Much has been made of how the ongoing protests and stage suspensions in the Vuelta a España is affecting the GC battle with the partial cancellation of two key hilly stages, to Bilbao and Castro de Herville, removing two potential scenarios for showdowns in the overall.
But dig a bit further down into the overall classification and there are others in the Vuleta peloton rueing the loss of arguably an even more serious opportunity - their chances to secure a contract for next season.
