway’s Laengen reeled in the leading duo.

By this point many of the escapees had lost contact – and when Laengen accelerated with 21km remaining he took Conti, Gogl and Wyss with him. Lampaert and Lagutin fought to bridge over – and they made contact just as Conti made his decisive move with 18.5km to go.

Despite the best efforts of the chasing group of five riders, pint-sized Conti managed to extend his lead over the series of hills on the closing circuit before delivering Lampre-Merida their first win of an otherwise largely disappointing race.

"I knew the break would go all the way because we’d taken an enormous gap,” Conti said. “I’d picked out today as one to go in the break and it was a good break – and I attacked at just the right moment.

“It’s my first win in a Grand Tour and it’s a great feeling. I didn’t have best legs at the start today but I kept getting better as the day went on and I took my chance in the finale."

Race leader Quintana came home surrounded by his Movistar team-mates to retain his 54-second lead over Britain’s Chris Froome (Team Sky), while the Colombian’s team-mate Alejandro Valverde, the green jersey, stayed third on GC a further 11 seconds back.

The Vuelta continues on Saturday – hopefully with more urgency and gusto – with arguably the race’s queen stage: a 196km ride almost entirely in France that features three first-category climbs ahead of a summit finish on the famous Col d’Aubisque.

If the race favourites were able to take an unscheduled day off on Friday that will be impossible on Saturday and the punchy 118.5km stage 15 on Sunday, which features yet more climbs as the Vuelta heads back into Spain for a summit showdown at Formigal.