Taaramäe, 37, is racing in his last ever Vuelta and currently lies 41st place in the overall standings, after week one.

He told ERR that he has been conserving energy in the scorching conditions, in order to capitalize on opportunities in the upcoming stages.

Nine stages of La Vuelta had been completed when Taaramäe spoke to ERR, with conditions in southern Spain being particularly hot, sometimes reaching 40 degrees Celsius.

He said: "Starting off in this way was a slap in the face to all."

"I wouldn't say the pace had been crazy, as you can't go too hard in this heat. You just can't recover afterward, and teams aren't able to maintain a fast pace. The pace has been easier, but the heat was quite difficult to endure," Taaramäe went on.

Taaramäe recounted an experience during one stage where he lost a significant amount of fluids, saying: "I weighed 70 kilograms before the stage, but after it, I was down to 64 kilograms."

"I was completely drained, and I could barely move; my legs were just going through the motions, and I finished the stage, but I can't call it an effort; my body simply wasn't capable of pushing any harder," he continued.

"Now it should get easier as we head to northern Spain, where it's 20 degrees cooler."

As its name suggests La Vuelta circumnavigates Spain and also has stages in some adjacent countries, for instance Portugal, which Taaramäe said had also been hot.

The cyclist said he didn't want to overexert himself in the first week, under such intense heat.

"The gaps in the overall standings are small, and the leaders have been playing their own games," he continued.

"I can see that there will be more opportunities in the second half of this Vuelta. I hope to start making my moves then, to take advantage of the chances available to me. In the heat, with the small gaps, there weren't many opportunities," Taaramäe went on.

Taaramäe's best individual performance came on the fourth stage, where he finished in 24th place. "It was a good test, really, to see where my form is. There were other days, too, where I felt pretty good. On one of those days, my team leader was in a crash and I had to help him catch up at the end. Otherwise, I could have finished 15th on the climb, which would have been fairly decent," he went on.

"It opens your eyes to see that my form isn't bad. I wasn't panicking much either; [on Sunday], I saw that the stage was so tough and so hot that I didn't even want to push myself. I didn't want to completely exhaust myself before the rest day," he added.

"I've gained a bit more sense, or maybe just wisdom, realizing that I'm not as bold and strong as I was when I was younger. I'm weaker now, but the younger riders are stronger, so I have to race smarter. The chances of winning are smaller than before, but they are still there. You have to act accordingly. When an opportunity arises, it is important to be ready and not to deplete yourself when there is no need to," he continued.

The Vuelta now moves to northern Spain, more specifically Galicia, where the weather is more amenable to him, and more opportunities await.

"The climate is certainly better for an Estonian, though I think everyone will enjoy it more; here it's 20-25 degrees, but the upcoming stages don't favor sprinters. We had one individual time trial and three sprints in the first nine days, but now those sprinting opportunities are gone," Taaramäe continued.

"Now it should be this way all the time, that there's a major effort at the start, and then a group forms at the front, and that group likely stays in front. A couple of times, the main contenders might get involved, but I believe that most of the time, these sorts of stages will suit riders like me," he added.

Taaramäe noted that the main hope for his team, Intermarché-Wanty, remains Louis Meintjes, who currently sits in 27th place after nine stages but has made strong finishes in previous Vueltas.

"His only hope is to get into the right group and break away. One day, he's ten minutes ahead; another, he's ten minutes behind. Then he climbs near the top ten, which he's done several times before," Taaramäe said.

"Otherwise, the team's main goal is stage hunting, whether the overall standings work out or not. If we can secure a stage win, everyone will be happy," added the Estonian.

"I'm still calm, but there's a bit of nervousness heading into the second week. I see many chances, and I hope to make an impact. As for this being my last Vuelta, that hasn't really sunk in yet."

La Vuelta continued on Tuesday with the 160-kilometer Ponteareas to Baiona stage 10.

The stage includes a third-category climb, two second-category climbs, and one first-category climb.

The official race site is here.

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