Frustrated Poole and Schmid annoyed with INEOS: "Why didn’t we ride together in that group of four?"

Some were fuming, as nearly all nine defeated breakaway riders on day twelve of the Vuelta felt they might have had a chance to win. Pablo Castrillo surprisingly won after a solo effort because the bigger names behind him arrived too late.

Max Poole was the first loser. The Brit had already finished third from the breakaway the day before and now did one position better. Yet, whoever came to tell him this after the finish line did not receive a smile. "I am disappointed, but I gave it my all today. I might get a sense of satisfaction later. I have been so close two days in a row now, which is tough," the Team dsm-firmenich PostNL climbing talent said on Eurosport.

Poole had broken away from the other chasers in the final kilometer, but the almost stationary Castrillo kept him back. According to Poole, the reason the Spaniard stayed ahead was due to INEOS Grenadiers. "INEOS had two riders, so it's normal that everyone looks to them to close gaps. Soler attacked multiple times in the meantime, so we were watching him as well. I don’t really know why we didn’t start working together in that chasing group of four, but it is what it is. In the end, I went full throttle to the finish."

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Mauro Schmid also pointed to INEOS after the race, during which Jhonatan Narváez (fifth) and Oscar Rodriguez (tenth) were the only duo from the same team. "It wasn’t ideal to be alone in the chase, but there were so many attacks that I thought it was better to ride at my own pace," said Schmid. "I had hoped they would hesitate behind me, but with INEOS having two riders, I knew they would play their cards. The headwind was tough in the first part of the climb, but at one point, I got close to Castrillo. However, I hesitated because I heard riders were coming up behind me. Looking back, I should have gone all out to bridge the gap, but I was on my limit."

Soler, who finished third, was actually the only one to compliment the day's winner. "He played it well," said the Spaniard riding for UAE-Team Emirates, who also personally came to congratulate Castrillo. "I wanted to win, but we had to congratulate Pablo. We will keep fighting to win a stage and be up there. Stage victories are hard to come by, so it will be a tough challenge."