The first summit finish of the Vuelta a España at Pico Villuercas has already provoked major time gaps among those riders hoping to do battle at the top of the race's general classification.
Already, after just four days of racing, some hopefuls have shed two minutes or more to stage 4 winner Primož Roglič.
Richard Carapaz, who leads EF Education-EasyPost's charge at the final Grand Tour of the season, is among those names, having finished in 25th place at the top of the steep climb, 1:29 down on the three-time winner.
The Ecuadorian heads into stage 5 already holding a 2:02 deficit to the race leader. He said after stage 4 that the heat had played a major part in the outcome of the stage.
"It was very hot, and, in the end, it affected me a lot," Carapaz told ESCiclismo. "40 degrees was too much, and the pass was very explosive. I tried to defend myself as best I could, but I couldn't get any further ahead.
"Today was a day to defend. I think I did well. I was with the frontrunners in the early stages of the climb, but in the end, I was also short of water. It was very hot and I got into a zone of desperation."
Carapaz crossed the line with Adam Yates, another rider who enjoyed a less-than-ideal day on the bike, also losing 1:29. Other GC contenders to lose over a minute included Ben O'Connor (1:11), Cian Uijtdebroeks (1:38), and Louis Meintjes (2:23).
With plenty of mountain stages left to run in the Vuelta, there are numerous opportunities for Carapaz and the rest to make up time. He said that he'll need to "stay in the right frame of mind" to keep up the battle.
"I lost a minute and a half, but we still have some very tough stages, and I think we have to continue to stay in the right frame of mind for everything that's left."
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