Stage 16 was a 181.5 km mountainous route from Luanco to Lagos de Covadonga in Asturias in northern Spain, in wet conditions.

Taaramäe, who races for the Intermarche-Wanty team, finished 15 minutes and 36 seconds behind stage winner Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), racing in his home country, who completed that feat in 4:44:46.

Taaramäe maintains 38th place overall (+1:18:40) in the race, with five more stages to go between now and Sunday.

One of the leading riders, Belgian Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike), crashed out and was forced to withdraw from the stage due to injury.

In the battle for the overall lead, Slovenian rider Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) gained 58 seconds on the current red jersey holder, Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), reducing the Australian's overall lead to just five seconds.

Local competitor Enric Mas (Movistar), who finished stage 16 level with Roglic, remains in third place, 1 minute and 25 seconds behind.

In the overall standings, Roglic closed the gap to just five seconds behind O'Connor after stage 16.

The current La Vuelta is Taaramäe's last. The 37-year-old, who has worn the leader's jersey in the tour as recently as 2021, will be racing for Japanese team  Kinan Racing next year.

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