Oscar Onley retained fifth overall after a high octane stage 13 of La Vuelta a España
Netcompany INEOS rallied around their leader to protect his GC position, when a large break containing seventh-placed Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) threatened to overtake him.
However, Jack Haig and Axel Laurance dropped back from the break to join the rest of the team to help set a strong pace and reduce the deficit to keep the status quo ahead of the key weekend of the race.
A typically aggressive start to the stage saw a fight for the break, which eventually saw a large group go clear, including Laurance with Haig just behind.
Unfortunately a crash for the French rider put paid to his breakaway hopes as the group split further over the hilly terrain.
Skjelmose’s group had a lead of close to four minutes over the bunch with 40km remaining, forcing action behind as Carlos Rodriguez, Embret Svestad-Bårdseng then Haig helping to close the gap as other teams joined too.
As Wout van Aert won the stage from the break, Onley finished in a reduced peloton to retain fifth overall ahead of a key GC test on Saturday when the stage finishes atop Sierra de la Pandera.