If Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) had a slight feeling of Groundhog Day here in Santander on the second rest day of the Vuelta a España, that would in some ways be understandable. The Briton finds himself in an almost identical situation to a week ago, on the Vuelta´s first rest day. As was the case last Monday, Yates has the red jersey of race leader on his shoulders, with a narrow advantage over Alejandro Valverde (Movistar). Nairo Quintana (Movistar), meanwhile, is in third place, just as he was after the summit finish of La Covatilla. But on scratching slightly beneath the surface, the differences quickly become clear. In week two of the Vuelta, with an advantage of just one second, Yates and Mitchelton-Scott took the decision to cede the lead to a rider who was not considered a GC threat, Jesus Herrada of Cofidis.ADVERTISEMENT Fast forward a week, and Valverde is now hovering at 26 seconds - still very close, but not breathing down Yates´ neck nearly as closely as on the first rest day in Salamanca. Similarly, Quintana´s deficit is now 30 seconds. More crucially, Quintana could not dent Yates´ hold on the lead on Sunday´s ascent to Lagos de Covadonga, the same climb where he wrenched the race into his power two years ago and kept the lead all the way to Madrid. In the mountains, Yates has on some days been a little superior to his rivals, on others slightly behind, but for now, he remains narrowly but firmly in control of the Vuelta with just six days to go to Madrid. `I felt good [on the climbs], but the gaps are still small, the GC is really close, I´m not really dominating,` Yates said in an informal press conference outside his hotel in Santander. He could not, he said, pick out a particular rival as an outright favourite. `They are all really close, the differences are only a few seconds. That may continue, and the time trial may well be very important.` Worlds
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