Richard Kalapas tried to fight for his second Grand Tour in two years with Primoš Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), but gave his all to Roglic in the final summit finish of stage 17, losing by a narrow margin.

Despite being isolated from the team after Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling) opened the GC battle with two attacks on the final climb of the Vuelta a España, Calapaz quickly regained contact with the Englishman and dragged Roglic, and the Ecuadorian escaped with no problems in the last two kilometers.

Calapaz passed the laggards in the early braking and showed no signs of slowing down on the exposed roads despite the strong headwind.

The 2019 Giro d'Italia winner, who finished eighth and ultimately 21 seconds ahead of Roglic, was unable to beat the Slovenian for the overall lead in his second Grand Tour. However, Carapas, who twice took the lead after the Formigal and Angliru stages, could be proud of his second place in Madrid when it came to giving Roglic a shot.

Asked about the controversial moment on the last mountain stage when Roglic, chasing teammate Enric Mas (Movistar), was able to benefit from Marc Soler, Calapaz said, "No comment.

"People have their own goals and I have mine. So no comment."

As for whether Carapaz would have won the Vuelta if Roglic had been more isolated in the last few kilometers, Carapaz replied: "I don't know. Maybe."

"But what happens happens, and I'm happy to have finished second and to have enjoyed today's race.

Calapaz admitted that it was not easy with two less teammates, as Colombian Brandon Rivera and Pole Michael Gorras retired from the race. In a team of eight riders, losing two riders was a huge problem," he said. But we did a great job under the circumstances.

"Of course I would have liked to win the Vuelta, but I am very happy with second place overall. And above all, we will have another opportunity to have a team that is competitive enough."

Calapaz's season was not a straightforward one, but he also deserves credit for handling the team's switch from the Giro d'Italia to the Tour. Calapaz, a native of Ecuador, was later named leader of the Vuelta by Ineos Grenadier.

Asked if he thought his second place in the Vuelta gave him the right to tell the team which races he wanted to compete in next year, Calapaz did not give a definite yes or no.

He said of the pandemic, "First we have to see how we get through this. It's next season. We also have to see what each [Grand Tour] route will look like. We know the Tour route, but we also have the Giro and the Vuelta. We will have to see the route and then go for the Grand Tours," he said. But in a team crowded with GC Grand Tour contenders, perhaps wisely, he did not say which he would choose.

As for the narrowness of Rogic's final advantage, and the fact that much of the time gap to Jumbo Visma's leader came from time bonuses, Karapas was adamant that he had run his Vuelta correctly.

"I ran the best I could, the best I could. Even if I didn't get the bonus seconds, that was the reality. I have no regrets."