In Spanish, “being in Babia (estar en Babia)” means, roughly speaking, “being distracted” or “not paying attention to what is in front of you.” This curious expression comes from the craggy green dreamscape of the Babia district, just east of Quito Negru, where on Sunday afternoons the men vying for victory in the Vuelta a España ran into oblivion every inch of the way.

In the terribly rugged upper reaches of Kuitu Negru, each athlete was treated to his own personal nightmare, the nature of the solitary effort heightened by the pea-thick fog that blanketed the mountain peaks. Power meter readings were barely visible, and it was impossible to keep track of one's rivals.

At the summit, athletes spilled across the line one and two at a time, like characters in a Dickens novel. Primoš Roglic reached the finish with Enric Mas, 1:04 behind stage winner Pablo Castillo and, more importantly, 38 seconds ahead of red jersey Ben O'Connor.

But between his exertions and the fog, Roglic could only dimly grasp the story of the day. It was difficult to tell friend from foe in these conditions, much less to grasp every movement of the bike race. [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]

When Roglic easily burned Mas in Puerto de Ancares on Friday, he seemed to have taken the idea of winning the Vuelta beyond the Spaniard's imagination. Nevertheless, Mas must have felt better after competing with Roglic here.

“It was tough,” he said. He's in great shape. He was really good. Like I said before, sometimes you gain a little, sometimes you lose a little. I shouldn't have hit my head against the wall.”

While Roglic is certainly favored to win this Vuelta and try to break the record for fourth overall win next Sunday in Madrid, his relative misfortune here, as well as his travails in Granada a week ago, suggest that in this most magical edition of the race, nothing should be taken for granted. It suggested that he should not take anything for granted.

It is also clear that Roglic's back injury, which was the result of his misfortune in the Tour de France, is a concern in Spain. When Roglic crossed the finish line at Cuis Negres, he immediately cried out to Soinier, who was trying to guide him through the crowd across the finish, not to touch his back. [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]