The steep uphill finish to Mas de la Costa whittled down the number of genuine contenders for the Vuelta a España to four riders.

Lionel Birnie and Richard Moore discuss stage seven of the race and ask whether this is as significant a day in the race as the results might suggest.

We ask which of the four men is now in the driving seat before hearing from our diarists James Knox and Nick Schultz, who both had eventful days.

If you’d like to ask either James Knox or Nick Schultz a question, send it to us on Twitter @cycling_podcast

The Cycling Podcast is supported by Rapha and Science In Sport.

OUR SPONSORS

Rapha has launched its new custom kit giving you the chance to design your own Rapha kit. Begin your journey now. Choose from the varied set of templates, pick your colours and add your logos. Make your mark with Rapha Custom at https://www.rapha.cc/gb/en/custom/

Pédaleur and pédaleuse de charme t-shirts, caps, and jerseys are in stock in all sizes on the Rapha website https://www.rapha.cc/fr/en/stories/the-cycling-podcast-rapha

You can nominate a rider for the Pédaleur de Charme award throughout the Vuelta a España.

Science In Sport are offering all listeners 25 per cent off their range of energy bars, drinks and gels at https://scienceinsport.com. Use the code SISCP25 when you reach the check-out.

In November, we will be going on a Grand Tour, with live events scheduled in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland. We still have a couple of dates to confirm but the schedule so far will take us to Bristol, Cardiff, Worcester, Dublin, Belfast, London, Edinburgh, Leicester and Manchester. For tickets to any of these shows – or our event in Harrogate during the World Championships – go to https://thecyclingpodcast.com/live-events

Tonight’s episode is sponsored by Roka sunglasses, as worn by Miguel Angel Lopez (and Lionel Birnie). If you would like to get 20% off, go to Roka.com/vuelta

The music in this episode is by Más y Más.