Stage 4 of the Vuelta a España may have been a quiet stage for most of the peloton as they raced across the plains of Aragon, but for race leader Primoš Roglic of Jumbo Visma, there were hidden difficulties.

On the windy stage to Ejair de los Cabelleros, Movistar and Ineos Grenadier went to the front in an attempt to split the peloton and make waves in the overall battle, but the gusts were not strong enough to cause echelon.

The breakaway group fought for pride, the intermediate sprint, and the combativeness prize, which was contested over the 192-km stage.

"It was pretty windy, a tailwind, and really, really fast," said Roglic after the stage, who entered day 16 as the Vuelta leader.

"It was a bit scary, especially in the last 20km, because it was super fast. Luckily everything went well and the team protected me in the right places.

The Slovenian, who is one of the favorites to defend his Vuelta crown, added that although the stage may have looked relatively easy at an average speed of 49.26 km/h, he and his team had to carefully guard their positioning to avoid crashes.

"It's not that high-powered, so it looks easy in terms of wattage," he said. But you have to stay ahead every second and there is no room for error."

On the weekend, the riders will face a tougher test, starting with a hilly stage to Savignango that includes two second-class mountains and a climb to the finish. However, the mountain stage to the Formigal ski resort near the French border will be an even tougher test.

This climb, which replaced the Col du Tourmalet after French authorities refused to allow the race through due to COVID-19 restrictions, saw Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador ambush their GC rivals and beat Chris Froome by more than two minutes in 2016 He is best known for his role in the Vuelta.

Alto de Petralba and Puerto de Cotefabro also return for the final climb.

"First of all, I think tomorrow is a pretty difficult stage, so the whole team has to give their best once again," said Roglic. Sunday is a new stage for us, so we just have to give it our best at the end."

He added that he hopes the COVID-19 situation, which led to the removal of Portale, Aubisque, and Tourmalet, will be good for everyone, and that keeping the red jersey (his lead is five seconds over Dan Martin of Israel Start-Up Nation) and He also said that his goal is to head to Madrid.

"I actually have no influence on what is happening around me, but I hope that sooner or later things will turn out better for all of us.

"We will do everything we can to make that happen. So as I said, tomorrow is a new day and new challenges lie ahead of us."