Vuelta a España young talent Carlos Rodriguez once again exceeded expectations by finishing fourth in Tuesday's crucial individual time trial.

After a relatively slow start on the flat course in Alicante, the 21-year-old set the 12th fastest time at the opening checkpoint, 30 seconds ahead of stage winner and known specialist Remco Evenpole (Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl).

However, he then moved up to 6th place, 56 seconds behind at the second checkpoint, and finished just outside the podium at the finish, 1:22 back in 4th place.

In the process, Rodriguez gained nearly 30 seconds on compatriot Enric Mas (Movistar) and less than a minute on Mas, who dropped to third overall.

In an impressive day for Ineos Grenadiers, teammate Pavel Sivakov also placed fifth in the stage, moving up to ninth overall. Tao Geoghegan Hart also recovered from a late Sunday crash to finish eighth on the day, becoming the third British team member to finish in the top 10 on GC.

However, Rodriguez, despite having the least Grand Tour racing experience of any GC contender at the Vuelta a España, was the top finisher on the team on the day and remains the best placed Ineos overall.

Rodriguez reiterated after the Vuelta a España that he was happy to finish just behind Olympic champions like Primos Roglic, who beat him by a relatively small margin of just over 30 seconds. But he also stressed that he would focus on enjoying his short-term successes and concentrate on achieving his longer-term goals.

"I felt really good, but I started the stage quite conservatively because I didn't want to risk going into the red zone.

"I wanted to know how I compared to the others, but the important thing is to enjoy it as much as possible and keep at it."

Sivakov confirmed that the team's strategy for himself and the other Ineos riders was to stay relatively calm during the first part of the TT.

"We put a lot of effort into our TT position and I think it paid off today. I faded a little bit in the finale, but not as much as some of the other riders."

"We were able to get a good start, but we didn't have a good time.

Like Rodriguez, Sibakov also avoided a long-term outlook. Now it's time to recover and take a cold shower.

But as he observed, the important thing in general was that he was "back in the race, which is great for confidence." Rodriguez, on the other hand, may have held on to his overall GC position on Tuesday, but for a first-time Grand Tour participant, this is another notable step forward.