"I thought I could fight for General Classification until Andorra but the questions about my form from the start have been answered. We still have mountain days ahead and I can work for Fabio and try to win a stage for the team."

Those were the words of Astana's Mikel Landa after stage ten at the Vuelta a España. Landa spent the last two stages at the back of the peloton, finishing more than 10 minutes down each day. He is effectively out of the General Clasification competition but otherwise healthy and strong.

Luis Leon Sanchez escaped into a large breakaway in the stage, with more than 40 riders from all teams, but the split in the peloton never increased more than one minute, and with an expected mass sprint the group was all together at the finish.

Fabio Aru finished in the same time as stage winner Kristian Sbaragli of Italy with no changes from his 5th overall ahead of Tuesday's first rest day of the 2015 Vuelta a España and the Queen Stage on Wednesday with six categorized climbs.

“We came here with big expectations, with three important riders. Obviously we lost Vincenzo straight away, but even after that, we still had Aru and Landa,” sports director Stefano Zanini told Cyclingnews. “Now the situation is what it is, Landa’s lost ground. Still, we’ll continue as before, and the whole team will be around Aru, including Landa. But Landa is still an important rider for us, and he could even have freedom on a few days to try for a stage win.”