The 160-kilometer Ponteareas – Baiona stage is in the somewhat cooler environs of Galicia, and also followed a one-day rest period after some hotter stages in southern Spain and in Portugal.

Taaramäe, racing for the Intermarché – Wanty team and competing in his last ever career Vuelta, found himself in the peloton, which included overall leader Ben O'Connor (Australia, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team).

This group crossed the finish line five minutes and 31 seconds after stage winner Wout van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) of Belgium, whose time was 3:50:47.

O'Connor placed 22nd, while Taaramäe as noted finished 29th.

This bumps the 37-year-old Estonian up three spots to 38th place, trailing O'Connor, in the overall lead, by 39 minutes and 42 seconds.

Midway through the race, a group of five breakaway riders emerged, and about 30 km before the finish, van Aert and Frenchman Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) broke away on a climb (see video below).

Van Aert displayed superior sprinting power on the final stretch, securing his third stage victory with a three-second lead.

Spanish rider Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) finished third, followed closely by Belgian William Junior Lecerf (Soudal-QuickStep) and German Juri Hollmann (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

This trio finished two minutes and one second behind van Aert.

O'Connor as noted retained the red leader's jersey and still leads;his closest competitor, Primož Roglič (Red Bull - BORA – hansgrohe), is nearly four minutes behind overall.

There are 10 more stages remaining in La Vuelta, the last to take place on September 8.

Taaramäe has said this will be his final La Vuelta.

The official race site is here.

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