Now I know it looks like I'm showing off (and I am), but yet another one of these nine riders is having their breakthrough moment. Pavel Bittner is August's rider of the month so far.

DSM, the peloton’s youth house, have a philosophy they steadfastly believe in, and an ideology that, despite its critics, garners results. In Seville, the city that brought the world flamenco, tip-tapping his way onto their Grand Tour winners roll call was their latest graduate.

O'Connor didn't just snatch the red from Roglič, but washed it, dried it, and hung it up in his wardrobe, potentially never again to change hands. Red Bull's hand is deep in the fire pit and already burning. It’s a high-stakes gamble that could backfire embarrassingly.

Today Red Bull did yesterday’s graft, and now their task is rather simple: attack O'Connor wherever and whenever. Go long, go unexpectedly, go as an ambush unit, but don’t rely solely on Roglič’s speciality: mountain-top sprints. That won’t be enough.

Eddie Dunbar has really been through the wringer. Time after time, events have conspired against him. After all the hurt, frustration, doubts, and many, many setbacks, his Vuelta stage win is a deserved and long overdue success. Does he finally have the luck of the Irish?

These David vs Goliath triumphs, the little teams vs the superteams, the small budgets vs the megabucks, are going to become increasingly uncommon because of a UCI ruling. The days of the romantic wins are reaching their conclusion. And it’s hard not to be saddened by that.

This was Roglič at his very best. Rarely have we seen him this destructive. O'Connor's gap had allowed cycling to show off its most attractive quality, that of anticipation, but ultimately his lead has been as good as wiped out by three accelerations in as many stages.

This Vuelta is unhinged. It's pissed. How has a sprinter won a stage with a cat 1 climb 15km from the finish and 2,900m of climbing? That said, I ain't complaining. I hope it never sobers up - I love its weirdness and unpredictability.

The Vuelta is drunk. Bladdered. Off its rocker. As drunk as those currently taking part in various fiestas del pueblo, only without the bulls, paella and tinto de verano. A sprinter wins a mountain stage. The best sprinter is also the best climber. Qué locura. No entiendo nada.

Que grande es Pablo Castrillo.

Red is dangling faintly and feebly off O'Connor's little pinkie as his resistance meets its end. The raiders have almost snatched their prize from him, but a new gang war is brewing in which the thieves turn on one another: who’ll be the final owner of the coveted crown?

Jay Vine is leading the Vuelta's KOM, but five months ago his prognosis post-Itzulia crash was bleak. "They weren’t sure if the swelling had stabilised, or if it was going to continue and either paralyse or end me.” He candidly tells of his struggles and rapid recovery. 👇

Kern Pharma, a second-tier team, have three riders in the lead group at the Vuelta; none of the WorldTour teams have more than one rider present. Through Pablo Castrillo, they've already won two stages; 10 WorldTour teams still haven't won one stage. Chapeau Equipo Kern Pharma 👏

Bahrain, self-titled Victorious, have won zero Grand Tour stages in 2024. Red Bull claim they have wings but have only won two. Movistar, Spain's team, have two Vuelta stages since 2020. Little Kern (budget; €4m, aka one Remco Evenepoel) three wins in seven stages. Espectacular.

Roglič had a job to do, and he would do it well. But few foreseen how cold, calculated, controlled and methodical it would be. Heck, it was even emotionless. He's is back in red with a comfortable, convincing, and probably unassailable lead: 1:54. And it’ll no doubt increase.

Portillo de Lunada 😍. Tell me Spain's not the best place in the world to ride a bicycle. The diversity in terrain, weather, fauna and type of climbs is unrivalled.