Vuelta a España leader Lemco Evenepoel put together the toughest stage of the race with minimal damage to his overall advantage and a chance for his first Grand Tour victory.

As in La Pandera on Saturday, Evenepoel lost 36 seconds to Enric Mas (Movistar) and 15 seconds to Primoš Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) on Sunday's 15th Sierra Nevada stage, losing time to his two main GC rivals.

At La Pandera, however, the leader of Quick Step Alfa Vinyl almost cracked completely on the super steep slope at one point. In the Sierra Nevada, however, Evenpoel did not lose control. When tested, he certainly conceded some GC terrain, but it was terrain he could afford to lose.

Evenepoel was aware that he had stepped into uncharted territory with his first summit finish over 2,000 meters above sea level and that he had had a "bad day" on Saturday.

However, he concluded that if he could have signed up for the current standings and GC advantage two weeks before the Vuelta began, he would have done so immediately. From a larger perspective, a solid performance in unfamiliar terrain like the Sierra Nevada was "an important step in my development as a GC rider in the Grand Tours."

"Yesterday [Saturday] I was not feeling well because of the crash, my muscles were stiff and I didn't sleep well. But today I woke up better," Evenpoel said after the stage.

"But now I'm still more than 1:30 behind [Roglic]. Enric Mas and (Miguel Angel) Lopez were the best riders today. But now I think the two hardest stages of the whole Vuelta are over.

Evenepoel explained that although he sleeps frequently at high altitude, he does not see much benefit in training at high altitude, and therefore racing at high altitude was like a voyage in the dark for him. Therefore, for him, racing in very high mountains was like a voyage in the dark.

However, Evenepoel did not appear to be in any danger on the steep slopes of the Sierra Nevada. And he was able to control the gap when the gradient slowed significantly in the mountain sections and Mass and Roglic escaped.

"Everything went well," Evenpoel affirmed, "and it was a big step in my development as a Grand Tour GC rider."

Nevertheless, Evenpoel said that the Vuelta's intensity would drop significantly in the next 48 hours, something he and his teammates welcomed.

And his long-term goals in Spain remained clear. He said, "I'll start the last week fresh and with fresh legs. We've had a good run so far and we'll keep fighting," he promised. My main goal from now on is to keep this jersey."

Given the Belgian's prospects of reaching the top of the podium in Madrid in a week's time, it is true that there may still be some unforeseen pitfalls on the road from the Sierra Nevada to the capital. But for Evenpoel, and after achieving the race's highest finish on Sunday, it should be all downhill from here.