Richard Calapaz (Ineos-Grenadiers) dug deep to maintain overall control of the Vuelta a España with Wednesday's stage 8 summit finish, but judging from one of the most captivating mountain races of the 2020 season, the Ecuadorian now, facing a once-in-a-generation battle with defending champion Primoš Roglic (Jumbo-Visma).

In a fierce and multifaceted mountain battle, Calapaz first had to contend with Movistar's brilliant group attack that attempted to isolate the race leader and simultaneously create an advantage for Enric Mas. But then, after Hugh Carthy and Mike Woods (EF Procycling) had moved to the front on the Moncalvillo hill and Astana's Alexandre Vlasov had made a furious push a little later, Calapaz and Roglic finally closed the gap to their rivals with less than 1km to go. With less than a kilometer to go, Karapas and Roglic finally managed to close the gap on their rivals.

But the day was not over yet. Kalapas tried to shake off Roglic, but the Slovenian was only able to gain about a 100-meter advantage. On television it looked as if Kalapas was closing the gap on Roglic, but in fact the gap between the two had opened up to 13 seconds by the time they reached the finish line.

Currently, and in terms of climbing form, Calapaz, the overall leader despite finishing second on Wednesday's stage, and Roglic, Wednesday's stage winner and currently second overall, are one step ahead. But the gap is relatively small, with five riders within two minutes of each other at the top of the GC. Karapas insisted that the 2019 Vuelta and Giro winners cannot yet afford to see this year's race as a head-to-head battle between the two. [Karapas, who fended off Roglic in last year's Giro d'Italia, told reporters after the race, "It was very emotional. It was a very beautiful battle."

"I was attacking for both the overall and the stage win, but I couldn't follow Roglic's attack. So I just kept going and tried to protect myself as best I could."

Asked if he was happy to defend his lead or concerned that his GC advantage had narrowed considerably, Karapas replied, "Overall, I was happy with how the team worked."

"At the end of the day I can rejoice because I knew that Roglic was a big challenger in this year's Vuelta.

Calapaz said he had expected a seven-man breakaway group to reach the finish early in Wednesday's stage, but "the other riders" - his former team, Movistar, which tore a five-minute advantage in the last two hours - and "Jumbo had other ideas."

He disagreed as to whether the race was a one-on-one battle between himself and Roglic, saying that at least three riders remained in contention for the top GC spot.

"There will be tough days and climbs before the final and we don't know yet what will happen there. But after today's stage, the overall panorama is clear.

Calapaz's greatest strength so far in the Vuelta has probably been that he has been the most consistent on the climbs: not as strong as Carty on the Formigal stage three days ago and not as strong as Roglic on stage 8, but neither has he lost much time.

Whether this steady but unassuming strategy will be enough to keep La Roja in the mountains of Asturias this weekend and in the third week of the Vuelta remains to be seen. But it is a tactic that has won many Grand Tours in the past.