Rafal Majka produced an impressive solo effort to claim a comfortable victory on stage 15 of the Vuelta a Espana.

The UAE-Team Emirates rider went solo with 87 kilometres of the 197.5km route from Navalmoral de la Mata to El Barraco remaining and held off a chase led by Steven Kruijswijk.

Majka finished one minute and 27 seconds ahead of Jumbo-Visma's Kruijswijk for his first stage win in four years, with Chris Hamilton of Team DSM taking third.

"Sometimes you try and it's not easy to to get in break, but today I tried from the start," Majka said. "I didn't wait for nobody today. 

"I wanted to win the stage. I wanted to win for my father and my two two kids. I only thought of one thing.

"I had a bad start to the season and it wasn't easy for me and my family, especially when my father died. I wanted to win for him, for my kids and for my great team UAE Team Emirates."

There was no change in terms of the general classification standings on Sunday as race leader Odd Christian Eiking retained his 54s lead on Guillaume Martin, while two-time defending champion Primoz Roglic remains third.

However, there was some drama as Adam Yates jumped ahead of the peloton to snatch 15s on Eiking and the rest of the chasing pack in the battle for the red jersey.

INEOS Grenadiers rider Jonathan Narvaez abandoned the race midway through and Jonathan Caicedo did not start as they joined fellow Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz in dropping out.

 

STAGE RESULT

1. Rafal Majka (UAE-Team Emirates) 04:51:36
2. Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) +1:27
3. Chris Hamilton (Team DSM) +2:19
4. Adam Yates (INEOS Grenadiers) +2:42
5. Giulio Ciccone (Trek - Segafredo) +2:57

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 59:57:50
2. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) +0:54
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +1:36

Points Classification

1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) 200
2. Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF Education–Nippo) 114
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 108

King of the Mountains

1. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) 50 
2. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) 31
3. Rafal Majka (UAE-Team Emirates) 29

What's next?

After a much-needed day of rest, the riders go again on Tuesday with a flat 180km stretch from Laredo to Santo Cruz de Bezana. It is the last clear stage for the sprinters, so expect a mass sprint for the finish line.