Marco Frigo came close to victory in the seventh stage of the Vuelta a España with a finish in Celer, but in the end had to settle for a second place behind a rampant Ayuso. The guy from Bassano del Grappa won his first professional victory at the Tour of The Alps last April, and yesterday's second place gave him confidence to try again and seek victory in the Spanish stage race. "Yesterday we were incredibly fast, the leg was there and obviously you don't think about how much climbing you have to do - Frigo said after the finish line - In the end, we came here to try to win and that's what we do every day".

These are not easy times for Israel-Premier Tech, and in the team time trial in Figueres, the team was suddenly blocked on the road by a group protesting in defense of Palestinian rights.

"Managing to maintain concentration during these days is not easy for us. I want to be honest: it was really tough. I won't hide that after the time trial, in the evening on the massage table, we just wanted to go home. I was no longer interested in staying at the race, it was truly a terrible day, and there's nothing else to say about it".

Marco Frigo, after the shock of the time trial, got back on his bike, trying to keep dark thoughts at bay. In this Vuelta, he is performing well and is 4'42" from the red jersey.

"I think yesterday's result comes from a desire for redemption. I'm sincere, it's only the leg that has kept me going these last two days. The mind was a bit elsewhere. But if there's a leg that works and then the mind comes back too, then we can truly be competitive".