In the first week of racing there were few attacks, controlled racing and many field sprints, but today the tide changed and we became the lucky ones responsible for controlling the peloton on its most energetic and aggressive day.

After more than 70km of relentless attacks and an average speed of more than 50kph, the field finally lost some steam and relented. It was as much a relief to us as almost everybody else as virtually the whole peloton stopped for a pee once there was one rider clear and off the front, the race was in control and we had slowed down.

Our goal going into the stage was to keep Janez in the leader's jersey for another day. This meant that we needed to let a breakaway go, with no threatening riders in it, and let the gap grow, and then leave the rest up to the sprinters' teams as they would, hopefully, ride on the front to guarantee a bunch gallop to the line.

The run into the finish was actually quite difficult as it went uphill on a wide-open road for the last kilometer, which guaranteed there would be splits and time gaps in the peloton. Janez's lead over Valverde is slim, so it was essential he stay up front and ahead of any time gaps so as to not lose even a few seconds.

After attacking in the final yesterday, Vinokourov won his first race in a while with an explosive burst of speed. He is looking better on the bike each day and will become more of a factor on the mountain days. Thankfully, we have entered Galicia, a region of Spain that is greener, cooler, and quite a bit more picturesque. Tomorrow, we will be in Asturias, where our teammates Benjamin Noval and Chechu Rubiera were born and live.

Asturias is mountainous and lush and perhaps some of the most beautiful country in Spain. Even though Benjamin and Chechu are not riding the Vuelta, they have ridden and driven much of the course, so they will be giving us all the technical tips we need for the stage tomorrow.

Our days here are surprisingly full, even though we are only on our bikes for four to six hours. The stages at the Vuelta start quite late so we often tend to go to bed late and wake up late. We have a brunch of rice, eggs, croissants, yogurt and every condiment imaginable. Every hotel we have been at, even the less elegant ones, have freshly squeezed orange juice, which the team gulps down by the gallon. Dinner, which we usually dig into at around 9:00 or so, is made up of the standard race food: salad, meat, pasta or rice, some cooked vegetable and yogurt for dessert — a meal that is caloric, low in fat and easy to digest.

After tomorrow's stage, there are only three mountain days left, and they all come later in the race when we are back down towards the south. Likely, many riders will pull out after 10 days of racing to rest up for the world championships, which start right after the Vuelta ends.

The last 10 days of the race will likely be the most exciting, with two time trials and several interesting, and potentially exciting finishes. But, for now, we are simply focused on the hilly 207km we will cover tomorrow.